6:9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;
the Lord has accepted 1 my prayer.
18:16 He reached down 2 from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water. 3
75:2 God says, 4
“At the appointed times, 5
I judge 6 fairly.
1 tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a preterite here; it is parallel to a perfect and refers to the fact that the
2 tn Heb “stretched.” Perhaps “his hand” should be supplied by ellipsis (see Ps 144:7). In this poetic narrative context the three prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.
3 tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 4 and Ps 144:7).
3 tn The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in vv. 2-3.
4 tn Heb “when I take an appointed time.”
5 tn Heb “I, [in] fairness, I judge.” The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically executes fair judgment as he governs the world. One could take this as referring to an anticipated (future) judgment, “I will judge.”