Psalms 16:5

16:5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity; ¹ 

you make my future secure. ² 

Psalms 50:18

50:18 When you see a thief, you join him; ³ 

you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. ⁴ 

Psalms 73:26

73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, ⁵ 

but God always ⁶  protects my heart and gives me stability. ⁷ 

[16:5]  ¹ tn Heb “O Lord, the portion of my possession and my cup”; or “the Lord [is] the portion of my possession and my cup.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel, and to a cup of wine, which may symbolize a reward (in Ps 11:6 it symbolizes the judgment one deserves) or divine blessing (see Ps 23:5). The metaphor highlights the fact that God is the psalmist’s source of security and prosperity.

[16:5]  ² tc Heb “you take hold of my lot.” The form תּוֹמִיךְ (tomikh) should be emended to a participle, תוֹמֵךְ (tomekh). The psalmist pictures the Lord as casting his lot (a method used to allot landed property) for him, thus assuring that he will receive a fertile piece of land (see v. 6). As in the previous line, land represents security and economic stability, thus “you make my future secure.”

[50:18]  ³ tn Heb “you run with him.”

[50:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”

[73:26]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).

[73:26]  ⁶ tn Or “forever.”

[73:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to a rocky summit where one could go for protection and to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.