Psalms 45:13

45:13 The princess ¹  looks absolutely magnificent, ² 

decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold. ³ 

Psalms 45:2

45:2 You are the most handsome of all men! ⁴ 

You speak in an impressive and fitting manner! ⁵ 

For this reason ⁶  God grants you continual blessings. ⁷ 

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ⁸  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ⁹ 

[45:13]  ¹ tn Heb “[the] daughter of a king.”

[45:13]  ² tn Heb “[is] completely glorious.”

[45:13]  ³ tc Heb “within, from settings of gold, her clothing.” The Hebrew term פְּנִימָה (pÿnimah, “within”), if retained, would go with the preceding line and perhaps refer to the bride being “within” the palace or her bridal chamber (cf. NIV, NRSV). Since the next two lines refer to her attire (see also v. 9b), it is preferable to emend the form to פְּנִינִיהָּ (“her pearls”) or to פְּנִינִים (“pearls”). The mem (מ) prefixed to “settings” is probably dittographic.

[45:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “you are handsome from the sons of man.” The preposition “from” is used in a comparative (“more than”) sense. The peculiar verb form יָפְיָפִיתָ (yafyafita) is probably the result of dittography of yod-pe (יפ) and should be emended to יָפִיתָ (yafita). See GKC 152 §55.e.

[45:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “favor is poured out on your lips.” “Lips” probably stands by metonymy for the king’s speech. Some interpret the Hebrew term חֵן (khen) as referring here to “gracious (i.e., kind and polite) speech”, but the word probably refers more generally to “attractive” speech that is impressively articulated and fitting for the occasion. For other instances of the term being used of speech, see Prov 22:11 and Eccl 10:12.

[45:2]  ⁶ tn Or “this demonstrates.” The construction עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken, “therefore”) usually indicates what logically follows from a preceding statement. However, here it may infer the cause from the effect, indicating the underlying basis or reason for what precedes (see BDB 487 s.v. I כֵּן 3.f; C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 1:386).

[45:2]  ⁷ tn Or “blesses you forever.” Here “bless” means to “endue with the power and skill to rule effectively,” as the following verses indicate.

[1:18]  ⁸ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ⁹ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”