Psalms 131:2

131:2 Indeed ¹  I am composed and quiet, ² 

like a young child carried by its mother; ³ 

I am content like the young child I carry. ⁴ 

Psalms 13:6

13:6 I will sing praises ⁵  to the Lord

when he vindicates me. ⁶ 

Psalms 119:17

ג (Gimel)

119:17 Be kind to your servant!

Then I will live ⁷  and keep ⁸  your instructions. ⁹ 

Psalms 7:4

7:4 or have wronged my ally, ¹⁰ 

or helped his lawless enemy, ¹¹ 

Psalms 18:20

18:20 The Lord repaid ¹²  me for my godly deeds; ¹³ 

he rewarded ¹⁴  my blameless behavior. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 103:10

103:10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; ¹⁶ 

he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 116:7

116:7 Rest once more, my soul, ¹⁸ 

for the Lord has vindicated you. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 137:8

137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! ²⁰ 

How blessed will be the one who repays you

for what you dished out to us! ²¹ 

Psalms 142:7

142:7 Free me ²²  from prison,

that I may give thanks to your name.

Because of me the godly will assemble, ²³ 

for you will vindicate me. ²⁴ 

[131:2]  ¹ tn Or “but.”

[131:2]  ² tn Heb “I make level and make quiet my soul.”

[131:2]  ³ tn Heb “like a weaned [one] upon his mother.”

[131:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “like the weaned [one] upon me, my soul.”

[13:6]  ⁵ tn The verb form is cohortative, indicating the psalmist’s resolve (or vow) to praise the Lord when deliverance arrives.

[13:6]  ⁶ tn Or “for he will have vindicated me.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here. The idiom גָמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.

[119:17]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a cohortative indicating purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:17]  ¹⁰ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the imperative that begins the verse.

[119:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as several ancient versions read the plural here.

[7:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “if I have repaid the one at peace with me evil.” The form שׁוֹלְמִי (sholÿmi, “the one at peace with me”) probably refers to a close friend or ally, i.e., one with whom the psalmist has made a formal agreement. See BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלוֹם 4.a.

[7:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “or rescued my enemy in vain.” The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive (the verb form is pseudo-cohortative; see IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3) carries on the hypothetical nuance of the perfect in the preceding line. Some regard the statement as a parenthetical assertion that the psalmist is kind to his enemies. Others define חָלַץ (khalats) as “despoil” (cf. NASB, NRSV “plundered”; NIV “robbed”), an otherwise unattested nuance for this verb. Still others emend the verb to לָחַץ (lakhats, “oppress”). Most construe the adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “emptily, vainly”) with “my enemy,” i.e., the one who is my enemy in vain.” The present translation (1) assumes an emendation of צוֹרְרִי (tsorÿriy, “my enemy”) to צוֹרְרוֹ (tsorÿro, “his [i.e., the psalmist’s ally’s] enemy”) following J. Tigay, “Psalm 7:5 and Ancient Near Eastern Treaties,” JBL 89 (1970): 178-86, (2) understands the final mem (ם) on רֵיקָם as enclitic, and (3) takes רִיק (riq) as an adjective modifying “his enemy.” (For other examples of a suffixed noun followed by an attributive adjective without the article, see Pss 18:17 (“my strong enemy”), 99:3 (“your great and awesome name”) and 143:10 (“your good spirit”). The adjective רִיק occurs with the sense “lawless” in Judg 9:4; 11:3; 2 Chr 13:7. In this case the psalmist affirms that he has not wronged his ally, nor has he given aid to his ally’s enemies. Ancient Near Eastern treaties typically included such clauses, with one or both parties agreeing not to lend aid to the treaty partner’s enemies.

[18:20]  ¹⁷ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.

[18:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-24 make clear, the psalmist refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. In these verses the psalmist explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.

[18:20]  ¹⁹ tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 24) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.

[18:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” “Hands” suggest activity and behavior.

[103:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”

[103:10]  ²² tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”

[116:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “return, my soul, to your place of rest.”

[116:7]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense (cf. Ps 13:5).

[137:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.

[137:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”

[142:7]  ³³ tn Heb “bring out my life.”

[142:7]  ³⁴ tn Or “gather around.”

[142:7]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.