Psalms 2:7

2:7 The king says, ¹  “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ² 

‘You are my son! ³  This very day I have become your father!

Psalms 4:2

4:2 You men, ⁴  how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? ⁵ 

How long ⁶  will you love what is worthless ⁷ 

and search for what is deceptive? ⁸  (Selah)

Psalms 11:4

11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; ⁹ 

the Lord’s throne is in heaven. ¹⁰ 

His eyes ¹¹  watch; ¹² 

his eyes ¹³  examine ¹⁴  all people. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 14:2

14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven ¹⁶  at the human race, ¹⁷ 

to see if there is anyone who is wise ¹⁸  and seeks God. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 18:44

18:44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me. ²⁰ 

Foreigners are powerless ²¹  before me;

Psalms 29:1

Psalm 29 ²² 

A psalm of David.

29:1 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings, ²³ 

acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power! ²⁴ 

Psalms 66:5

66:5 Come and witness ²⁵  God’s exploits! ²⁶ 

His acts on behalf of people are awesome! ²⁷ 

Psalms 79:11

79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! ²⁸ 

Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! ²⁹ 

Psalms 89:47

89:47 Take note of my brief lifespan! ³⁰ 

Why do you make all people so mortal? ³¹ 

Psalms 144:7

144:7 Reach down ³²  from above!

Grab me and rescue me from the surging water, ³³ 

from the power of foreigners, ³⁴ 

Psalms 144:11

144:11 Grab me and rescue me from the power of foreigners, ³⁵ 

who speak lies,

and make false promises. ³⁶ 

[2:7]  ¹ tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.

[2:7]  ² tn Or “I will relate the decree. The Lord said to me” (in accordance with the Masoretic accentuation).

[2:7]  ³ sn ‘You are my son!’ The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “how long my honor to shame?”

[4:2]  ⁶ tn The interrogative construction עַד־מֶה (’ad-meh, “how long?”), is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[4:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “emptiness.”

[4:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “a lie.” Some see the metonymic language of v. 2b (“emptiness, lie”) as referring to idols or false gods. However, there is no solid immediate contextual evidence for such an interpretation. It is more likely that the psalmist addresses those who threaten him (see v. 1) and refers in a general way to their sinful lifestyle. (See R. Mosis, TDOT 7:121.) The two terms allude to the fact that sinful behavior is ultimately fruitless and self-destructive.

[11:4]  ⁷ tn Because of the royal imagery involved here, one could translate “lofty palace.” The Lord’s heavenly temple is in view here (see Mic 1:2-4).

[11:4]  ⁸ sn The Lord’s throne is in heaven. The psalmist is confident that the Lord reigns as sovereign king, “keeps an eye on” all people, and responds in a just manner to the godly and wicked.

[11:4]  ⁹ sn His eyes. The anthropomorphic language draws attention to God’s awareness of and interest in the situation on earth. Though the enemies are hidden by the darkness (v. 2), the Lord sees all.

[11:4]  ¹⁰ tn The two Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this verse describe the Lord’s characteristic activity.

[11:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “eyelids.”

[11:4]  ¹² tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 7:9; 26:2; 139:23.

[11:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “test the sons of men.”

[14:2]  ¹⁰ sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.

[14:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”

[14:2]  ¹² tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.

[14:2]  ¹³ sn Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

[18:44]  ¹³ tn Heb “at a report of an ear they submit to me.” The report of the psalmist’s exploits is so impressive that those who hear it submit to his rulership without putting up a fight.

[18:44]  ¹⁴ tn For the meaning “be weak, powerless” for כָּחַשׁ (kakhash), see Ps 109:24. The next line (see v. 45a), in which “foreigners” are also mentioned, favors this interpretation. Another option is to translate “cower in fear” (see Deut 33:29; Pss 66:3; 81:15; cf. NIV “cringe”; NRSV “came cringing”).

[29:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 29. In this hymn of praise the psalmist calls upon the heavenly assembly to acknowledge the royal splendor of the Lord. He describes the Lord’s devastating power as revealed in the thunderstorm and affirms that the Lord exerts this awesome might on behalf of his people. In its original context the psalm was a bold polemic against the Canaanite storm god Baal, for it affirms that the Lord is the real king who controls the elements of the storm, contrary to pagan belief. See R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “The Polemic against Baalism in Israel’s Early History and Literature,” BSac 150 (1994): 280-82.

[29:1]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “sons of gods,” or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the MT, it is likely that the final mem is actually enclitic, rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8.

[29:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.”

[66:5]  ¹⁹ tn Or “see.”

[66:5]  ²⁰ tn Or “acts” (see Ps 46:8).

[66:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “awesome [is] an act toward the sons of man.” It is unclear how the prepositional phrase relates to what precedes. If collocated with “act,” it may mean “on behalf of” or “toward.” If taken with “awesome” (see 1 Chr 16:25; Pss 89:7; 96:4; Zeph 2:11), one might translate “his awesome acts are beyond human comprehension” or “his awesome acts are superior to anything men can do.”

[79:11]  ²² tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”

[79:11]  ²³ tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[89:47]  ²⁵ tn Heb “remember me, what is [my] lifespan.” The Hebrew term חֶלֶד (kheled) is also used of one’s lifespan in Ps 39:5. Because the Hebrew text is so awkward here, some prefer to emend it to read מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי (meh khadel ’aniy, “[remember] how transient [that is, “short-lived”] I am”; see Ps 39:4).

[89:47]  ²⁶ tn Heb “For what emptiness do you create all the sons of mankind?” In this context the term שָׁוְא (shavah) refers to mankind’s mortal nature and the brevity of life (see vv. 45, 48).

[144:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “stretch out your hands.”

[144:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful foreign enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see the next line and Ps 18:16-17).

[144:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”

[144:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”

[144:11]  ³² tn Heb “who [with] their mouth speak falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” See v. 8 where the same expression occurs.