Psalms 103:9

103:9 He does not always accuse,

and does not stay angry. ¹ 

Psalms 49:9

49:9 so that he might continue to live ²  forever

and not experience death. ³ 

Psalms 77:8

77:8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?

Has his promise ⁴  failed forever?

Psalms 9:6

9:6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins; ⁵ 

you destroyed their cities; ⁶ 

all memory of the enemies has perished. ⁷ 

Psalms 9:18

9:18 for the needy are not permanently ignored, ⁸ 

the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed. ⁹ 

Psalms 10:11

10:11 He says to himself, ¹⁰ 

“God overlooks it;

he does not pay attention;

he never notices.” ¹¹ 

Psalms 44:23

44:23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?

Wake up! ¹²  Do not reject us forever!

Psalms 52:5

52:5 Yet ¹³  God will make you a permanent heap of ruins. ¹⁴ 

He will scoop you up ¹⁵  and remove you from your home; ¹⁶ 

he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)

Psalms 74:1

Psalm 74 ¹⁷ 

A well-written song ¹⁸  by Asaph.

74:1 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us? ¹⁹ 

Why does your anger burn ²⁰  against the sheep of your pasture?

Psalms 74:10

74:10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?

Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

Psalms 74:19

74:19 Do not hand the life of your dove ²¹  over to a wild animal!

Do not continue to disregard ²²  the lives of your oppressed people!

Psalms 79:5

79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? ²³ 

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ²⁴  burn like fire?

Psalms 89:46

89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever? ²⁵ 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

Psalms 68:16

68:16 Why do you look with envy, ²⁶  O mountains ²⁷  with many peaks,

at the mountain where God has decided to live? ²⁸ 

Indeed ²⁹  the Lord will live there ³⁰  permanently!

[103:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb נָטַר (natar) is usually taken to mean “to keep; to guard,” with “anger” being understood by ellipsis. The idiom “to guard anger” is then understood to mean “to remain angry” (see Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2). However, it is possible that this is a homonymic root meaning “to be angry” (see HALOT 695 s.v. נטר).

[49:9]  ² tn The jussive verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive is taken as indicating purpose/result in relation to the statement made in v. 8. (On this use of the jussive after an imperfect, see GKC 322 §109.f.) In this case v. 8 is understood as a parenthetical comment.

[49:9]  ³ tn Heb “see the Pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[77:8]  ³ tn Heb “word,” which may refer here to God’s word of promise (note the reference to “loyal love” in the preceding line).

[9:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “the enemy – they have come to an end [in] ruins permanently.” The singular form אוֹיֵב (’oyev, “enemy”) is collective. It is placed at the beginning of the verse to heighten the contrast with יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) in v. 7.

[9:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “you uprooted cities.”

[9:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “it has perished, their remembrance, they.” The independent pronoun at the end of the line is in apposition to the preceding pronominal suffix and lends emphasis (see IBHS 299 §16.3.4). The referent of the masculine pronoun is the nations/enemies (cf. v. 5), not the cities (the Hebrew noun עָרִים [’arim, “cities”] is grammatically feminine). This has been specified in the present translation for clarity; many modern translations retain the pronoun “them,” resulting in ambiguity (cf. NRSV “their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished”).

[9:18]  ⁵ tn Or “forgotten.”

[9:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “the hope of the afflicted does [not] perish forever.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The imperfect verbal forms express what typically happens.

[10:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “he says in his heart.” See v. 6.

[10:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “God forgets, he hides his face, he never sees.”

[44:23]  ⁷ sn Wake up! See Ps 35:23.

[52:5]  ⁸ tn The adverb גַּם (gam, “also; even”) is translated here in an adversative sense (“yet”). It highlights the contrastive correspondence between the evildoer’s behavior and God’s response.

[52:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “will tear you down forever.”

[52:5]  ¹⁰ tn This rare verb (חָתָה, khatah) occurs only here and in Prov 6:27; 25:22; Isa 30:14.

[52:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from [your] tent.”

[74:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 74. The psalmist, who has just experienced the devastation of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., asks God to consider Israel’s sufferings and intervene on behalf of his people. He describes the ruined temple, recalls God’s mighty deeds in the past, begs for mercy, and calls for judgment upon God’s enemies.

[74:1]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[74:1]  ¹¹ sn The psalmist does not really believe God has permanently rejected his people or he would not pray as he does in this psalm. But this initial question reflects his emotional response to what he sees and is overstated for the sake of emphasis. The severity of divine judgment gives the appearance that God has permanently abandoned his people.

[74:1]  ¹² tn Heb “smoke.” The picture is that of a fire that continues to smolder.

[74:19]  ¹⁰ sn Your dove. The psalmist compares weak and vulnerable Israel to a helpless dove.

[74:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do not forget forever.”

[79:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ¹² tn Or “jealous anger.”

[89:46]  ¹² tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”

[68:16]  ¹³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb רָצַד (ratsad), translated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow 1492 s.v. רְצַד).

[68:16]  ¹⁴ tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a singular with enclitic mem (ם; later misinterpreted as a plural ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.

[68:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.

[68:16]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew particle אַף (’af) has an emphasizing function here.

[68:16]  ¹⁷ tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clarification.