Psalms 18:19

18:19 He brought me out into a wide open place;

he delivered me because he was pleased with me. ¹ 

Psalms 22:17

22:17 I can count ²  all my bones;

my enemies ³  are gloating over me in triumph. ⁴ 

Psalms 38:2

38:2 For your arrows pierce ⁵  me,

and your hand presses me down. ⁶ 

Psalms 41:12

41:12 As for me, you uphold ⁷  me because of my integrity; ⁸ 

you allow ⁹  me permanent access to your presence. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 55:5

55:5 Fear and panic overpower me; ¹¹ 

terror overwhelms ¹²  me.

Psalms 63:8

63:8 My soul ¹³  pursues you; ¹⁴ 

your right hand upholds me.

Psalms 69:12

69:12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;

drunkards mock me in their songs. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 91:14

91:14 The Lord says, ¹⁶ 

“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;

I will protect him ¹⁷  because he is loyal to me. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 102:8

102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me;

those who mock me use my name in their curses. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 119:23

119:23 Though rulers plot and slander me, ²⁰ 

your servant meditates on your statutes.

Psalms 119:133

119:133 Direct my steps by your word! ²¹ 

Do not let any sin dominate me!

Psalms 139:24

139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency ²²  in me,

and lead me in the reliable ancient path! ²³ 

[18:19]  ¹ tn Or “delighted in me.”

[22:17]  ² tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 17-18 draw attention to the progressive nature of the action.

[22:17]  ³ tn Heb “they.” The masculine form indicates the enemies are in view. The referent (the psalmist’s enemies) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “they gaze, they look upon me.”

[38:2]  ³ tn The verb Hebrew נָחַת (nakhat) apparently here means “penetrate, pierce” (note the use of the Qal in Prov 17:10). The psalmist pictures the Lord as a warrior who shoots arrows at him (see Ps 7:12-13).

[38:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and your hand [?] upon me.” The meaning of the verb נָחַת (nakhat) is unclear in this context. It is preferable to emend the form to וַתָּנַח (vattanakh) from the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”). In this case the text would read literally, “and your hand rests upon me” (see Isa 25:10, though the phrase is used in a positive sense there, unlike Ps 38:2).

[41:12]  ⁴ tn Or “have upheld.” The perfect verbal form can be taken as generalizing/descriptive (present) or as a present perfect.

[41:12]  ⁵ sn Because of my integrity. See Pss 7:8; 25:21; 26:1, 11.

[41:12]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect. It is either generalizing/descriptive (present) or has a present perfect nuance (“you have allowed”).

[41:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and you cause me to stand before you permanently.”

[55:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “fear and trembling enter into me.”

[55:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “covers.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the preceding imperfect.

[63:8]  ⁶ tn Or “I.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[63:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “clings after.” The expression means “to pursue with determination” (see Judg 20:45; 1 Sam 14:22; 1 Chr 10:2; Jer 42:16).

[69:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “the mocking songs of the drinkers of beer.”

[91:14]  ⁸ tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the words which follow are the Lord’s oracle of assurance.

[91:14]  ⁹ tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).

[91:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).

[102:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “by me they swear.” When the psalmist’s enemies call judgment down on others, they hold the psalmist up as a prime example of what they desire their enemies to become.

[119:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “though rulers sit, about me they talk together.” (For another example of the Niphal of דָּבַר (davar) used with a suffixed form of the preposition ב, see Ezek 33:30.)

[119:133]  ¹¹ tn God’s “word” refers here to his law (see v. 11).

[139:24]  ¹² tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[139:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the Lord at the beginning of Israel’s history. See Jer 6:16; 18:15, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.