Psalms 8:4

8:4 Of what importance is the human race, ¹  that you should notice ²  them?

Of what importance is mankind, ³  that you should pay attention to them, ⁴ 

Psalms 144:3

144:3 O Lord, of what importance is the human race, ⁵  that you should notice them?

Of what importance is mankind, ⁶  that you should be concerned about them? ⁷ 

Psalms 116:15

116:15 The Lord values

the lives of his faithful followers. ⁸ 

Psalms 78:2

78:2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;

I will make insightful observations about the past. ⁹ 

Psalms 119:72

119:72 The law you have revealed is more important to me

than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “What is man[kind]?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh, “man”) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race.

² tn Heb “remember him.”

³ tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.

⁴ tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.

⁵ tn Heb “What is mankind?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race. See Ps 8:5.

⁶ tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.

⁷ tn Heb “take account of him.” The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.

⁹ tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.

¹³ tn Heb “I will open with a wise saying my mouth, I will utter insightful sayings from long ago.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word pair חִידָה+מָשָׁל (mashal + khidah) refers to a taunt song (Hab 2:6), a parable (Ezek 17:2), proverbial sayings (Prov 1:6), and an insightful song that reflects on the mortality of humankind and the ultimate inability of riches to prevent death (Ps 49:4).

¹⁷ tn Heb “better to me [is] the law of your mouth than thousands of gold and silver.”