Psalms 19:9

19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right ¹ 

and endure forever. ² 

The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy

and absolutely just. ³ 

Psalms 37:33

37:33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,

or allow them to be condemned in a court of law. ⁴ 

Psalms 60:7

60:7 Gilead belongs to me,

as does Manasseh! ⁵ 

Ephraim is my helmet, ⁶ 

Judah my royal scepter. ⁷ 

Psalms 78:7

78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God.

They will not forget the works of God,

and they will obey ⁸  his commands.

Psalms 78:56

78:56 Yet they challenged and defied ⁹  the sovereign God, ¹⁰ 

and did not obey ¹¹  his commands. ¹² 

Psalms 99:7

99:7 He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud; ¹³ 

they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.

Psalms 107:11

107:11 because they had rebelled against God’s commands, ¹⁴ 

and rejected the instructions of the sovereign king. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 108:8

108:8 Gilead belongs to me,

as does Manasseh! ¹⁶ 

Ephraim is my helmet, ¹⁷ 

Judah my royal scepter. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 111:7

111:7 His acts are characterized by ¹⁹  faithfulness and justice;

all his precepts are reliable. ²⁰ 

Psalms 112:1

Psalm 112 ²¹ 

112:1 Praise the Lord!

How blessed is the one ²²  who obeys ²³  the Lord,

who takes great delight in keeping his commands. ²⁴ 

Psalms 119:75

119:75 I know, Lord, that your regulations ²⁵  are just.

You disciplined me because of your faithful devotion to me. ²⁶ 

Psalms 119:149

119:149 Listen to me ²⁷  because of ²⁸  your loyal love!

O Lord, revive me, as you typically do! ²⁹ 

Psalms 119:158

119:158 I take note of the treacherous and despise them,

because they do not keep your instructions. ³⁰ 

Psalms 123:4

123:4 We have had our fill ³¹ 

of the taunts of the self-assured,

of the contempt of the proud.

[19:9]  ¹ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord is clean.” The phrase “fear of the Lord” probably refers here to the law, which teaches one how to demonstrate proper reverence for the Lord. See Ps 111:10 for another possible use of the phrase in this sense.

[19:9]  ² tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”

[19:9]  ³ sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.

[37:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord does not abandon him into his hand or condemn him when he is judged.” The imperfects draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic behavior in this regard.

[60:7]  ⁷ sn Gilead was located east of the Jordan. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.

[60:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “the protection of my head.”

[60:7]  ⁹ sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.

[78:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “keep.”

[78:56]  ¹³ tn Or “tested and rebelled against.”

[78:56]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “God, the Most High.”

[78:56]  ¹⁵ tn Or “keep.”

[78:56]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his testimonies” (see Ps 25:10).

[99:7]  ¹⁶ sn A pillar of cloud. The psalmist refers to the reality described in Exod 33:9-10; Num 12:5; and Deut 31:15.

[107:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the words of God.”

[107:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the counsel of the Most High.”

[108:8]  ²² tn Gilead was located east of the Jordan River. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.

[108:8]  ²³ tn Heb “the protection of my head.”

[108:8]  ²⁴ sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan River. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.

[111:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the deeds of his hands [are].”

[111:7]  ²⁶ tn That is, fair and for man’s good.

[112:1]  ²⁸ sn Psalm 112. This wisdom psalm lists some of the benefits of living a godly life. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[112:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The individual is representative of a larger group, called the “godly” in vv. 3-4. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in the following verses.

[112:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “fears.”

[112:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “in his commands he delights very much.” The words “in keeping” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Taking delight in the law is metonymic here for obeying God’s moral will. See Ps 1:2.

[119:75]  ³¹ tn In this context (note the second line) the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim), which so often refers to the regulations of God’s law elsewhere in this psalm, may refer instead to his decisions or disciplinary judgment.

[119:75]  ³² tn Heb “and [in] faithfulness you afflicted me.”

[119:149]  ³⁴ tn Heb “my voice.”

[119:149]  ³⁵ tn Heb “according to.”

[119:149]  ³⁶ tn Heb “according to your custom.”

[119:158]  ³⁷ tn Heb “your word.”

[123:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “greatly our soul is full to it.”