Psalms 18:25

18:25 You prove to be loyal ¹  to one who is faithful; ² 

you prove to be trustworthy ³  to one who is innocent. ⁴ 

Psalms 4:3

4:3 Realize that ⁵  the Lord shows the godly special favor; ⁶ 

the Lord responds ⁷  when I cry out to him.

Psalms 43:1

Psalm 43 ⁸ 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ⁹  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ¹⁰  from deceitful and evil men! ¹¹ 

Psalms 86:2

86:2 Protect me, ¹²  for I am loyal!

O my God, deliver your servant, who trusts in you!

Psalms 12:1

Psalm 12 ¹³ 

For the music director; according to the sheminith style; ¹⁴  a psalm of David.

12:1 Deliver, Lord!

For the godly ¹⁵  have disappeared; ¹⁶ 

people of integrity ¹⁷  have vanished. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 32:6

32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers ¹⁹  should pray to you

while there is a window of opportunity. ²⁰ 

Certainly ²¹  when the surging water ²²  rises,

it will not reach them. ²³ 

[18:25]  ¹ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 25-29 draw attention to God’s characteristic actions. Based on his experience, the psalmist generalizes about God’s just dealings with people (vv. 25-27) and about the way in which God typically empowers him on the battlefield (vv. 28-29). The Hitpael stem is used in vv. 26-27 in a reflexive resultative (or causative) sense. God makes himself loyal, etc. in the sense that he conducts or reveals himself as such. On this use of the Hitpael stem, see GKC 149-50 §54.e.

[18:25]  ² tn Or “to a faithful follower.” A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[18:25]  ³ tn Or “innocent.”

[18:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “a man of innocence.”

[4:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and know that.”

[4:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “that the Lord sets apart a faithful one for himself.” The psalmist states a general principle, though the singular form and the parallel line indicate he has himself in mind as the representative godly person. A חָסִיד (khasid; here translated as “the godly”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[4:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “hears.”

[43:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

[43:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “argue my case.”

[43:1]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

[43:1]  ¹² tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.

[86:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “my life.”

[12:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 12. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene, for society is overrun by deceitful, arrogant oppressors and godly individuals are a dying breed. When the Lord announces his intention to defend the oppressed, the psalmist affirms his confidence in the divine promise.

[12:1]  ¹⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.

[12:1]  ¹⁹ tn The singular form is collective or representative. Note the plural form “faithful [ones]” in the following line. A “godly [one]” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[12:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “have come to an end.”

[12:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”

[12:1]  ²² tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”

[32:6]  ²¹ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[32:6]  ²² tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the Lord]” and seek his forgiveness (cf. NIV). Some emend the text by combining מְצֹא (mÿtso’, “finding”) with the following term רַק (raq, “only, surely”) and read either ר[וֹ]מָצ (matsor, “distress”; see Ps 31:22) or ק[וֹ]מָצ (matsoq, “hardship”; see Ps 119:143). In this case, one may translate “in a time of distress/hardship” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[32:6]  ²³ tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.

[32:6]  ²⁴ sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.

[32:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.