For the music director, according to the gittith style; 2 a psalm of David.
8:1 O Lord, our Lord, 3
how magnificent 4 is your reputation 5 throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above! 6
57:10 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, 7
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
57:11 Rise up 8 above the sky, O God!
May your splendor cover the whole earth! 9
For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 11 a prayer 12 of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave. 13
57:1 Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me!
For in you I have taken shelter. 14
In the shadow of your wings 15 I take shelter
until trouble passes.
For the music director, according to the gittith style; 17 a psalm of David.
8:1 O Lord, our Lord, 18
how magnificent 19 is your reputation 20 throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above! 21
66:1 This is what the Lord says:
“The heavens are my throne
and the earth is my footstool.
Where then is the house you will build for me?
Where is the place where I will rest?
1 sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.
2 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.
3 tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the
4 tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”
5 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
6 tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tÿnah; an imperative?) is corrupt. The form should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natatah) or imperfect (תִתֵן, titen) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.
7 tn Heb “for great upon the sky [or “heavens”] [is] your loyal love.”
8 tn Or “be exalted.”
9 tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)
10 sn Psalm 57. The psalmist asks for God’s protection and expresses his confidence that his ferocious enemies will be destroyed by their own schemes.
11 tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the heading to Pss 58-59, 75.
12 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56, 58-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
13 sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when he fled from Saul and hid in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3.
14 tn Heb “my life has taken shelter.” The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.
15 sn In the shadow of your wings. The metaphor likens God to a protective mother bird (see also Pss 17:8; 36:7).
16 sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.
17 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.
18 tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the
19 tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”
20 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
21 tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tÿnah; an imperative?) is corrupt. The form should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natatah) or imperfect (תִתֵן, titen) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.