1:3 He is like 1 a tree planted by flowing streams; 2
it 3 yields 4 its fruit at the proper time, 5
and its leaves never fall off. 6
He succeeds in everything he attempts. 7
5:24 They do not say to themselves, 8
“Let us revere the Lord our God.
It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time.
It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.” 9
1 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse. According to the psalmist, the one who studies and obeys God’s commands typically prospers.
2 tn Heb “channels of water.”
3 tn Heb “which.”
4 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the typical nature of the actions/states they describe.
5 tn Heb “in its season.”
6 tn Or “fade”; “wither.”
7 tn Heb “and all which he does prospers”; or “and all which he does he causes to prosper.” (The simile of the tree does not extend to this line.) It is not certain if the Hiphil verbal form (יַצְלִיחַ, yatsliakh) is intransitive-exhibitive (“prospers”) or causative (“causes to prosper”) here. If the verb is intransitive, then כֹּל (kol, “all, everything”) is the subject. If the verb is causative, then the godly individual or the Lord himself is the subject and כֹּל is the object. The wording is reminiscent of Josh 1:8, where the Lord tells Joshua: “This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper (literally, “cause your way to prosper”) and be successful.”
8 tn Heb “say in their hearts.”
9 tn Heb “who keeps for us the weeks appointed for harvest.”
10 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.
11 tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”
12 sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.
13 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.
14 tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.
15 tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”
16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
17 tn Grk “But they”; the referent (the tenants, v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Grk “seizing him, they beat and sent away empty-handed.” The referent of the direct object of “seizing” (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The objects of the verbs “beat” and “sent away” have been supplied in the translation to conform to English style. Greek often omits direct objects when they are clear from the context.
19 sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.
20 sn The slaves being sent empty-handed suggests that the vineyard was not producing any fruit – and thus neither was the nation of Israel.
21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the tenants’ mistreatment of the first slave.