2 Kings 20:8

20:8 Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What is the confirming sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple the day after tomorrow?”

Psalms 42:1-2

Book 2
(Psalms 42-72)

Psalm 42 ¹ 

For the music director; a well-written song ²  by the Korahites.

42:1 As a deer ³  longs ⁴  for streams of water,

so I long ⁵  for you, O God!

42:2 I thirst ⁶  for God,

for the living God.

I say, ⁷  “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?” ⁸ 

Psalms 84:1-2

Psalm 84 ⁹ 

For the music director; according to the gittith style; ¹⁰  written by the Korahites, a psalm.

84:1 How lovely is the place where you live, ¹¹ 

O Lord who rules over all! ¹² 

84:2 I desperately want to be ¹³ 

in the courts of the Lord’s temple. ¹⁴ 

My heart and my entire being ¹⁵  shout for joy

to the living God.

Psalms 84:10-12

84:10 Certainly ¹⁶  spending just one day in your temple courts is better

than spending a thousand elsewhere. ¹⁷ 

I would rather stand at the entrance ¹⁸  to the temple of my God

than live ¹⁹  in the tents of the wicked.

84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. ²⁰ 

The Lord bestows favor ²¹  and honor;

he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. ²² 

84:12 O Lord who rules over all, ²³ 

how blessed are those who trust in you! ²⁴ 

Psalms 118:18-19

118:18 The Lord severely ²⁵  punished me,

but he did not hand me over to death.

118:19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple! ²⁶ 

I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.

Psalms 122:1

Psalm 122 ²⁷ 

A song of ascents, ²⁸  by David.

122:1 I was glad because ²⁹  they said to me,

“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”

John 5:14

5:14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, ³⁰  lest anything worse happen to you.”

[42:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalms 42 and 43 into a single psalm.

[42:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[42:1]  ³ tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (’ayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (’ayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.

[42:1]  ⁴ tn Or “pants [with thirst].”

[42:1]  ⁵ tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[42:2]  ⁶ tn Or “my soul thirsts.”

[42:2]  ⁷ tn The words “I say” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[42:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “When will I go and appear [to] the face of God?” Some emend the Niphal verbal form אֵרָאֶה (’era’eh, “I will appear”) to a Qal אֶרְאֶה (’er’eh, “I will see”; see Gen 33:10), but the Niphal can be retained if one understands ellipsis of אֶת (’et) before “face” (see Exod 34:24; Deut 31:11).

[84:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 84. The psalmist expresses his desire to be in God’s presence in the Jerusalem temple, for the Lord is the protector of his people.

[84:1]  ¹⁰ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.

[84:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 132:5, 7).

[84:1]  ¹² tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.” The title draws attention to God’s sovereign position (see Ps 69:6).

[84:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”

[84:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the courts of the Lord” (see Ps 65:4).

[84:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.

[84:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “for.”

[84:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”

[84:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).

[84:10]  ¹⁹ tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.

[84:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.

[84:11]  ²¹ tn Or “grace.”

[84:11]  ²² tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”

[84:12]  ²³ tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”

[84:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.

[118:18]  ²⁵ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following verbal idea.

[118:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the gates of justice.” The gates of the Lord’s temple are referred to here, as v. 20 makes clear. They are called “gates of justice” because they are the entrance to the just king’s palace. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[122:1]  ²⁷ sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.

[122:1]  ²⁸ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[122:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.

[5:14]  ³⁰ tn Since this is a prohibition with a present imperative, the translation “stop sinning” is sometimes suggested. This is not likely, however, since the present tense is normally used in prohibitions involving a general condition (as here) while the aorist tense is normally used in specific instances. Only when used opposite the normal usage (the present tense in a specific instance, for example) would the meaning “stop doing what you are doing” be appropriate.