71:18 Even when I am old and gray, 1
O God, do not abandon me,
until I tell the next generation about your strength,
and those coming after me about your power. 2
71:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!
Never let me be humiliated!
A psalm of David.
29:1 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings, 5
acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power! 6
17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,
and the one with clean hands grows stronger. 7
4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, 8
growing brighter and brighter 9 until full day. 10
46:4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you, 11
even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.
I made you and I will support you;
I will carry you and rescue you. 12
17:8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream
whose roots spread out toward the water.
It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.
Its leaves are always green.
It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.
It does not stop bearing fruit.
1 tn Heb “and even unto old age and gray hair.”
2 tn Heb “until I declare your arm to a generation, to everyone who comes your power.” God’s “arm” here is an anthropomorphism that symbolizes his great strength.
3 sn Psalm 71. The psalmist prays for divine intervention and expresses his confidence that God will protect and vindicate him. The first three verses are very similar to Ps 31:1-3a.
4 sn Psalm 29. In this hymn of praise the psalmist calls upon the heavenly assembly to acknowledge the royal splendor of the Lord. He describes the Lord’s devastating power as revealed in the thunderstorm and affirms that the Lord exerts this awesome might on behalf of his people. In its original context the psalm was a bold polemic against the Canaanite storm god Baal, for it affirms that the Lord is the real king who controls the elements of the storm, contrary to pagan belief. See R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “The Polemic against Baalism in Israel’s Early History and Literature,” BSac 150 (1994): 280-82.
5 tc Heb “sons of gods,” or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the MT, it is likely that the final mem is actually enclitic, rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8.
6 tn Or “ascribe to the
7 tn The last two words are the imperfect verb יֹסִיף (yosif) which means “he adds,” and the abstract noun “energy, strength.” This noun is not found elsewhere; its Piel verb occurs in Job 4:4 and 16:5. “he increases strength.”
8 tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ’or) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe – the opposite of what darkness represents.
9 tn The construction uses the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) in a metaphorical sense to add the idea of continuance or continually to the participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh). Here the path was growing light, but the added participle signifies continually.
10 tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.
11 tn Heb “until old age, I am he” (NRSV similar); NLT “I will be your God throughout your lifetime.”
12 sn Unlike the weary idol gods, whose images must be carried by animals, the Lord carries his weary people.