Psalms 43:4

Then I will go ¹  to the altar of God, to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, ²  so that I express my thanks to you, ³  O God, my God, with a harp.

2Sa 6:5; Ps 42:6; Ps 57:8; Ps 66:13-15; Ps 71:22; Ps 71:23; Ps 81:2; Ps 116:12-19; Isa 61:10; Hab 3:17,18; Ro 5:11; Re 5:8

¹ tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”

² tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

³ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.