Psalms 16:7

16:7 I will praise ¹  the Lord who ²  guides ³  me;

yes, during the night I reflect and learn. ⁴ 

Psalms 16:9

16:9 So my heart rejoices

and I am happy; ⁵ 

My life is safe. ⁶ 

Psalms 18:48

18:48 He delivers me ⁷  from my enemies;

you snatch me away ⁸  from those who attack me; ⁹ 

you rescue me from violent men.

Psalms 58:2

58:2 No! ¹⁰  You plan how to do what is unjust; ¹¹ 

you deal out violence in the earth. ¹² 

Psalms 65:13

65:13 The meadows are clothed with sheep,

and the valleys are covered with grain.

They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.

Psalms 74:16

74:16 You established the cycle of day and night; ¹³ 

you put the moon ¹⁴  and sun in place. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 77:16-17

77:16 The waters ¹⁶  saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and trembled. ¹⁷ 

Yes, the depths of the sea ¹⁸  shook with fear. ¹⁹ 

77:17 The clouds poured down rain; ²⁰ 

the skies thundered. ²¹ 

Yes, your arrows ²²  flashed about.

Psalms 89:5

89:5 O Lord, the heavens ²³  praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ²⁴ 

Psalms 89:11

89:11 The heavens belong to you, as does the earth.

You made the world and all it contains. ²⁵ 

Psalms 96:10

96:10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

The world is established, it cannot be moved.

He judges the nations fairly.”

Psalms 108:1

Psalm 108 ²⁶ 

A song, a psalm of David.

108:1 I am determined, ²⁷  O God!

I will sing and praise you with my whole heart. ²⁸ 

Psalms 135:17

135:17 and ears, but cannot hear.

Indeed, they cannot breathe. ²⁹ 

[16:7]  ¹ tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”

[16:7]  ² tn Or “because.”

[16:7]  ³ tn Or “counsels, advises.”

[16:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct [or “correct”] me.” The “kidneys” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s moral character (see Ps 26:2). In the quiet darkness the Lord speaks to his inner being, as it were, and enables him to grow in moral understanding.

[16:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “my glory is happy.” Some view the Hebrew term כְּבוֹדִי (kÿvodiy, “my glory”) as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 30:12; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”

[16:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “yes, my flesh dwells securely.” The psalmist’s “flesh” stands by metonymy for his body and, by extension, his physical life.

[18:48]  ⁹ tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”

[18:48]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lifts me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רום probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt, elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given the psalmist victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[18:48]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”

[58:2]  ¹³ tn The particle אַף (’af, “no”) is used here as a strong adversative emphasizing the following statement, which contrasts reality with the rulers’ claim alluded to in the rhetorical questions (see Ps 44:9).

[58:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the heart unjust deeds you do.” The phrase “in the heart” (i.e., “mind”) seems to refer to their plans and motives. The Hebrew noun עַוְלָה (’avlah, “injustice”) is collocated with פָּעַל (pa’al, “do”) here and in Job 36:23 and Ps 119:3. Some emend the plural form עוֹלֹת (’olot, “unjust deeds”; see Ps 64:6) to the singular עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”; see Job 34:32), taking the final tav (ת) as dittographic (note that the following verbal form begins with tav). Some then understand עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”) as a genitive modifying “heart” and translate, “with a heart of injustice you act.”

[58:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the earth the violence of your hands you weigh out.” The imagery is from the economic realm. The addressees measure out violence, rather than justice, and distribute it like a commodity. This may be ironic, since justice was sometimes viewed as a measuring scale (see Job 31:6).

[74:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “To you [is] day, also to you [is] night.”

[74:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[the] light.” Following the reference to “day and night” and in combination with “sun,” it is likely that the Hebrew term מָאוֹר (ma’or, “light”) refers here to the moon.

[74:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “you established [the] light and [the] sun.”

[77:16]  ²¹ tn The waters of the Red Sea are here personified; they are portrayed as seeing God and fearing him.

[77:16]  ²² tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.

[77:16]  ²³ tn The words “of the sea” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[77:16]  ²⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.

[77:17]  ²⁵ tn Heb “water.”

[77:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “a sound the clouds gave.”

[77:17]  ²⁷ tn The lightning accompanying the storm is portrayed as the Lord’s “arrows” (see v. 18).

[89:5]  ²⁹ tn As the following context makes clear, the personified “heavens” here stand by metonymy for the angelic beings that surround God’s heavenly throne.

[89:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in the assembly of the holy ones.” The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3), but here it refers to God’s heavenly assembly and the angels that surround his throne (see vv. 6-7).

[89:11]  ³³ tn Heb “the world and its fullness, you established them.”

[108:1]  ³⁷ sn Psalm 108. With some minor variations, this psalm is a composite of Ps 57:7-11 (see vv. 1-5) and Ps 60:5-12 (see vv. 6-13).

[108:1]  ³⁸ tn Or perhaps “confident”; Heb “my heart is steadfast.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and/or emotions.

[108:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “also my glory,” but this makes little sense in the context. Some view the term כָּבוֹד (“glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvodiy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 30:12; 57:9; as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 3:93. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”

[135:17]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “indeed, there is not breath in their mouth.” For the collocation אַף אֵין (’af ’en, “indeed, there is not”) see Isa 41:26. Another option is to take אַף as “nose” (see Ps 115:6), in which case one might translate, “a nose, [but] they have no breath in their mouths.”