By David.
26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have integrity, 2
and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
38:6 I am dazed 3 and completely humiliated; 4
all day long I walk around mourning.
A song of ascents, 6 by David.
131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look. 7
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me. 8
1 sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.
2 tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”
3 tn The verb’s precise shade of meaning in this context is not entirely clear. The verb, which literally means “to bend,” may refer to the psalmist’s posture. In Isa 21:3 it seems to mean “be confused, dazed.”
4 tn Heb “I am bowed down to excess.”
5 sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.
6 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
7 tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”
8 tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”