Psalms 1:3

1:3 He is like ¹  a tree planted by flowing streams; ² 

it ³  yields ⁴  its fruit at the proper time, ⁵ 

and its leaves never fall off. ⁶ 

He succeeds in everything he attempts. ⁷ 

Psalms 8:1

Psalm 8 ⁸ 

For the music director, according to the gittith style; ⁹  a psalm of David.

8:1 O Lord, our Lord, ¹⁰ 

how magnificent ¹¹  is your reputation ¹²  throughout the earth!

You reveal your majesty in the heavens above! ¹³ 

Psalms 10:14

10:14 You have taken notice, ¹⁴ 

for ¹⁵  you always see ¹⁶  one who inflicts pain and suffering. ¹⁷ 

The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you; ¹⁸ 

you deliver ¹⁹  the fatherless. ²⁰ 

Psalms 14:7

14:7 I wish the deliverance ²¹  of Israel would come from Zion!

When the Lord restores the well-being of his people, ²² 

may Jacob rejoice, ²³ 

may Israel be happy! ²⁴ 

Psalms 15:5

15:5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money. ²⁵ 

He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent. ²⁶ 

The one who lives like this ²⁷  will never be upended.

Psalms 39:5

39:5 Look, you make my days short-lived, ²⁸ 

and my life span is nothing from your perspective. ²⁹ 

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. ³⁰ 

Psalms 53:6

53:6 I wish the deliverance ³¹  of Israel would come from Zion!

When God restores the well-being of his people, ³² 

may Jacob rejoice, ³³ 

may Israel be happy! ³⁴ 

Psalms 68:35

68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! ³⁵ 

It is the God of Israel ³⁶  who gives the people power and strength.

God deserves praise! ³⁷ 

Psalms 78:20

78:20 Yes, ³⁸  he struck a rock and water flowed out,

streams gushed forth.

But can he also give us food?

Will he provide meat for his people?”

Psalms 84:11

84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. ³⁹ 

The Lord bestows favor ⁴⁰  and honor;

he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. ⁴¹ 

Psalms 115:1

Psalm 115 ⁴² 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ⁴³ 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ⁴⁴ 

Psalms 127:2

127:2 It is vain for you to rise early, come home late,

and work so hard for your food. ⁴⁵ 

Yes, ⁴⁶  he can provide for those whom he loves even when they sleep. ⁴⁷ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same characteristic force as the imperfect in the preceding verse. According to the psalmist, the one who studies and obeys God’s commands typically prospers.

[1:3]  ² tn Heb “channels of water.”

[1:3]  ³ tn Heb “which.”

[1:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the typical nature of the actions/states they describe.

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “in its season.”

[1:3]  ⁶ tn Or “fade”; “wither.”

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and all which he does prospers”; or “and all which he does he causes to prosper.” (The simile of the tree does not extend to this line.) It is not certain if the Hiphil verbal form (יַצְלִיחַ, yatsliakh) is intransitive-exhibitive (“prospers”) or causative (“causes to prosper”) here. If the verb is intransitive, then כֹּל (kol, “all, everything”) is the subject. If the verb is causative, then the godly individual or the Lord himself is the subject and כֹּל is the object. The wording is reminiscent of Josh 1:8, where the Lord tells Joshua: “This law scroll must not leave your lips! You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper (literally, “cause your way to prosper”) and be successful.”

[8:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.

[8:1]  ⁹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.

[8:1]  ¹⁰ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

[8:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”

[8:1]  ¹² tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[8:1]  ¹³ tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tÿnah; an imperative?) is corrupt. The form should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natatah) or imperfect (תִתֵן, titen) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.

[10:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you see.” One could translate the perfect as generalizing, “you do take notice.”

[10:14]  ¹⁶ tn If the preceding perfect is taken as generalizing, then one might understand כִּי (ki) as asseverative: “indeed, certainly.”

[10:14]  ¹⁷ tn Here the imperfect emphasizes God’s typical behavior.

[10:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “destruction and suffering,” which here refers metonymically to the wicked, who dish out pain and suffering to their victims.

[10:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to give into your hand, upon you, he abandons, [the] unfortunate [one].” The syntax is awkward and the meaning unclear. It is uncertain who or what is being given into God’s hand. Elsewhere the idiom “give into the hand” means to deliver into one’s possession. If “to give” goes with what precedes (as the accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests), then this may refer to the wicked man being delivered over to God for judgment. The present translation assumes that “to give” goes with what follows (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). The verb יַעֲזֹב (ya’azov) here has the nuance “entrust” (see Gen 39:6; Job 39:11); the direct object (“[his] cause”) is implied.

[10:14]  ²⁰ tn Or “help.”

[10:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “[for] one who is fatherless, you are a deliverer.” The noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9).

[14:7]  ²² sn The deliverance of Israel. This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

[14:7]  ²³ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).

[14:7]  ²⁴ tn The verb form is jussive.

[14:7]  ²⁵ tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.

[15:5]  ²⁹ sn He does not charge interest. Such an individual is truly generous, and not simply concerned with making a profit.

[15:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a bribe against the innocent he does not take.” For other texts condemning the practice of a judge or witness taking a bribe, see Exod 23:8; Deut 16:19; 27:25; 1 Sam 8:3; Ezek 22:12; Prov 17:23.

[15:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “does these things.”

[39:5]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Look, handbreadths you make my days.” The “handbreadth” (equivalent to the width of four fingers) was one of the smallest measures used by ancient Israelites. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 309.

[39:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”

[39:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “surely, all vapor [is] all mankind, standing firm.” Another option is to translate, “Surely, all mankind, though seemingly secure, is nothing but a vapor.”

[53:6]  ⁴³ tn This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

[53:6]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).

[53:6]  ⁴⁵ tn The verb form is jussive.

[53:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.

[68:35]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).

[68:35]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”

[68:35]  ⁵² tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”

[78:20]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “look.”

[84:11]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “grace.”

[84:11]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”

[115:1]  ⁷¹ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ⁷² tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ⁷³ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.

[127:2]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “[it is] vain for you, you who are early to rise, who delay sitting, who eat the food of hard work.” The three substantival participles are parallel and stand in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the preposition. See לָכֶם (lakhem, “for you”).

[127:2]  ⁷⁹ tn Here the Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4; Ps 63:2).

[127:2]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “he gives to his beloved, sleep.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew term שֵׁנָא (shena’, “sleep,” an alternate form of שֵׁנָה, shenah) is an adverbial accusative. The point seems to be this: Hard work by itself is not what counts, but one’s relationship to God, for God is able to bless an individual even while he sleeps. (There may even be a subtle allusion to the miracle of conception following sexual intercourse; see the reference to the gift of sons in the following verse.) The statement is not advocating laziness, but utilizing hyperbole to give perspective and to remind the addressees that God must be one’s first priority. Another option is to take “sleep” as the direct object: “yes, he gives sleep to his beloved” (cf. NIV, NRSV). In this case the point is this: Hard work by itself is futile, for only God is able to bless one with sleep, which metonymically refers to having one’s needs met. He blesses on the basis of one’s relationship to him, not on the basis of physical energy expended.