Psalms 14:5

14:5 They are absolutely terrified, ¹ 

for God defends the godly. ² 

Psalms 87:6

87:6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations, ³ 

“This one was born there.” ⁴  (Selah)

Psalms 104:17

104:17 where the birds make nests,

near the evergreens in which the herons live. ⁵ 

Psalms 104:26

104:26 The ships travel there,

and over here swims the whale ⁶  you made to play in it.

Psalms 122:5

122:5 Indeed, ⁷  the leaders sit ⁸  there on thrones and make legal decisions,

on the thrones of the house of David. ⁹ 

Psalms 132:17

132:17 There I will make David strong; ¹⁰ 

I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. ¹¹ 

Psalms 139:8

139:8 If I were to ascend ¹²  to heaven, you would be there.

If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. ¹³ 

[14:5]  ¹ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror.

[14:5]  ² tn Heb “for God is with a godly generation.” The Hebrew noun דּוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the general class of people who are characterized by godliness. See BDB 190 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[87:6]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord records in the writing of the nations.”

[87:6]  ⁴ tn As noted in v. 4, the translation assumes a contrast between “there” (the various foreign lands) and “in her” (Zion). In contrast to foreigners, the citizens of Zion have special status because of their birthplace (v. 5). In this case vv. 4 and 6 form a structural frame around v. 5.

[104:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “[the] heron [in the] evergreens [is] its home.”

[104:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.

[122:5]  ⁹ tn Or “for.”

[122:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “sat.”

[122:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Indeed, there they sit [on] thrones for judgment, [on] thrones [belonging] to the house of David.”

[132:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “there I will cause a horn to sprout for David.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Pss 18:2; 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that used its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36.

[132:17]  ¹² tn Heb “I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.” Here the “lamp” is a metaphor for the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kgs 11:36).

[139:8]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew verb סָלַק (salaq, “to ascend”) occurs only here in the OT, but the word is well-attested in Aramaic literature from different time periods and displays a wide semantic range (see DNWSI 2:788-90).

[139:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “look, you.”