Psalms 119:57

ח (Khet)

119:57 The Lord is my source of security. ¹ 

I have determined ²  to follow your instructions. ³ 

Psalms 16:5

16:5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity; ⁴ 

you make my future secure. ⁵ 

Psalms 50:18

50:18 When you see a thief, you join him; ⁶ 

you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. ⁷ 

Psalms 73:26

73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, ⁸ 

but God always ⁹  protects my heart and gives me stability. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 142:5

142:5 I cry out to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

my security ¹¹  in the land of the living.”

Psalms 17:14

17:14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers, ¹² 

from the murderers of this world! ¹³ 

They enjoy prosperity; ¹⁴ 

you overwhelm them with the riches they desire. ¹⁵ 

They have many children,

and leave their wealth to their offspring. ¹⁶ 

[119:57]  ¹ tn Heb “my portion [is] the Lord.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel (see Ps 16:5).

[119:57]  ² tn Heb “I said.”

[119:57]  ³ tn Heb “to keep your words” (see v. 9).

[16:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “O Lord, the portion of my possession and my cup”; or “the Lord [is] the portion of my possession and my cup.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel, and to a cup of wine, which may symbolize a reward (in Ps 11:6 it symbolizes the judgment one deserves) or divine blessing (see Ps 23:5). The metaphor highlights the fact that God is the psalmist’s source of security and prosperity.

[16:5]  ⁵ tc Heb “you take hold of my lot.” The form תּוֹמִיךְ (tomikh) should be emended to a participle, תוֹמֵךְ (tomekh). The psalmist pictures the Lord as casting his lot (a method used to allot landed property) for him, thus assuring that he will receive a fertile piece of land (see v. 6). As in the previous line, land represents security and economic stability, thus “you make my future secure.”

[50:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “you run with him.”

[50:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”

[73:26]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).

[73:26]  ¹¹ tn Or “forever.”

[73:26]  ¹² tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to a rocky summit where one could go for protection and to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.

[142:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.

[17:14]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “from men [by] your hand, Lord.” The translation assumes an emendation (both here and in the following line) of מִמְתִים (mimtim, “from men”) to מִמְמִתִים (mimmitim, “from those who kill”). For other uses of the plural form of the Hiphil participle of מוּת (mut, “die”), see 2 Kgs 17:26 (used with lions as subject), Job 33:22 (apparently referring to the agents of death), and Jer 26:15 (used of those seeking Jeremiah’s life).

[17:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from men, from [the] world.” On the emendation of “men” to “murderers,” see the preceding note on the word “murderers.”

[17:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “their portion, in life.”

[17:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and [with] your treasures you fill their belly.”

[17:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] sons and leave their abundance to their children.”