4:3 Realize that 1 the Lord shows the godly special favor; 2
the Lord responds 3 when I cry out to him.
For the music director; according to the sheminith style; 5 a psalm of David.
12:1 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly 6 have disappeared; 7
people of integrity 8 have vanished. 9
32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers 10 should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity. 11
Certainly 12 when the surging water 13 rises,
it will not reach them. 14
32:2 How blessed is the one 15 whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, 16
in whose spirit there is no deceit. 17
A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. 19
3:1 Lord, how 20 numerous are my enemies!
Many attack me. 21
1 tn Heb “and know that.”
2 tn Heb “that the
3 tn Heb “hears.”
4 sn Psalm 12. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene, for society is overrun by deceitful, arrogant oppressors and godly individuals are a dying breed. When the Lord announces his intention to defend the oppressed, the psalmist affirms his confidence in the divine promise.
5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.
6 tn The singular form is collective or representative. Note the plural form “faithful [ones]” in the following line. A “godly [one]” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
7 tn Or “have come to an end.”
8 tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”
9 tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”
10 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
11 tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the
12 tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.
13 sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.
14 tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.
15 tn Heb “man.” The word choice reflects the perspective of the psalmist, who is male. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender and age specific “man” has been translated with the more neutral “one.”
16 tn Heb “blessed [is] the man to whom the
17 sn In whose spirit there is no deceit. The point is not that the individual is sinless and pure. In this context, which focuses on confession and forgiveness of sin, the psalmist refers to one who refuses to deny or hide his sin, but instead honestly confesses it to God.
18 sn Psalm 3. The psalmist acknowledges that he is confronted by many enemies (vv. 1-2). But, alluding to a divine oracle he has received (vv. 4-5), he affirms his confidence in God’s ability to protect him (vv. 3, 6) and requests that God make his promise a reality (vv. 7-8).
19 sn According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam 15:13-17).
20 tn The Hebrew term מָה (mah, “how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553 s.v.).
21 tn Heb “many rise up against me.”
22 tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).
23 tn Or “a people who are his very own.”
24 tn Grk “for good works.”