106:37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. 1
9:14 Then I will 2 tell about all your praiseworthy acts; 3
in the gates of Daughter Zion 4 I will rejoice because of your deliverance.” 5
45:9 Princesses 6 are among your honored guests, 7
your bride 8 stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir. 9
45:10 Listen, O princess! 10
Observe and pay attention! 11
Forget your homeland 12 and your family! 13
137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! 14
How blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us! 15
106:38 They shed innocent blood –
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land was polluted by bloodshed. 16
144:12 Then 17 our sons will be like plants,
that quickly grow to full size. 18
Our daughters will be like corner pillars, 19
carved like those in a palace. 20
45:12 Rich people from Tyre 21
will seek your favor by bringing a gift. 22
48:11 Mount Zion rejoices;
the towns 23 of Judah are happy, 24
because of your acts of judgment. 25
97:8 Zion hears and rejoices,
the towns 26 of Judah are happy,
because of your judgments, O Lord.
45:13 The princess 27 looks absolutely magnificent, 28
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold. 29
1 tn The Hebrew term שֵׁדִים (shedim, “demons”) occurs only here and in Deut 32:17. Some type of lesser deity is probably in view.
2 tn Or “so that I might.”
3 tn Heb “all your praise.” “Praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt it.
4 sn Daughter Zion is an idiomatic title for Jerusalem. It appears frequently in the prophets, but only here in the psalms.
5 tn Heb “in your deliverance.”
3 tn Heb “daughters of kings.”
4 tn Heb “valuable ones.” The form is feminine plural.
5 tn This rare Hebrew noun apparently refers to the king’s bride, who will soon be queen (see Neh 2:6). The Aramaic cognate is used of royal wives in Dan 5:2-3, 23.
6 tn Heb “a consort stands at your right hand, gold of Ophir.”
4 tn Heb “daughter.” The Hebrew noun בת (“daughter”) can sometimes refer to a young woman in a general sense (see H. Haag, TDOT 2:334).
5 tn Heb “see and turn your ear.” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “see”) is used here of mental observation.
6 tn Heb “your people.” This reference to the “people” of the princess suggests she was a foreigner. Perhaps the marriage was arranged as part of a political alliance between Israel (or Judah) and a neighboring state. The translation “your homeland” reflects such a situation.
7 tn Heb “and the house of your father.”
5 tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.
6 tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”
6 sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.
7 tn Some consider אֲשֶׁר (’asher) problematic, but here it probably indicates the anticipated consequence of the preceding request. (For other examples of אֲשֶׁר indicating purpose/result, see BDB 83 s.v. and HALOT 99 s.v.) If the psalmist – who appears to be a Davidic king preparing to fight a battle (see vv. 10-11) – is victorious, the whole nation will be spared invasion and defeat (see v. 14) and can flourish. Some prefer to emend the form to אַשְׁרֵי (“how blessed [are our sons]”). A suffixed noun sometimes follows אַשְׁרֵי (’ashrey; see 1 Kgs 10:8; Prov 20:7), but the presence of a comparative element (see “like plants”) after the suffixed noun makes the proposed reading too awkward syntactically.
8 tn Heb “grown up in their youth.” The translation assumes that “grown up” modifies “plants” (just as “carved” modifies “corner pillars” in the second half of the verse). Another option is to take “grown up” as a predicate in relation to “our sons,” in which case one might translate, “they will be strapping youths.”
9 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here and in Zech 9:15, where it refers to the corners of an altar.
10 tn Heb “carved [in] the pattern of a palace.”
8 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
9 tn Heb “and a daughter of Tyre with a gift, your face they will appease, the rich of people.” The phrase “daughter of Tyre” occurs only here in the OT. It could be understood as addressed to the bride, indicating she was a Phoenician (cf. NEB). However, often in the OT the word “daughter,” when collocated with the name of a city or country, is used to personify the referent (see, for example, “Daughter Zion” in Ps 9:14, and “Daughter Babylon” in Ps 137:8). If that is the case here, then “Daughter Tyre” identifies the city-state of Tyre as the place from which the rich people come (cf. NRSV). The idiom “appease the face” refers to seeking one’s favor (see Exod 32:11; 1 Sam 13:12; 1 Kgs 13:6; 2 Kgs 13:4; 2 Chr 33:12; Job 11:19; Ps 119:58; Prov 19:6; Jer 26:19; Dan 9:13; Zech 7:2; 8:21-22; Mal 1:9).
9 tn Heb “daughters.” The reference is to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 97:8 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).
10 tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as generalizing imperfects. (For other examples of an imperfect followed by causal לְמַעַן [lÿma’an], see Ps 23:3; Isa 49:7; 55:5.) Another option is to interpret the forms as jussives, “Let Mount Zion rejoice! Let the towns of Judah be happy!” (cf. NASB, NRSV; note the imperatives in vv. 12-13.)
11 sn These acts of judgment are described in vv. 4-7.
10 tn Heb “daughters.” The term “daughters” refers to the cities of Judah surrounding Zion (see Ps 48:11 and H. Haag, TDOT 2:336).
11 tn Heb “[the] daughter of a king.”
12 tn Heb “[is] completely glorious.”
13 tc Heb “within, from settings of gold, her clothing.” The Hebrew term פְּנִימָה (pÿnimah, “within”), if retained, would go with the preceding line and perhaps refer to the bride being “within” the palace or her bridal chamber (cf. NIV, NRSV). Since the next two lines refer to her attire (see also v. 9b), it is preferable to emend the form to פְּנִינִיהָּ (“her pearls”) or to פְּנִינִים (“pearls”). The mem (מ) prefixed to “settings” is probably dittographic.