Psalms 2:12

2:12 Give sincere homage! ¹ 

Otherwise he ²  will be angry, ³ 

and you will die because of your behavior, ⁴ 

when his anger quickly ignites. ⁵ 

How blessed ⁶  are all who take shelter in him! ⁷ 

Psalms 5:12

5:12 Certainly ⁸  you reward ⁹  the godly, ¹⁰  Lord.

Like a shield you protect ¹¹  them ¹²  in your good favor. ¹³ 

Psalms 34:8

34:8 Taste ¹⁴  and see that the Lord is good!

How blessed ¹⁵  is the one ¹⁶  who takes shelter in him! ¹⁷ 

Psalms 40:4

40:4 How blessed ¹⁸  is the one ¹⁹  who trusts in the Lord ²⁰ 

and does not seek help from ²¹  the proud or from liars! ²² 

Psalms 84:12

84:12 O Lord who rules over all, ²³ 

how blessed are those who trust in you! ²⁴ 

Psalms 146:5

146:5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Psalms 147:11

147:11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers, ²⁵ 

and in those who wait for his loyal love.

Proverbs 16:20

16:20 The one who deals wisely ²⁶  in a matter ²⁷  will find success, ²⁸ 

and blessed ²⁹  is the one who trusts in the Lord. ³⁰ 

Isaiah 12:2-3

12:2 Look, God is my deliverer! ³¹ 

I will trust in him ³²  and not fear.

For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; ³³ 

he has become my deliverer.” ³⁴ 

12:3 Joyfully you will draw water

from the springs of deliverance. ³⁵ 

Jeremiah 17:7-8

17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me,

who put their confidence in me. ³⁶ 

17:8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream

whose roots spread out toward the water.

It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.

Its leaves are always green.

It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.

It does not stop bearing fruit.

[2:12]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “kiss the son” (KJV). But בַּר (bar) is the Aramaic word for “son,” not the Hebrew. For this reason many regard the reading as suspect. Some propose emendations of vv. 11b-12a. One of the more popular proposals is to read בִּרְעָדָה נַשְּׁקוּ לְרַגְלָיו (bir’adah nashÿqu lÿraslayv, “in trembling kiss his feet”). It makes better sense to understand בַּר (bar) as an adjective meaning “pure” (see Pss 24:4; 73:1 and BDB 141 s.v. בַּר 3) functioning here in an adverbial sense. If read this way, then the syntactical structure of exhortation (imperative followed by adverbial modifier) corresponds to the two preceding lines (see v. 11). The verb נָשַׁק (nashaq, “kiss”) refers metonymically to showing homage (see 1 Sam 10:1; Hos 13:2). The exhortation in v. 12a advocates a genuine expression of allegiance and warns against insincerity. When swearing allegiance, vassal kings would sometimes do so insincerely, with the intent of rebelling when the time was right. The so-called “Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon” also warn against such an attitude. In this treaty the vassal is told: “If you, as you stand on the soil where this oath [is sworn], swear the oath with your words and lips [only], do not swear with your entire heart, do not transmit it to your sons who will live after this treaty, if you take this curse upon yourselves but do not plan to keep the treaty of Esarhaddon…may your sons and grandsons because of this fear in the future” (see J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, 2:62).

[2:12]  ² tn Throughout the translation of this verse the third person masculine pronouns refer to the Lord (cf. v. 11).

[2:12]  ³ tn The implied subject of the verb is the Lord, mentioned in v. 11. Elsewhere the subject of this verb is consistently the Lord, suggesting it may be a technical term for divine anger. Anger is here used metonymically for judgment, as the following statement makes clear. A Moabite cognate occurs in the Mesha inscription, where it is used of the Moabite god Chemosh’s anger at his people (see J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, 1:209).

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and you will perish [in the] way.” The Hebrew word דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to their rebellious behavior (not to a pathway, as often understood). It functions syntactically as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb “perish.”

[2:12]  ⁵ tn Or “burns.” The Lord’s anger is compared here to fire, the most destructive force known in ancient Israel.

[2:12]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[2:12]  ⁷ sn Who take shelter in him. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[5:12]  ⁸ tn Or “For.”

[5:12]  ⁹ tn Or “bless.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line highlight how God characteristically rewards and protects the godly.

[5:12]  ¹⁰ tn Or “innocent.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense.

[5:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “surround.” In 1 Sam 23:26 the verb describes how Saul and his men hemmed David in as they chased him.

[5:12]  ¹² tn Heb “him.” The singular form is used here in a collective or representative sense and is thus translated “them.”

[5:12]  ¹³ tn Or “with favor” (cf. NRSV). There is no preposition before the noun in the Hebrew text, nor is there a pronoun attached. “Favor” here stands by metonymy for God’s defensive actions on behalf of the one whom he finds acceptable.

[34:8]  ¹⁴ tn This verb is normally used of tasting or savoring food. The metaphor here appears to compare the Lord to a tasty meal.

[34:8]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[34:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “man.” The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.”

[34:8]  ¹⁷ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[40:4]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[40:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “man.” See the note on the word “one” in Ps 1:1.

[40:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “who has made the Lord his [object of] trust.”

[40:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “and does not turn toward.”

[40:4]  ²² tn Heb “those falling away toward a lie.”

[84:12]  ²³ tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”

[84:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.

[147:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[16:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he who is prudent” or “he who deals wisely” (cf. KJV). The proverb seems to be referring to wise business concerns and the reward for the righteous. One who deals wisely in a matter will find good results. R. N. Whybray sees a contrast here: “The shrewd man of business will succeed well, but the happy man is he who trusts the Lord” (Proverbs [CBC], 92). Synonymous parallelism is more appropriate.

[16:20]  ²⁷ tn Or “he who gives heed to a word,” that is, “who listens to instruction” (cf. NIV, NLT).

[16:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “good” (so KJV, ASV).

[16:20]  ²⁹ tn Although traditionally this word is translated “happy” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NRSV, NLT), such a translation can be misleading because the word means far more than that. It describes the heavenly bliss that comes from knowing one is right with God and following God’s precepts. The “blessed” could be at odds with the world (Ps 1:1-3).

[16:20]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and the one who trusts in the Lord – blessed is he.”

[12:2]  ³¹ tn Or “salvation” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[12:2]  ³² tn The words “in him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:2]  ³³ tc The Hebrew text has, “for my strength and protection [is] the Lord, the Lord (Heb “Yah, Yahweh).” The word יְהוָה (yehvah) is probably dittographic or explanatory here (note that the short form of the name [יָהּ, yah] precedes, and that the graphically similar וַיְהִי [vayÿhi] follows). Exod 15:2, the passage from which the words of v. 2b are taken, has only יָהּ. The word זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song,” in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing); note that in v. 5 the verb זָמַר (zamar, “sing”) appears. Many recent commentators, however, have argued that the noun is here instead a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v. III *זמר.

[12:2]  ³⁴ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “my savior.”

[12:3]  ³⁵ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); CEV “victory.”

[17:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Blessed is the person who trusts in the Lord, and whose confidence is in the Lord.” However, because this is a statement of the Lord and the translation chooses to show that the blessing comes from him, the first person is substituted for the divine name.