Psalms 2:6

2:6 “I myself ¹  have installed ²  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

Psalms 24:3

24:3 Who is allowed to ascend ³  the mountain of the Lord? ⁴ 

Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?

Psalms 46:3

46:3 when its waves ⁵  crash ⁶  and foam,

and the mountains shake ⁷  before the surging sea. ⁸  (Selah)

Psalms 50:11

50:11 I keep track of ⁹  every bird in the hills,

and the insects ¹⁰  of the field are mine.

Psalms 78:54

78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,

to this mountainous land ¹¹  which his right hand ¹²  acquired.

Psalms 80:10

80:10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,

the highest cedars ¹³  by its branches.

Psalms 83:14

83:14 Like the fire that burns down the forest,

or the flames that consume the mountainsides, ¹⁴ 

Psalms 95:4

95:4 The depths of the earth are in his hand, ¹⁵ 

and the mountain peaks belong to him.

Psalms 104:6

104:6 The watery deep covered it ¹⁶  like a garment;

the waters reached ¹⁷  above the mountains. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 104:13

104:13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace; ¹⁹ 

the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow. ²⁰ 

Psalms 144:5

144:5 O Lord, make the sky sink ²¹  and come down! ²² 

Touch the mountains and make them smolder! ²³ 

Psalms 148:9

148:9 you mountains and all you hills,

you fruit trees and all you cedars,

[2:6]  ¹ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ² tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[24:3]  ³ tn The imperfects in v. 3 are modal, expressing potential or permission.

[24:3]  ⁴ sn In this context the Lord’s mountain probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem (see Isa 2:2-3).

[46:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “its waters.”

[46:3]  ⁶ tn Or “roar.”

[46:3]  ⁷ tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the characteristic nature of the activity described.

[46:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “at its swelling.” The Hebrew word often means “pride.” If the sea is symbolic of hostile nations, then this may be a case of double entendre. The surging, swelling sea symbolizes the proud, hostile nations. On the surface the psalmist appears to be depicting a major natural catastrophe, perhaps a tidal wave. If so, then the situation would be hypothetical. However, the repetition of the verbs הָמָה (hamah, “crash; roar,” v. 3) and מוֹט (mot, “shake,” v. 2) in v. 6, where nations/kingdoms “roar” and “shake,” suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).

[50:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “I know.”

[50:11]  ⁸ tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word, which occurs only here and in Ps 80:13, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets.

[78:54]  ⁹ tn Heb “this mountain.” The whole land of Canaan seems to be referred to here. In Exod 15:17 the promised land is called the “mountain of your [i.e., God’s] inheritance.”

[78:54]  ¹⁰ tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).

[80:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “cedars of God.” The divine name אֵל (’al, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[83:14]  ¹³ sn The imagery of fire and flames suggests unrelenting, destructive judgment.

[95:4]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.

[104:6]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “you covered it.” The masculine suffix is problematic if the grammatically feminine noun “earth” is the antecedent. For this reason some emend the form to a feminine verb with feminine suffix, כִּסַּתָּה (kisattah, “[the watery deep] covered it [i.e., the earth]”), a reading assumed by the present translation.

[104:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “stood.”

[104:6]  ¹⁹ sn Verse 6 refers to the condition described in Gen 1:2 (note the use of the Hebrew term תְּהוֹם [tÿhom, “watery deep”] in both texts).

[104:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “from his upper rooms.”

[104:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from the fruit of your works the earth is full.” The translation assumes that “fruit” is literal here. If “fruit” is understood more abstractly as “product; result,” then one could translate, “the earth flourishes as a result of your deeds” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB).

[144:5]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense “to [cause to] bend; to [cause to] bow down.” For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that “bends” its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the Lord causes the sky, pictured as a dome or vault, to sink down as he descends in the storm. See Ps 18:9.

[144:5]  ²² tn Heb “so you might come down.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The same type of construction is utilized in v. 6.

[144:5]  ²³ tn Heb “so they might smolder.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative.