Text -- Psalms 116:9-19 (NET)

116:9 I will serve the Lord in the land of the living. 116:10 I had faith when I said, “I am severely oppressed.” 116:11 I rashly declared, “All men are liars.” 116:12 How can I repay the Lord for all his acts of kindness to me? 116:13 I will celebrate my deliverance, and call on the name of the Lord. 116:14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord before all his people. 116:15 The Lord values the lives of his faithful followers. 116:16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant; I am your lowest slave. You saved me from death. 116:17 I will present a thank offering to you, and call on the name of the Lord. 116:18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord before all his people, 116:19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 116:9

¹ tn Heb “walk before” (see Ps 56:13). On the meaning of the Hebrew idiom, see the notes at 2 Kgs 20:3/Isa 38:3.

² tn Heb “lands, regions.”

NET Notes: Psa 116:11

¹ tn Heb “I said in my haste.”

NET Notes: Psa 116:13

¹ tn Heb “a cup of deliverance I will lift up.” Perhaps this alludes to a drink offering the psalmist will present as he thanks the Lord for his deliverance. See v. 17.

NET Notes: Psa 116:15

¹ tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.

NET Notes: Psa 116:16

¹ tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

² tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).