² tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”

¹ sn That is, Mount Zion (see 24:23); cf. TEV; NLT “In Jerusalem.”

¹ tn Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. NLT “Jerusalem”; CEV “the whole city.”

² tn Heb “may the Lord bless you from Zion, the maker of heaven and earth.”

¹ tn This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

² sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.

² tn The word “Zion” is not repeated here in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation to indicate that the statement refers to Zion and not to Greece.

² tn The pronouns in vv. 10-17 are second feminine singular, referring to a personified entity. That entity is identified in v. 17 as Zion, which here stands for the people of Zion.

¹ tn Heb “daughter of Zion” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). The genitive is appositional, identifying precisely which daughter is in view. By picturing Zion as a daughter, the prophet emphasizes her helplessness and vulnerability before the enemy.

² tn Heb “his foundation [is] in the hills of holiness.” The expression “his foundation” refers here by metonymy to the Lord’s dwelling place in Zion. The “hills” are the ones surrounding Zion (see Pss 125:2; 133:3).

³ tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”

¹ sn Psalm 129. Israel affirms God’s justice and asks him to destroy the enemies of Zion.

¹ sn Psalm 87. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s presence in Zion and the special status of its citizens.

² tn Heb “roads [are] in their heart[s].” The roads are here those that lead to Zion (see v. 7).

³ tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.

¹ tn Heb “to the elevated place”; or “on high.” This probably refers to the Lord’s throne on Mount Zion.

² sn In this context the Lord’s mountain probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem (see Isa 2:2-3).

¹ sn The deliverance of Israel. This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

³ sn Daughter Zion is an idiomatic title for Jerusalem. It appears frequently in the prophets, but only here in the psalms.

¹ sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.