Discovery BoxPsalms 19:13
Context19:13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant 1 sins;
do not allow such sins to control me. 2
Then I will be blameless,
and innocent of blatant 3 rebellion.
Psalms 27:9
ContextDo not push your servant away in anger!
You are my deliverer! 5
Do not forsake or abandon me,
O God who vindicates me!
Psalms 36:1
ContextFor the music director; written by the Lord’s servant, David; an oracle. 7
36:1 An evil man is rebellious to the core. 8
He does not fear God, 9
Psalms 123:2
Context123:2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress, 10
so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.
Psalms 134:1
ContextA song of ascents. 12
134:1 Attention! 13 Praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord,
who serve 14 in the Lord’s temple during the night.
[19:13] 1 tn Or “presumptuous.”
[19:13] 2 tn Heb “let them not rule over me.”
[27:9] 4 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
[27:9] 5 tn Or “[source of] help.”
[36:1] 7 sn Psalm 36. Though evil men plan to harm others, the psalmist is confident that the Lord is the just ruler of the earth who gives and sustains all life. He prays for divine blessing and protection and anticipates God’s judgment of the wicked.
[36:1] 8 tn In the Hebrew text the word נאם (“oracle”) appears at the beginning of the next verse (v. 2 in the Hebrew text because the superscription is considered v. 1). The resulting reading, “an oracle of rebellion for the wicked [is] in the midst of my heart” (cf. NIV) apparently means that the psalm, which foresees the downfall of the wicked, is a prophetic oracle about the rebellion of the wicked which emerges from the soul of the psalmist. One could translate, “Here is a poem written as I reflected on the rebellious character of evil men.” Another option, followed in the translation above, is to attach נאם (nÿ’um, “oracle”) with the superscription. For another example of a Davidic poem being labeled an “oracle,” see 2 Sam 23:1.
[36:1] 9 tn Heb “[the] rebellion of an evil man [is] in the midst of my heart.” The translation assumes a reading “in the midst of his heart” (i.e., “to the core”) instead of “in the midst of my heart,” a change which finds support in a a few medieval Hebrew
[36:1] 10 tn Heb “there is no dread of God before his eyes.” The phrase “dread of God” refers here to a healthy respect for God which recognizes that he will punish evil behavior.
[123:2] 10 sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.
[134:1] 13 sn Psalm 134. The psalmist calls on the temple servants to praise God (vv. 1-2). They in turn pronounce a blessing on the psalmist (v. 3).
[134:1] 14 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
