4:2 You men, 1 how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? 2
How long 3 will you love what is worthless 4
and search for what is deceptive? 5 (Selah)
For the music director; according to the alumoth-labben style; 7 a psalm of David.
9:1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds! 8
14:4 All those who behave wickedly 9 do not understand – 10
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
A psalm – a song used at the dedication of the temple; 12 by David.
30:1 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up, 13
and did not allow my enemies to gloat 14 over me.
59:11 Do not strike them dead suddenly,
because then my people might forget the lesson. 15
Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,
O Lord who shields us! 16
71:22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,
praising 17 your faithfulness, O my God!
I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,
O Holy One of Israel! 18
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.
77:1 I will cry out to God 20 and call for help!
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention 21 to me.
91:14 The Lord says, 22
“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;
I will protect him 23 because he is loyal to me. 24
111:1 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.
143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!
My strength is fading. 26
Do not reject me, 27
or I will join 28 those descending into the grave. 29
1 tn Heb “sons of man.”
2 tn Heb “how long my honor to shame?”
3 tn The interrogative construction עַד־מֶה (’ad-meh, “how long?”), is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
4 tn Heb “emptiness.”
5 tn Heb “a lie.” Some see the metonymic language of v. 2b (“emptiness, lie”) as referring to idols or false gods. However, there is no solid immediate contextual evidence for such an interpretation. It is more likely that the psalmist addresses those who threaten him (see v. 1) and refers in a general way to their sinful lifestyle. (See R. Mosis, TDOT 7:121.) The two terms allude to the fact that sinful behavior is ultimately fruitless and self-destructive.
6 sn Psalm 9. The psalmist, probably speaking on behalf of Israel or Judah, praises God for delivering him from hostile nations. He celebrates God’s sovereignty and justice, and calls on others to join him in boasting of God’s greatness. Many Hebrew
7 tc The meaning of the Hebrew term עַלְמוּת (’almut) is uncertain. Some
8 tn The cohortative forms in vv. 1-2 express the psalmist’s resolve to praise God publicly.
11 tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.
12 tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).
16 sn Psalm 30. The author thanks the Lord for delivering him from death and urges others to join him in praise. The psalmist experienced divine discipline for a brief time, but when he cried out for help the Lord intervened and restored his favor.
17 tn Heb “a song of the dedication of the house.” The referent of “house” is unclear. It is possible that David wrote this psalm for the dedication ceremony of Solomon’s temple. Another possibility is that the psalm was used on the occasion of the dedication of the second temple following the return from exile, or on the occasion of the rededication of the temple in Maccabean times.
18 tn Elsewhere the verb דָּלָה (dalah) is used of drawing water from a well (Exod 2:16, 19; Prov 20:5). The psalmist was trapped in the pit leading to Sheol (see v. 3), but the
19 tn Or “rejoice.”
21 tn Heb “do not kill them, lest my people forget.”
22 tn Heb “make them roam around by your strength and bring them down, O our shield, the Lord.”
26 tn The word “praising” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
27 sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The
31 sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.
32 tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.
33 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).
36 tn The words “the
37 tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).
38 tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).
41 sn Psalm 111. The psalmist praises God for his marvelous deeds, especially the way in which he provides for and delivers his people. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
46 tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”
47 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
48 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
49 tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.