Psalms 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ¹ 

they flatter and deceive. ² 

Psalms 38:11

38:11 Because of my condition, ³  even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance; ⁴ 

my neighbors stand far away. ⁵ 

Psalms 50:5

50:5 He says: ⁶ 

“Assemble my covenant people before me, ⁷ 

those who ratified a covenant with me by sacrifice!” ⁸ 

Psalms 50:22

50:22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God! ⁹ 

Otherwise I will rip you to shreds ¹⁰ 

and no one will be able to rescue you.

Psalms 60:5

60:5 Deliver by your power ¹¹  and answer me, ¹² 

so that the ones you love may be safe. ¹³ 

Psalms 80:17

80:17 May you give support to the one you have chosen, ¹⁴ 

to the one whom you raised up for yourself! ¹⁵ 

Psalms 94:9

94:9 Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?

Does the one who forms the human eye not see? ¹⁶ 

Psalms 103:20

103:20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,

you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees

and obey his orders! ¹⁷ 

Psalms 107:12

107:12 So he used suffering to humble them; ¹⁸ 

they stumbled and no one helped them up.

Psalms 118:26

118:26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord ¹⁹  be blessed!

We will pronounce blessings on you ²⁰  in the Lord’s temple. ²¹ 

Psalms 127:4

127:4 Sons born during one’s youth

are like arrows in a warrior’s hand. ²² 

Psalms 128:1

Psalm 128 ²³ 

A song of ascents. ²⁴ 

128:1 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers, ²⁵ 

each one who keeps his commands! ²⁶ 

Psalms 149:9

149:9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies ²⁷  have been sentenced. ²⁸ 

All his loyal followers will be vindicated. ²⁹ 

Praise the Lord!

[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.”

[38:11]  ³ tn Or “wound,” or “illness.”

[38:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “stand [aloof].”

[38:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.”

[50:5]  ⁵ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s summons to the defendant follows.

[50:5]  ⁶ tn Or “Gather to me my covenant people.” The Hebrew term חָסִיד (khasid, “covenant people”) elsewhere in the psalms is used in a positive sense of God’s loyal followers (see the note at Ps 4:3), but here, as the following line makes clear, the term has a neutral sense and simply refers to those who have outwardly sworn allegiance to God, not necessarily to those whose loyalty is genuine.

[50:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “the cutters of my covenant according to sacrifice.” A sacrifice accompanied the covenant-making ceremony and formally ratified the agreement (see Exod 24:3-8).

[50:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “[you who] forget God.” “Forgetting God” here means forgetting about his commandments and not respecting his moral authority.

[50:22]  ⁸ sn Elsewhere in the psalms this verb is used (within a metaphorical framework) of a lion tearing its prey (see Pss 7:2; 17:12; 22:13).

[60:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “right hand.”

[60:5]  ¹⁰ tn The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”

[60:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text, “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[80:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “may your hand be upon the man of your right hand.” The referent of the otherwise unattested phrase “man of your right hand,” is unclear. It may refer to the nation collectively as a man. (See the note on the word “yourself” in v. 17b.)

[80:17]  ¹² tn Heb “upon the son of man you strengthened for yourself.” In its only other use in the Book of Psalms, the phrase “son of man” refers to the human race in general (see Ps 8:4). Here the phrase may refer to the nation collectively as a man. Note the use of the statement “you strengthened for yourself” both here and in v. 15, where the “son” (i.e., the branch of the vine) refers to Israel.

[94:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “The one who plants an ear, does he not hear? The one who forms an eye, does he not see?”

[103:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[you] mighty ones of strength, doers of his word, by listening to the voice of his word.”

[107:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he subdued with suffering their heart.”

[118:26]  ¹⁹ sn The people refer here to the psalmist, who enters the Lord’s temple to thank him publicly (see vv. 19-21), as the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

[118:26]  ²⁰ tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural, but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note the mem [מ] at the beginning of the following form) or enclitic, in which case the suffix may be taken as second masculine singular, referring to the psalmist.

[118:26]  ²¹ tn Heb “from the house of the Lord.”

[127:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so [are] sons of youth.” Arrows are used in combat to defend oneself against enemies; sons are viewed here as providing social security and protection (see v. 5). The phrase “sons of youth” is elliptical, meaning “sons [born during the father’s] youth.” Such sons will have grown up to be mature adults and will have children of their own by the time the father reaches old age and becomes vulnerable to enemies. Contrast the phrase “son of old age” in Gen 37:3 (see also 44:20), which refers to Jacob’s age when Joseph was born.

[128:1]  ²³ sn Psalm 128. The psalmist observes that the godly individual has genuine happiness because the Lord rewards such a person with prosperity and numerous children.

[128:1]  ²⁴ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[128:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “every fearer of the Lord.”

[128:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”

[149:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[149:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”

[149:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “it is honor for all his godly ones.” The judgment of the oppressive kings will bring vindication and honor to God’s people (see vv. 4-5).