Psalms 37:23

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. ¹ 

Psalms 40:2

40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, ² 

out of the slimy mud. ³ 

He placed my feet on a rock

and gave me secure footing. ⁴ 

Psalms 40:1

Psalm 40 ⁵ 

For the music director; By David, a psalm.

40:1 I relied completely ⁶  on the Lord,

and he turned toward me

and heard my cry for help.

Psalms 3:1-3

Psalm 3 ⁷ 

A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. ⁸ 

3:1 Lord, how ⁹  numerous are my enemies!

Many attack me. ¹⁰ 

3:2 Many say about me,

“God will not deliver him.” ¹¹  (Selah) ¹² 

3:3 But you, Lord, are a shield that protects me; ¹³ 

you are my glory ¹⁴  and the one who restores me. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 3:1

Psalm 3 ¹⁶ 

A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. ¹⁷ 

3:1 Lord, how ¹⁸  numerous are my enemies!

Many attack me. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 5:10

5:10 Condemn them, ²⁰  O God!

May their own schemes be their downfall! ²¹ 

Drive them away ²²  because of their many acts of insurrection, ²³ 

for they have rebelled against you.

[37:23]  ¹ tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”

[40:2]  ² tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (sha’on, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).

[40:2]  ³ tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[40:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”

[40:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 40. The psalmist combines a song of thanksgiving for a recent act of divine deliverance (vv. 1-11) with a confident petition for renewed divine intervention (vv. 12-17).

[40:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “relying, I relied.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the verbal idea. The emphasis is reflected in the translation through the adverb “completely.” Another option is to translate, “I waited patiently” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[3:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 3. The psalmist acknowledges that he is confronted by many enemies (vv. 1-2). But, alluding to a divine oracle he has received (vv. 4-5), he affirms his confidence in God’s ability to protect him (vv. 3, 6) and requests that God make his promise a reality (vv. 7-8).

[3:1]  ⁸ sn According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam 15:13-17).

[3:1]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term מָה (mah, “how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553 s.v.).

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “many rise up against me.”

[3:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “there is no deliverance for him in God.”

[3:2]  ¹² sn The function of the Hebrew term סֶלָה (selah), transliterated here “Selah,” is uncertain. It may be a musical direction of some kind.

[3:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “a shield round about me.”

[3:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my glory,” or “my honor.” The psalmist affirms that the Lord is his source of honor, i.e., the one who gives him honor in the sight of others. According to BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 7, the phrase refers to God as the one to whom the psalmist gives honor. But the immediate context focuses on what God does for the psalmist, not vice-versa.

[3:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[the one who] lifts my head.” This phrase could be understood to refer to a general strengthening of the psalmist by God during difficult circumstances. However, if one takes the suggestion of the superscription that this is a Davidic psalm written during the revolt of Absalom, the phrase “lift the head” could refer to the psalmist’s desire for restoration to his former position (cf. Gen 40:13 where the same phrase is used). Like the Hebrew text, the present translation (“who restores me”) can be understood in either sense.

[3:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 3. The psalmist acknowledges that he is confronted by many enemies (vv. 1-2). But, alluding to a divine oracle he has received (vv. 4-5), he affirms his confidence in God’s ability to protect him (vv. 3, 6) and requests that God make his promise a reality (vv. 7-8).

[3:1]  ¹⁷ sn According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam 15:13-17).

[3:1]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term מָה (mah, “how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553 s.v.).

[3:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “many rise up against me.”

[5:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “declare/regard them as guilty.” Declaring the psalmist’s adversaries guilty is here metonymic for judging them or paying them back for their wrongdoing.

[5:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “may they fall from their plans.” The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation. The psalmist calls judgment down on the evildoers. Their plans will be their downfall in that God will judge them for their evil schemes.

[5:10]  ²² tn Or “banish them.”

[5:10]  ²³ tn The Hebrew noun used here, פֶּשַׁע (pesha’), refers to rebellious actions. The psalmist pictures his enemies as rebels against God (see the next line).