Psalms 17:1

Psalm 17 ¹ 

A prayer of David.

17:1 Lord, consider my just cause! ² 

Pay attention to my cry for help!

Listen to the prayer

I sincerely offer! ³ 

Psalms 37:14

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ⁴  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ⁵ 

Psalms 45:4

45:4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious! ⁶ 

Ride forth for the sake of what is right, ⁷ 

on behalf of justice! ⁸ 

Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts! ⁹ 

Psalms 68:35

68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! ¹⁰ 

It is the God of Israel ¹¹  who gives the people power and strength.

God deserves praise! ¹² 

Psalms 106:38

106:38 They shed innocent blood –

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.

The land was polluted by bloodshed. ¹³ 

Psalms 140:5

140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;

evil men ¹⁴  spread a net by the path;

they set traps for me. (Selah)

[17:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 17. The psalmist asks God to intervene on his behalf because his life is threatened by dangerous enemies. He appeals to divine justice, for he is certain of his own innocence. Because he is innocent, he expects to encounter God and receive an assuring word.

[17:1]  ² tn Heb “hear, Lord, what is just.”

[17:1]  ³ tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”

[37:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[45:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and your majesty, be successful.” The syntax is awkward. The phrase “and your majesty” at the beginning of the verse may be accidentally repeated (dittography); it appears at the end of v. 3.

[45:4]  ⁸ tn Or “for the sake of truth.”

[45:4]  ⁹ tc The precise meaning of the MT is uncertain. The form עַנְוָה (’anvah) occurs only here. One could emend the text to עֲנָוָה וְצֶדֶק (’anavah vÿtsedeq, “[for the sake of truth], humility, and justice”). In this case “humility” would perhaps allude to the king’s responsibility to “serve” his people by promoting justice (cf. NIV “in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness”). The present translation assumes an emendation to יַעַן (ya’an, “because; on account of”) which would form a suitable parallel to עַל־דְּבַר (’al-dÿvar, “because; for the sake of”) in the preceding line.

[45:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and your right hand will teach you mighty acts”; or “and may your right hand teach you mighty acts.” After the imperatives in the first half of the verse, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive likely indicates purpose (“so that your right hand might teach you mighty acts”) or result (see the present translation). The “right hand” here symbolizes the king’s military strength. His right hand will “teach” him mighty acts by performing them and thereby causing him to experience their magnificence.

[68:35]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).

[68:35]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”

[68:35]  ¹² tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”

[106:38]  ¹³ sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.

[140:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).