Psalms 33:8

33:8 Let the whole earth fear ¹  the Lord!

Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!

Psalms 33:14

33:14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully

at all the earth’s inhabitants.

Psalms 49:1

Psalm 49 ² 

For the music director, a psalm by the Korahites.

49:1 Listen to this, all you nations!

Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world! ³ 

Isaiah 26:9

26:9 I ⁴  look for ⁵  you during the night,

my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,

for when your judgments come upon the earth,

those who live in the world learn about justice. ⁶ 

[33:8]  ¹ tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.”

[49:1]  ² sn Psalm 49. In this so-called wisdom psalm (see v. 3) the psalmist states that he will not fear the rich enemies who threaten him, for despite their wealth, they are mere men who will die like everyone else. The psalmist is confident the Lord will vindicate the godly and protect them from the attacks of their oppressors.

[49:1]  ³ tn The rare noun חָלֶד (kheled, “world”) occurs in Ps 17:14 and perhaps also in Isa 38:11 (see the note on “world” there).

[26:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).

[26:9]  ⁵ tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).

[26:9]  ⁶ tn The translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “those who live in the world learn to live in a righteous manner” (cf. NCV).