Psalms 102:18-20

102:18 The account of his intervention ¹  will be recorded for future generations;

people yet to be born will praise the Lord.

102:19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above; ² 

from heaven the Lord will look toward earth, ³ 

102:20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,

and to set free those condemned to die, ⁴ 

[102:18]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16-17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[102:19]  ² tn Heb “from the height of his sanctuary.”

[102:19]  ³ 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.

[102:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.