³ tn The verb עָמַד (ʿamad, “to stand”) may denote “to arise; to appear; to come on the scene” (e.g., Ps 106:30; Dan 8:22, 23; 11:2-4; 12:1; Ezra 2:63; Neh 7:65); cf. BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד 6.a; HALOT 840 s.v. עמד 1.a.

³ tn The verb form used twice here is יִתְיַצֵּב (yityatsev), the Hitpael imperfect of יָצַב (yatsav), which means “to set or station oneself; to take one’s stand” in this stem. With the form לִפְנֵי (lifne) it means “to present oneself before” someone; so here it has the idea of serving as a courtier in the presence of a king.

² tc The MT has “seeks [his own] desire[s].” The translation in the LXX represents a Hebrew Vorlage of לְתֹאֲנָה (l^etoʾanah) instead of לְתַאֲוָה (l^etaʾavah); this could be translated “seeks his own occasion,” that is, “his own pretext” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 354; cf. NAB). The MT makes sense as it stands and the emendation is not really necessary.

¹ tn Heb “a wife of virtue”; NAB, NLT “a worthy wife.” This noble woman (אֵשֶׁת־חַיִל, ʾeshet khayil) is the subject of Prov 31. She is a “virtuous woman” (cf. KJV), a capable woman of noble character. She is contrasted with the woman who is disgraceful (מְבִישָׁה, m^evishah; “one who causes shame”) or who lowers his standing in the community.

¹ tn The term לֵב (lev, “mind, heart”) here represents thinking by means of metonymy (i.e., the mind stands for what the mind does). The overstatement, “lacking the ability to think,” means lacking discernment, wisdom, good sense. Cf. NAB “is a fool”; NIV “lacks judgment”; NKJV “lacks understanding,” NCV, NRSV “has no sense.”

³ sn The words “way” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) and “counsel” (מוֹעֵצָה, moʿetsah) stand in strong contrast to the instruction of wisdom which gave counsel and rebuke to encourage a better way. They will bear the consequences of the course they follow and the advice they take (for that wrong advice, e.g., Ps 1:1).

⁴ sn The term לֵצִים (letsim, “scoffers; mockers”) comes from the root לִיץ (lits, “to scorn; to mock; to speak indirectly” (BDB 539 s.v. לִיץ). They are cynical and defiant freethinkers who ridicule the righteous and all for which they stand (e.g., Ps 1:1).

¹ tn Heb “[it is] vain for you, you who are early to rise, who delay sitting, who eat the food of hard work.” The three substantival participles are parallel and stand in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the preposition. See לָכֶם (lakhem, “for you”).

¹ tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (ʿedyekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (ʿodekhi, “your duration; your continuance”), that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).

¹ sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.

¹ tc Heb “and who can stand before you from the time of your anger?” The Hebrew expression מֵאָז (meʾaz, “from the time of”) is better emended to מֵאֹז (meʾoz, “from [i.e., “because of”] the strength of your anger”; see Ps 90:11).

² tn The perfect verbal form is understood here as referring to a past experience which the psalmist desires to be repeated. Another option is to take the perfect as indicating the psalmist’s certitude that he will again stand in God’s presence in the sanctuary. In this case one can translate, “I will see you.”

¹ tn Heb “I will cause your name to be remembered in every generation and generation.” The cohortative verbal form expresses the poet’s resolve. The king’s “name” stands here for his reputation and character, which the poet praised in vv. 2-7.

¹ tn This verb is normally used of tasting food, as in eating a little bit of food (1 Sam 14:43; Jonah 3:7) or evaluating it (Job 12:11; 34:3). The two references to the physical senses stand for invitation and realization. Even a small or beginning experience of God reveals that he is good.

¹ tn Heb “in your good favor you caused to stand for my mountain strength.” Apparently this means “you established strength for my mountain” (“mountain” in this case representing his rule, which would be centered on Mt. Zion) or “you established strength as my mountain” (“mountain” in this case being a metaphor for security).

³ tn Heb “all of the ones going down [into] the dust.” This group stands in contrast to those mentioned in the previous line. Together the two form a merism encompassing all human beings—the healthy, the dying, and everyone in between.

¹ tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.

¹ tn Heb “despised in his eyes [is] a rejected [one].” The Hebrew term נִמְאָס (nimʾas, “rejected [one]”) apparently refers here to one who has been rejected by God because of his godless behavior. It stands in contrast to “those who fear God” in the following line.

⁶ tn Or “with favor” (cf. NRSV). There is no preposition before the noun in the Hebrew text, nor is there a pronoun attached. “Favor” here stands by metonymy for God’s defensive actions on behalf of the one whom he finds acceptable.

² tn Here only the word “sharp” is present, but in passages like Isa 41:15 it is joined with “threshing sledge.” Here and in Amos 1:3 and Isa 28:27 the word stands alone, but represents the “sledge.”