Psalms 15:4

15:4 He despises a reprobate, ¹ 

but honors the Lord’s loyal followers. ² 

He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise. ³ 

Psalms 22:6

22:6 But I ⁴  am a worm, ⁵  not a man; ⁶ 

people insult me and despise me. ⁷ 

Psalms 51:17

51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit ⁸  –

O God, a humble and repentant heart ⁹  you will not reject. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 69:33

69:33 For the Lord listens to the needy;

he does not despise his captive people. ¹¹ 

Psalms 102:17

102:17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, ¹² 

and does not reject ¹³  their request. ¹⁴ 

[15:4]  ¹ tn Heb “despised in his eyes [is] a rejected [one].” The Hebrew term נִמְאָס (nim’as, “rejected [one]”) apparently refers here to one who has been rejected by God because of his godless behavior. It stands in contrast to “those who fear God” in the following line.

[15:4]  ² tn Heb “those who fear the Lord.” The one who fears the Lord respects his sovereignty and obeys his commandments. See Ps 128:1; Prov 14:2.

[15:4]  ³ tn Heb “he takes an oath to do harm and does not change.” The phrase “to do harm” cannot mean “do harm to others,” for the preceding verse clearly characterizes this individual as one who does not harm others. In this context the phrase must refer to an oath to which a self-imprecation is attached. The godly individual takes his commitments to others so seriously he is willing to “swear to his own hurt.” For an example of such an oath, see Ruth 1:16-17.

[22:6]  ⁴ tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.

[22:6]  ⁵ tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).

[22:6]  ⁶ tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.

[22:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”

[51:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “a broken spirit.”

[51:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”

[51:17]  ⁹ tn Or “despise.”

[69:33]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his prisoners he does not despise.”

[102:17]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (’arar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).

[102:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “despise.”

[102:17]  ¹⁵ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16-17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.