Psalms 10:1

Psalm 10 ¹ 

10:1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?

Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble? ² 

Psalms 37:6

37:6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,

and publicly defend your just cause. ³ 

Psalms 56:8

56:8 You keep track of my misery. ⁴ 

Put my tears in your leather container! ⁵ 

Are they not recorded in your scroll? ⁶ 

Psalms 68:1

Psalm 68 ⁷ 

For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.

68:1 God springs into action! ⁸ 

His enemies scatter;

his adversaries ⁹  run from him. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 69:32

69:32 The oppressed look on – let them rejoice!

You who seek God, ¹¹  may you be encouraged! ¹² 

Psalms 74:4

74:4 Your enemies roar ¹³  in the middle of your sanctuary; ¹⁴ 

they set up their battle flags. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 77:19

77:19 You walked through the sea; ¹⁶ 

you passed through the surging waters, ¹⁷ 

but left no footprints. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 84:7

84:7 They are sustained as they travel along; ¹⁹ 

each one appears ²⁰  before God in Zion.

Psalms 102:19

102:19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above; ²¹ 

from heaven the Lord will look toward earth, ²² 

Psalms 119:75

119:75 I know, Lord, that your regulations ²³  are just.

You disciplined me because of your faithful devotion to me. ²⁴ 

Psalms 119:126

119:126 It is time for the Lord to act –

they break your law!

[10:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 10. Many Hebrew mss and the ancient Greek version (LXX) combine Psalms 9 and 10 into a single psalm. Taken in isolation, Psalm 10 is a petition for help in which the psalmist urges the Lord to deliver him from his dangerous enemies, whom he describes in vivid and terrifying detail. The psalmist concludes with confidence; he is certain that God’s justice will prevail.

[10:1]  ² tn Heb “you hide for times in trouble.” The interrogative “why” is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The Hiphil verbal form “hide” has no expressed object. Some supply “your eyes” by ellipsis (see BDB 761 s.v. I עָלַם Hiph and HALOT 835 s.v. I עלם hif) or emend the form to a Niphal (“you hide yourself,” see BHS, note c; cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[37:6]  ³ tn Heb “and he will bring out like light your vindication, and your just cause like noonday.”

[56:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “my wandering you count, you.” The Hebrew term נֹד (nod, “wandering,” derived from the verbal root נוֹד, nod, “to wander”; cf. NASB) here refers to the psalmist’s “changeable circumstances of life” and may be translated “misery.” The verb סָפַר (safar, “count”) probably carries the nuance “assess” here. Cf. NIV “my lament”; NRSV “my tossings.”

[56:8]  ⁶ tn Traditionally “your bottle.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word נֹאד (no’d, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20). If such a container is metaphorically in view here, then the psalmist seems to be asking God to store up his tears as a reminder of his suffering.

[56:8]  ⁷ tn The word “recorded” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The rhetorical question assumes a positive response (see the first line of the verse).

[68:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.

[68:1]  ⁸ tn Or “rises up.” The verb form is an imperfect, not a jussive. The psalmist is describing God’s appearance in battle in a dramatic fashion.

[68:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “those who hate him.”

[68:1]  ¹⁰ sn The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action, Lord! Then your enemies will be scattered and your adversaries will run from you.”

[69:32]  ⁹ sn You who seek God refers to those who seek to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him (see Ps 53:2).

[69:32]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “may your heart[s] live.” See Ps 22:26.

[74:4]  ¹¹ tn This verb is often used of a lion’s roar, so the psalmist may be comparing the enemy to a raging, devouring lion.

[74:4]  ¹² tn Heb “your meeting place.”

[74:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) here refers to the enemy army’s battle flags and banners (see Num 2:12).

[77:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the sea [was] your way.”

[77:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and your paths [were] in the mighty waters.”

[77:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and your footprints were not known.”

[84:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they go from strength to strength.” The phrase “from strength to strength” occurs only here in the OT. With a verb of motion, the expression “from [common noun] to [same common noun]” normally suggests movement from one point to another or through successive points (see Num 36:7; 1 Chr 16:20; 17:5; Ps 105:13; Jer 25:32). Ps 84:7 may be emphasizing that the pilgrims move successively from one “place of strength” to another as they travel toward Jerusalem. All along the way they find adequate provisions and renewed energy for the trip.

[84:7]  ¹⁶ tn The psalmist returns to the singular (see v. 5a), which he uses in either a representative or distributive (“each one” ) sense.

[102:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from the height of his sanctuary.”

[102:19]  ¹⁸ tn The perfect verbal forms in v. 19 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 18.

[119:75]  ¹⁹ tn In this context (note the second line) the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim), which so often refers to the regulations of God’s law elsewhere in this psalm, may refer instead to his decisions or disciplinary judgment.

[119:75]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and [in] faithfulness you afflicted me.”