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

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 

Psalms 76:11

76:11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them!

Let all those who surround him ⁷  bring tribute to the awesome one!

Psalms 111:10

111:10 To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; ⁸ 

all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight. ⁹ 

He will receive praise forever. ¹⁰ 

[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.

[76:11]  ⁷ tn The phrase “all those who surround him” may refer to the surrounding nations (v. 12 may favor this), but in Ps 89:7 the phrase refers to God’s heavenly assembly.

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

[111:10]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “his praise stands forever.”