Psalms 106:34

106:34 They did not destroy the nations, ¹ 

as the Lord had commanded them to do.

Psalms 33:9

33:9 For he spoke, and it ²  came into existence,

he issued the decree, ³  and it stood firm.

Psalms 78:23

78:23 He gave a command to the clouds above,

and opened the doors in the sky.

Psalms 119:4

119:4 You demand that your precepts

be carefully kept. ⁴ 

Psalms 105:8

105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,

the promise he made ⁵  to a thousand generations –

Psalms 148:5

148:5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for he gave the command and they came into existence.

Psalms 119:138

119:138 The rules you impose are just, ⁶ 

and absolutely reliable.

Psalms 78:5

78:5 He established a rule ⁷  in Jacob;

he set up a law in Israel.

He commanded our ancestors

to make his deeds known to their descendants, ⁸ 

Psalms 111:9

111:9 He delivered his people; ⁹ 

he ordained that his covenant be observed forever. ¹⁰ 

His name is holy and awesome.

Psalms 68:28

68:28 God has decreed that you will be powerful. ¹¹ 

O God, you who have acted on our behalf, demonstrate your power,

Psalms 133:3

133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, ¹² 

which flows down upon the hills of Zion. ¹³ 

Indeed ¹⁴  that is where the Lord has decreed

a blessing will be available – eternal life. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 107:25

107:25 He gave the order for a windstorm, ¹⁶ 

and it stirred up the waves of the sea. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 7:6

7:6 Stand up angrily, ¹⁸  Lord!

Rise up with raging fury against my enemies! ¹⁹ 

Wake up for my sake and execute the judgment you have decreed for them! ²⁰ 

Psalms 17:4

17:4 As for the actions of people ²¹  –

just as you have commanded,

I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men. ²² 

Psalms 106:9

106:9 He shouted at ²³  the Red Sea and it dried up;

he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.

[106:34]  ¹ tn That is, the nations of Canaan.

[33:9]  ² tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).

[33:9]  ³ tn Heb “he commanded.”

[119:4]  ³ tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”

[105:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.

[119:138]  ⁵ tn Heb “you commanded [in] justice your rules.”

[78:5]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to God’s command that the older generation teach their children about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history (see Exod 10:2; Deut 4:9; 6:20-25).

[78:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the Lord’s mighty deeds (see vv. 3-4).

[111:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “redemption he sent for his people.”

[111:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “he commanded forever his covenant.”

[68:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “God has commanded your strength.” The statement is apparently addressed to Israel (see v. 26).

[133:3]  ⁹ sn Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, located north of Israel.

[133:3]  ¹⁰ sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.

[133:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[133:3]  ¹² tn Heb “there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forever.”

[107:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he spoke and caused to stand a stormy wind.”

[107:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and it stirred up its [i.e., the sea’s, see v. 23] waves.”

[7:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in your anger.”

[7:6]  ¹² tn Heb “Lift yourself up in the angry outbursts of my enemies.” Many understand the preposition prefixed to עַבְרוֹת (’avrot, “angry outbursts”) as adversative, “against,” and the following genitive “enemies” as subjective. In this case one could translate, “rise up against my furious enemies” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The present translation, however, takes the preposition as indicating manner (cf. “in your anger” in the previous line) and understands the plural form of the noun as indicating an abstract quality (“fury”) or excessive degree (“raging fury”). Cf. Job 21:30.

[7:6]  ¹³ tc Heb “Wake up to me [with the] judgment [which] you have commanded.” The LXX understands אֵלִי (’eliy, “my God”) instead of אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”; the LXX reading is followed by NEB, NIV, NRSV.) If the reading of the MT is retained, the preposition probably has the sense of “on account of, for the sake of.” The noun מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “judgment”) is probably an adverbial accusative, modifying the initial imperative, “wake up.” In this case צִוִּיתָ (tsivvita, “[which] you have commanded”) is an asyndetic relative clause. Some take the perfect as precative. In this case one could translate the final line, “Wake up for my sake! Decree judgment!” (cf. NIV). However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[17:4]  ¹² tn Heb “with regard to the deeds of man[kind].”

[17:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “by the word of your lips, I, I have watched the paths of the violent” (i.e., “watched” in the sense of “watched for the purpose of avoiding”).

[106:9]  ¹³ tn Or “rebuked.”