Psalms 19:10
Context19:10 They are of greater value 1 than gold,
than even a great amount of pure gold;
they bring greater delight 2 than honey,
than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.
Psalms 39:11
Context39:11 You severely discipline people for their sins; 3
like a moth you slowly devour their strength. 4
Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)
Psalms 68:16
Context68:16 Why do you look with envy, 5 O mountains 6 with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has decided to live? 7


[19:10] 1 tn Heb “more desirable.”
[19:10] 2 tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).
[39:11] 3 tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”
[39:11] 4 tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew
[68:16] 5 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb רָצַד (ratsad), translated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow 1492 s.v. רְצַד).
[68:16] 6 tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a singular with enclitic mem (ם; later misinterpreted as a plural ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.
[68:16] 7 tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.
[68:16] 8 tn The Hebrew particle אַף (’af) has an emphasizing function here.
[68:16] 9 tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clarification.