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 6:2

6:2 Have mercy on me, ⁴  Lord, for I am frail!

Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! ⁵ 

Psalms 17:6

17:6 I call to you for you will answer me, O God.

Listen to me! ⁶ 

Hear what I say! ⁷ 

Psalms 26:1

Psalm 26 ⁸ 

By David.

26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have integrity, ⁹ 

and I trust in the Lord without wavering.

Psalms 35:3

35:3 Use your spear and lance ¹⁰  against ¹¹  those who chase me!

Assure me with these words: ¹²  “I am your deliverer!”

Psalms 39:4

39:4 “O Lord, help me understand my mortality

and the brevity of life! ¹³ 

Let me realize how quickly my life will pass! ¹⁴ 

Psalms 41:4

41:4 As for me, I said: ¹⁵ 

“O Lord, have mercy on me!

Heal me, for I have sinned against you!

Psalms 71:22

71:22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,

praising ¹⁶  your faithfulness, O my God!

I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,

O Holy One of Israel! ¹⁷ 

Psalms 86:1-2

Psalm 86 ¹⁸ 

A prayer of David.

86:1 Listen ¹⁹  O Lord! Answer me!

For I am oppressed and needy.

86:2 Protect me, ²⁰  for I am loyal!

O my God, deliver your servant, who trusts in you!

Psalms 89:47

89:47 Take note of my brief lifespan! ²¹ 

Why do you make all people so mortal? ²² 

Psalms 119:69

119:69 Arrogant people smear my reputation with lies, ²³ 

but I observe your precepts with all my heart.

Psalms 135:5

135:5 Yes, ²⁴  I know the Lord is great,

and our Lord is superior to all gods.

Psalms 143:12

143:12 As a demonstration of your loyal love, ²⁵  destroy my enemies!

Annihilate ²⁶  all who threaten my life, ²⁷ 

for I am your servant.

[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.

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Or “show me favor.”

[6:2]  ⁵ tn Normally the verb בָּהַל (bahal) refers to an emotional response and means “tremble with fear, be terrified” (see vv. 3, 10). Perhaps here the “bones” are viewed as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. However, the verb may describe one of the effects of his physical ailment, perhaps a fever. In Ezek 7:27 the verb describes how the hands of the people will shake with fear when they experience the horrors of divine judgment.

[17:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “Turn your ear toward me.”

[17:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “my word.”

[26:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.

[26:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”

[35:3]  ¹³ tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.

[35:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”

[35:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”

[39:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Cause me to know, O Lord, my end; and the measure of my days, what it is!”

[39:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Let me know how transient I am!”

[41:4]  ¹⁹ sn In vv. 4-10 the psalmist recites the prayer of petition and lament he offered to the Lord.

[71:22]  ²² tn The word “praising” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[71:22]  ²³ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior.

[86:1]  ²⁵ sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.

[86:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[86:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “my life.”

[89:47]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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).

[119:69]  ³⁴ tn Heb “smear over me a lie.”

[135:5]  ³⁷ tn Or “for.”

[143:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”

[143:12]  ⁴¹ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the mood of the preceding imperfect.

[143:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “all the enemies of my life.”