Psalms 1:5

1:5 For this reason ¹  the wicked cannot withstand ²  judgment, ³ 

nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly. ⁴ 

Psalms 5:12

5:12 Certainly ⁵  you reward ⁶  the godly, ⁷  Lord.

Like a shield you protect ⁸  them ⁹  in your good favor. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 31:18

31:18 May lying lips be silenced –

lips ¹¹  that speak defiantly against the innocent ¹² 

with arrogance and contempt!

Psalms 37:25

37:25 I was once young, now I am old.

I have never seen a godly man abandoned,

or his children ¹³  forced to search for food. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 55:22

55:22 Throw your burden ¹⁵  upon the Lord,

and he will sustain you. ¹⁶ 

He will never allow the godly to be upended. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 58:10-11

58:10 The godly ¹⁸  will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

58:11 Then ¹⁹  observers ²⁰  will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ²¹ 

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ²²  in the earth!”

Psalms 64:10

64:10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord

and take shelter in him.

All the morally upright ²³  will boast. ²⁴ 

Psalms 118:15

118:15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly. ²⁵ 

The Lord’s right hand conquers, ²⁶ 

Psalms 140:13

140:13 Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name;

the morally upright will live in your presence.

Psalms 146:8

146:8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.

The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. ²⁷ 

The Lord loves the godly.

[1:5]  ¹ tn Or “Therefore.”

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “arise in,” but the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “stand”; “endure,” as in 1 Sam 13:14 and Job 8:15. The negated Hebrew imperfect verbal form is here taken as indicating incapability or lack of potential, though one could understand the verb form as indicating what is typical (“do not withstand”) or what will happen (“will not withstand”).

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “the judgment.” The article indicates a judgment that is definite in the mind of the speaker. In the immediate context this probably does not refer to the “final judgment” described in later biblical revelation, but to a temporal/historical judgment which the author anticipates. Periodically during the OT period, God would come in judgment, removing the wicked from the scene, while preserving a godly remnant (see Gen 6-9; Ps 37; Hab 3).

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and sinners in the assembly (or “circle”) of [the] godly.” The negative particle and verb from the preceding line are assumed by ellipsis here (“will not arise/stand”).

[5:12]  ⁵ tn Or “For.”

[5:12]  ⁶ tn Or “bless.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line highlight how God characteristically rewards and protects the godly.

[5:12]  ⁷ tn Or “innocent.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense.

[5:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “surround.” In 1 Sam 23:26 the verb describes how Saul and his men hemmed David in as they chased him.

[5:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “him.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense and is thus translated “them.”

[5:12]  ¹⁰ tn Or “with favor” (cf. NRSV). There is no preposition before the noun in the Hebrew text, nor is there a pronoun attached. “Favor” here stands by metonymy for God’s defensive actions on behalf of the one whom he finds acceptable.

[31:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “the [ones which].”

[31:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “godly.”

[37:25]  ¹³ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[37:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “or his offspring searching for food.” The expression “search for food” also appears in Lam 1:11, where Jerusalem’s refugees are forced to search for food and to trade their valuable possessions for something to eat.

[55:22]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.

[55:22]  ¹⁸ tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.

[55:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”

[58:10]  ²¹ tn The singular is representative here, as is the singular from “wicked” in the next line.

[58:11]  ²⁵ tn Following the imperfects of v. 10, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates a result or consequence of what precedes.

[58:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.

[58:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”

[58:11]  ²⁸ tn The plural participle is unusual here if the preceding אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a plural of majesty, referring to the one true God. Occasionally the plural of majesty does take a plural attributive (see GKC 428-29 §132.h). It is possible that the final mem (ם) on the participle is enclitic, and that it was later misunderstood as a plural ending. Another option is to translate, “Yes indeed, there are gods who judge in the earth.” In this case, the statement reflects the polytheistic mindset of pagan observers who, despite their theological ignorance, nevertheless recognize divine retribution when they see it.

[64:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “upright in heart.”

[64:10]  ³⁰ tn That is, about the Lord’s accomplishments on their behalf.

[118:15]  ³³ tn Heb “the sound of a ringing shout and deliverance [is] in the tents of the godly.”

[118:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “does valiantly.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 108:13).

[146:8]  ³⁷ tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).