4:3 Realize that 1 the Lord shows the godly special favor; 2
the Lord responds 3 when I cry out to him.
16:10 You will not abandon me 4 to Sheol; 5
you will not allow your faithful follower 6 to see 7 the Pit. 8
43:1 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me 10 against an ungodly nation!
Deliver me 11 from deceitful and evil men! 12
52:9 I will continually 13 thank you when 14 you execute judgment; 15
I will rely 16 on you, 17 for your loyal followers know you are good. 18
79:2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky; 19
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
86:2 Protect me, 20 for I am loyal!
O my God, deliver your servant, who trusts in you!
97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects 21 the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power 22 of the wicked.
148:14 He has made his people victorious, 23
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –
the Israelites, the people who are close to him. 24
Praise the Lord!
149:1 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Praise him in the assembly of the godly! 26
149:9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies 27 have been sentenced. 28
All his loyal followers will be vindicated. 29
Praise the Lord!
1 tn Heb “and know that.”
2 tn Heb “that the
3 tn Heb “hears.”
4 tn Or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.
5 sn In ancient Israelite cosmology Sheol is the realm of the dead, viewed as being under the earth’s surface. See L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 165-76.
6 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד [khasid], traditionally rendered “holy one”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10). The psalmist here refers to himself, as the parallel line (“You will not abandon me to Sheol”) indicates.
7 tn That is, “experience.” The psalmist is confident that the Lord will protect him in his present crisis (see v. 1) and prevent him from dying.
8 tn The Hebrew word שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 30:9; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4). Note the parallelism with the previous line.
7 sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew
8 tn Or “argue my case.”
9 tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.
10 tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.
10 tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”
11 tn Or “for.”
12 tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.
13 tn Or “wait.”
14 tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.
15 tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”
13 tn Heb “[as] food for the birds of the sky.”
16 tn Heb “my life.”
19 tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the
20 tn Heb “hand.”
22 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
23 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.
25 sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.
26 tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”
28 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”
30 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).