Psalms 12:1

Psalm 12 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the sheminith style; ²  a psalm of David.

12:1 Deliver, Lord!

For the godly ³  have disappeared; ⁴ 

people of integrity ⁵  have vanished. ⁶ 

Psalms 42:6

42:6 I am depressed, ⁷ 

so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, ⁸ 

from Hermon, ⁹  from Mount Mizar. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 74:2

74:2 Remember your people ¹¹  whom you acquired in ancient times,

whom you rescued ¹²  so they could be your very own nation, ¹³ 

as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!

Psalms 87:4

87:4 I mention Rahab ¹⁴  and Babylon to my followers. ¹⁵ 

Here are ¹⁶  Philistia and Tyre, ¹⁷  along with Ethiopia. ¹⁸ 

It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ¹⁹ 

Psalms 122:4

122:4 The tribes go up ²⁰  there, ²¹ 

the tribes of the Lord,

where it is required that Israel

give thanks to the name of the Lord. ²² 

[12:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 12. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene, for society is overrun by deceitful, arrogant oppressors and godly individuals are a dying breed. When the Lord announces his intention to defend the oppressed, the psalmist affirms his confidence in the divine promise.

[12:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.

[12:1]  ³ tn The singular form is collective or representative. Note the plural form “faithful [ones]” in the following line. A “godly [one]” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[12:1]  ⁴ tn Or “have come to an end.”

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”

[12:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”

[42:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.

[42:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.

[42:6]  ⁹ tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.

[42:6]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.

[74:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “your assembly,” which pictures God’s people as an assembled community.

[74:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “redeemed.” The verb “redeem” casts God in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).

[74:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the tribe of your inheritance” (see Jer 10:16; 51:19).

[87:4]  ¹⁹ sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

[87:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

[87:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “Look.”

[87:4]  ²² map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[87:4]  ²³ tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

[122:4]  ²⁵ tn Or “went up.”

[122:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”

[122:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”