30:4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers 1 of his;
give thanks to his holy name. 2
97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects 3 the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power 4 of the wicked.
148:14 He has made his people victorious, 5
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –
the Israelites, the people who are close to him. 6
Praise the Lord!
149:9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies 7 have been sentenced. 8
All his loyal followers will be vindicated. 9
Praise the Lord!
31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers 10 of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly. 11
37:28 For the Lord promotes 12 justice,
and never abandons 13 his faithful followers.
They are permanently secure, 14
but the children 15 of evil men are wiped out. 16
85:8 I will listen to what God the Lord says. 17
For he will make 18 peace with his people, his faithful followers. 19
Yet they must not 20 return to their foolish ways.
1 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
2 tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The noun זֵכֵר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the
3 tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the
4 tn Heb “hand.”
5 tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the
6 tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.
7 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”
9 tn Heb “it is honor for all his godly ones.” The judgment of the oppressive kings will bring vindication and honor to God’s people (see vv. 4-5).
9 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; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
10 tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.
11 tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the
12 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.
13 tn Or “protected forever.”
14 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
15 tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.
13 sn I will listen. Having asked for the Lord’s favor, the psalmist (who here represents the nation) anticipates a divine word of assurance.
14 tn Heb “speak.” The idiom “speak peace” refers to establishing or maintaining peaceful relations with someone (see Gen 37:4; Zech 9:10; cf. Ps 122:8).
15 tn Heb “to his people and to his faithful followers.” The translation assumes that “his people” and “his faithful followers” are viewed as identical here.
16 tn Or “yet let them not.” After the negative particle אֵל (’el), the prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating the speaker’s desire or wish.