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 40:3-4

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ⁴ 

praising our God. ⁵ 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ⁶ 

40:4 How blessed ⁷  is the one ⁸  who trusts in the Lord ⁹ 

and does not seek help from ¹⁰  the proud or from liars! ¹¹ 

Psalms 55:19

55:19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,

will hear and humiliate them. ¹²  (Selah)

They refuse to change,

and do not fear God. ¹³ 

Psalms 111:10

111:10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; ¹⁴ 

all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight. ¹⁵ 

He will receive praise forever. ¹⁶ 

[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.

[40:3]  ⁴ sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

[40:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

[40:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

[40:4]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[40:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “man.” See the note on the word “one” in Ps 1:1.

[40:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “who has made the Lord his [object of] trust.”

[40:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and does not turn toward.”

[40:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “those falling away toward a lie.”

[55:19]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “God will hear and answer them, even [the] one who sits [from] ancient times.” The prefixed verbal from with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the anticipatory force of the preceding imperfect. The verb appears to be a Qal form from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). If this reading is retained, the point would be that God “answered” them in judgment. The translation assumes an emendation to the Piel וַיְעַנֵּם (vay’annem; see 2 Kgs 17:20) and understands the root as עָנָה (’anah, “to afflict”; see also 1 Kgs 8:35).

[55:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[the ones] for whom there are no changes, and they do not fear God.”

[111:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “the beginning of wisdom [is] the fear of the Lord.”

[111:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “good sense [is] to all who do them.” The third masculine plural pronominal suffix must refer back to the “precepts” mentioned in v. 7. In the translation the referent has been specified for clarity. The phrase שֵׂכֶל טוֹב (shekhel tov) also occurs in Prov 3:4; 13:15 and 2 Chr 30:22.

[111:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his praise stands forever.”