Psalms 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ¹ 

they flatter and deceive. ² 

Psalms 21:6

21:6 For you grant him lasting blessings;

you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence. ³ 

Psalms 25:5

25:5 Guide me into your truth ⁴  and teach me.

For you are the God who delivers me;

on you I rely all day long.

Psalms 38:10

38:10 My heart beats quickly;

my strength leaves me;

I can hardly see. ⁵ 

Psalms 67:1

Psalm 67 ⁶ 

For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.

67:1 May God show us his favor ⁷  and bless us! ⁸ 

May he smile on us! ⁹  (Selah)

Psalms 74:9

74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; ¹⁰ 

there are no longer any prophets ¹¹ 

and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. ¹² 

Psalms 109:2

109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;

they lie to me. ¹³ 

Psalms 109:21

109:21 O sovereign Lord,

intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation! ¹⁴ 

Because your loyal love is good, deliver me!

Psalms 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ¹⁵ 

may the Lord remove them, ¹⁶  along with those who behave wickedly! ¹⁷ 

May Israel experience peace! ¹⁸ 

Psalms 143:2

143:2 Do not sit in judgment on ¹⁹  your servant,

for no one alive is innocent before you. ²⁰ 

[12:2]  ¹ tn Heb “falsehood they speak, a man with his neighbor.” The imperfect verb forms in v. 2 describe what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.

[12:2]  ² tn Heb “[with] a lip of smoothness, with a heart and a heart they speak.” Speaking a “smooth” word refers to deceptive flattery (cf. Ps 5:9; 55:21; Prov 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21; 26:28; 28:23; Isa 30:10). “Heart” here refers to their mind, from which their motives and intentions originate. The repetition of the noun indicates diversity (see GKC 396 §123.f, IBHS 116 §7.2.3c, and Deut 25:13, where the phrase “weight and a weight” refers to two different measuring weights). These people have two different types of “hearts.” Their flattering words seem to express kind motives and intentions, but this outward display does not really reflect their true motives. Their real “heart” is filled with evil thoughts and destructive intentions. The “heart” that is seemingly displayed through their words is far different from the real “heart” they keep disguised. (For the idea see Ps 28:3.) In 1 Chr 12:33 the phrase “without a heart and a heart” means “undivided loyalty.”

[21:6]  ³ tn Heb “you make him happy with joy with [i.e., “close by” or “in”] your face.” On the idiom “with your face” (i.e., “in your presence”) see Ps 16:11 and BDB 816 s.v. פָּנֻה II.2.a.

[25:5]  ⁵ sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will.

[38:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).

[67:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.

[67:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “have mercy on us.”

[67:1]  ¹¹ tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (ya’er) in the next line.

[67:1]  ¹² tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”

[74:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).

[74:9]  ¹² tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”

[74:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”

[109:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”

[109:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “but you, Lord, Master, do with me for the sake of your name.” Here “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[125:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

[125:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[125:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

[125:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).

[143:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”

[143:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”