Psalms 16:2

16:2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,

my only source of well-being.” ¹ 

Psalms 16:5-6

16:5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity; ² 

you make my future secure. ³ 

16:6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields

or received a beautiful tract of land. ⁴ 

Psalms 31:14

31:14 But I trust in you, O Lord!

I declare, “You are my God!”

Psalms 91:2

91:2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,

my God in whom I trust –

Psalms 119:57

ח (Khet)

119:57 The Lord is my source of security. ⁵ 

I have determined ⁶  to follow your instructions. ⁷ 

Psalms 142:5

142:5 I cry out to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

my security ⁸  in the land of the living.”

Lamentations 3:24

3:24 “My portion is the Lord,” I have said to myself, ⁹ 

so I will put my hope in him.

Zechariah 13:9

13:9 Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire;

I will refine them like silver is refined

and will test them like gold is tested.

They will call on my name and I will answer;

I will say, ‘These are my people,’

and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “my good [is] not beyond you.” For the use of the preposition עַל (’al) in the sense of “beyond,” see BDB 755 s.v. 2.

² tn Heb “O Lord, the portion of my possession and my cup”; or “the Lord [is] the portion of my possession and my cup.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel, and to a cup of wine, which may symbolize a reward (in Ps 11:6 it symbolizes the judgment one deserves) or divine blessing (see Ps 23:5). The metaphor highlights the fact that God is the psalmist’s source of security and prosperity.

³ tc Heb “you take hold of my lot.” The form תּוֹמִיךְ (tomikh) should be emended to a participle, תוֹמֵךְ (tomekh). The psalmist pictures the Lord as casting his lot (a method used to allot landed property) for him, thus assuring that he will receive a fertile piece of land (see v. 6). As in the previous line, land represents security and economic stability, thus “you make my future secure.”

⁴ tn Heb “measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant [places]; yes, property [or “an inheritance”] is beautiful for me.” On the dative use of עַל, see BDB 758 s.v. II.8. Extending the metaphor used in v. 5, the psalmist compares the divine blessings he has received to a rich, beautiful tract of land that one might receive by allotment or inheritance.

⁵ tn Heb “my portion [is] the Lord.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel (see Ps 16:5).

⁶ tn Heb “I said.”

⁷ tn Heb “to keep your words” (see v. 9).

⁸ tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.

⁹ tn Heb “My soul said…” The term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= my soul) for the whole person (= I ).

¹⁰ sn The expression I will say ‘It is my people,’ and they will say ‘the Lord is my God’ is reminiscent of the restoration of Israel predicted by Hosea, who said that those who had been rejected as God’s people would be reclaimed and once more become his sons and daughters (Hos 2:23).