Joshua 1:8

1:8 This law scroll must not leave your lips! ¹  You must memorize it ²  day and night so you can carefully obey ³  all that is written in it. Then you will prosper ⁴  and be successful. ⁵ 

Psalms 1:2

1:2 Instead ⁶  he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; ⁷ 

he meditates on ⁸  his commands ⁹  day and night.

Psalms 77:11-12

77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord.

Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! ¹⁰ 

77:12 I will think about all you have done;

I will reflect upon your deeds!”

Psalms 104:34

104:34 May my thoughts ¹¹  be pleasing to him!

I will rejoice in the Lord.

Psalms 119:15

119:15 I will meditate on ¹²  your precepts

and focus ¹³  on your behavior. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 139:17-18

139:17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! ¹⁵ 

How vast is their sum total! ¹⁶ 

139:18 If I tried to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

Even if I finished counting them,

I would still have to contend with you. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 143:5-6

143:5 I recall the old days; ¹⁸ 

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on your accomplishments. ¹⁹ 

143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; ²⁰ 

my soul thirsts for you in a parched ²¹  land. ²² 

[1:8]  ¹ tn Heb “mouth.”

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 1:237).

[1:8]  ³ tn Heb “be careful to do.”

[1:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.

[1:2]  ⁶ tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead”) introduces a contrast between the sinful behavior depicted in v. 1 and the godly lifestyle described in v. 2.

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “his delight [is] in the law of the Lord.” In light of the following line, which focuses on studying the Lord’s law, one might translate, “he finds pleasure in studying the Lord’s commands.” However, even if one translates the line this way, it is important to recognize that mere study and intellectual awareness are not ultimately what bring divine favor. Study of the law is metonymic here for the correct attitudes and behavior that should result from an awareness of and commitment to God’s moral will; thus “obeying” has been used in the translation rather than “studying.”

[1:2]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the characteristic behavior described here and lends support to the hyperbolic adverbial phrase “day and night.” The verb הָגָה (hagag) means “to recite quietly; to meditate” and refers metonymically to intense study and reflection.

[1:2]  ⁹ tn Or “his law.”

[77:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “yes, I will remember from old your wonders.”

[104:34]  ¹¹ tn That is, the psalmist’s thoughts as expressed in his songs of praise.

[119:15]  ¹² tn The cohortative verbal forms in this verse express the psalmist’s resolve.

[119:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “gaze [at].”

[119:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “ways” (referring figuratively to God’s behavior here).

[139:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and to me how precious are your thoughts, O God.” The Hebrew verb יָקַר (yaqar) probably has the sense of “difficult [to comprehend]” here (see HALOT 432 s.v. יקר qal.1 and note the use of Aramaic יַקִּר in Dan 2:11). Elsewhere in the immediate context the psalmist expresses his amazement at the extent of God’s knowledge about him (see vv. 1-6, 17b-18).

[139:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “how vast are their heads.” Here the Hebrew word “head” is used of the “sum total” of God’s knowledge of the psalmist.

[139:18]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “I awake and I [am] still with you.” A reference to the psalmist awaking from sleep makes little, if any, sense contextually. For this reason some propose an emendation to הֲקִצּוֹתִי (haqitsoti), a Hiphil perfect form from an otherwise unattested verb קָצַץ (qatsats) understood as a denominative of קֵץ (qets, “end”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252-53.

[143:5]  ¹⁸ tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

[143:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”

[143:6]  ²⁰ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

[143:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

[143:6]  ²² tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).