Discovery BoxPsalms 19:7
Context19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life. 1
The rules set down by the Lord 2 are reliable 3
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. 4
Psalms 32:11
Context32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!
Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright! 5
Psalms 34:9
Context34:9 Remain loyal to 6 the Lord, you chosen people of his, 7
for his loyal followers 8 lack nothing!
Psalms 37:9
Context37:9 Wicked men 9 will be wiped out, 10
but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land. 11
Psalms 54:3
Context54:3 For foreigners 12 attack me; 13
ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life. 14 (Selah)
Psalms 58:9
Context58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, 15
he 16 will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat. 17
Psalms 69:26
Context69:26 For they harass 18 the one whom you discipline; 19
they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish. 20
Psalms 74:21
Context74:21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame!
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! 21
Psalms 78:31
Context78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed some of the strongest of them;
he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.
Psalms 89:49
Context89:49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, 22 O Lord, 23
the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? 24
Psalms 99:1
Context99:1 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble. 26
He sits enthroned above the winged angels; 27
the earth shakes. 28
Psalms 126:1
ContextA song of ascents. 30
126:1 When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion, 31
we thought we were dreaming. 32
Psalms 127:4
Context127:4 Sons born during one’s youth
are like arrows in a warrior’s hand. 33
Psalms 149:1
Context149:1 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song!
Praise him in the assembly of the godly! 35
Psalms 149:5
Context149:5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication! 36
Let them shout for joy upon their beds! 37
[19:7] 1 tn Heb “[it] restores life.” Elsewhere the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) when used with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”) as object, means to “rescue or preserve one’s life” (Job 33:30; Ps 35:17) or to “revive one’s strength” (emotionally or physically; cf. Ruth 4:15; Lam 1:11, 16, 19). Here the point seems to be that the law preserves the life of the one who studies it by making known God’s will. Those who know God’s will know how to please him and can avoid offending him. See v. 11a.
[19:7] 2 tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the
[19:7] 3 tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.
[19:7] 4 tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly.
[32:11] 5 tn Heb “all [you] pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the
[34:9] 10 tn Heb “O holy ones of his.”
[34:9] 11 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
[37:9] 13 tn Heb “for evil men.” The conjunction כִּי (ki, “for”) relates to the exhortations in v. 8; there is no reason to be frustrated, for the evildoers will be punished in due time.
[37:9] 14 tn Or “cut off, removed.”
[37:9] 15 tn Heb “and those who wait on the
[54:3] 17 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[54:3] 18 tn Heb “rise against me.”
[54:3] 19 tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”
[58:9] 21 tn Heb “before your pots perceive thorns.”
[58:9] 22 tn Apparently God (v. 6) is the subject of the verb here.
[58:9] 23 tn Heb “like living, like burning anger he will sweep it away.” The meaning of the text is unclear. The translation assumes that within the cooking metaphor (see the previous line) חַי (khay, “living”) refers here to raw meat (as in 1 Sam 2:15, where it modifies בָּשָׂר, basar, “flesh”) and that חָרוּן (kharun; which always refers to God’s “burning anger” elsewhere) here refers to food that is cooked. The pronominal suffix on the verb “sweep away” apparently refers back to the “thorns” of the preceding line. The image depicts swift and sudden judgment. Before the fire has been adequately kindled and all the meat cooked, the winds of judgment will sweep away everything in their path.
[69:26] 25 tn Or “persecute”; Heb “chase.”
[69:26] 26 tn Heb “for you, the one whom you strike, they chase.”
[69:26] 27 tn Heb “they announce the pain of your wounded ones” (i.e., “the ones whom you wounded,” as the parallel line makes clear).
[74:21] 29 sn Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! The statement is metonymic. The point is this: May the oppressed be delivered from their enemies! Then they will have ample reason to praise God’s name.
[89:49] 33 sn The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6.
[89:49] 34 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[89:49] 35 tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”
[99:1] 37 sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.
[99:1] 38 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the
[99:1] 39 sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.
[99:1] 40 tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).
[126:1] 41 sn Psalm 126. Recalling the joy of past deliverance, God’s covenant community asks for a fresh display of God’s power and confidently anticipate their sorrow being transformed into joy.
[126:1] 42 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.
[126:1] 43 tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew noun שִׁיבַת (shivat) occurs only here in the OT. For this reason many prefer to emend the form to the more common שְׁבִית (shevit) or שְׁבוּת (shÿvut), both of which are used as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv; see Ps 14:7). However an Aramaic cognate of שְׁבִית appears in an eighth century
[126:1] 44 tn Heb “we were like dreamers.” This could mean the speakers were so overcome with ecstatic joy (see v. 3b) that they were like those who fantasize about pleasurable experiences in their sleep (see Isa 29:7-8). Since dreams are more commonly associated in the OT with prophetic visions, the community may be comparing their experience of God’s renewed favor to a prophet’s receiving divine visions. Just as a prophetic dream sweeps the individual into a different dimension and sometimes brings one face-to-face with God himself (see Gen 28:11-15; 1 Kgs 3:5-15), so the community was aware of God’s presence in a special way in the day of Zion’s restoration. Though the MT as it stands makes good sense, some choose to understand a homonymic root here meaning “to be healthy; to be strong” (see BDB 321 s.v. I חָלַם) and translate, “we were like those restored to health.” This reading appears to have the support of several ancient translations as well as 11QPsa. See L. C. Allen (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170-71) for a discussion of the viewpoints.
[127:4] 45 tn Heb “like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so [are] sons of youth.” Arrows are used in combat to defend oneself against enemies; sons are viewed here as providing social security and protection (see v. 5). The phrase “sons of youth” is elliptical, meaning “sons [born during the father’s] youth.” Such sons will have grown up to be mature adults and will have children of their own by the time the father reaches old age and becomes vulnerable to enemies. Contrast the phrase “son of old age” in Gen 37:3 (see also 44:20), which refers to Jacob’s age when Joseph was born.
[149:1] 49 sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.
[149:1] 50 tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”
[149:5] 53 tn Heb “in glory.” Here “glory” probably refers to the “honor” that belongs to the
[149:5] 54 tn The significance of the reference to “beds” is unclear. Perhaps the point is that they should rejoice at all times, even when falling asleep or awaking.
