Text -- Psalms 78:69-72 (NET)

78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. 78:70 He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds. 78:71 He took him away from following the mother sheep, and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and of Israel, his chosen nation. 78:72 David cared for them with pure motives; he led them with skill.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 78:69

¹ tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (kÿmo-ramim, “like the exalting [ones]”) is a poetic form of the comparative preposition followed by a participial form of the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”). The text should be emended to כִּמְרֹמִים (kimromim, “like the [heavenly] heights”). See Ps 148:1, where “heights” refers to the heavens above.

² tn Heb “like the earth, [which] he established permanently.” The feminine singular suffix on the Hebrew verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish”) refers to the grammatically feminine noun “earth.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:71

¹ tn Heb “from after the ewes he brought him.”

² tn Heb “to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance.”

NET Notes: Psa 78:72

¹ tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”

³ tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”