Psalms 21:4

21:4 He asked you to sustain his life, ¹ 

and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty. ² 

Psalms 22:2

22:2 My God, I cry out during the day,

but you do not answer,

and during the night my prayers do not let up. ³ 

Psalms 44:8

44:8 In God I boast all day long,

and we will continually give thanks to your name. (Selah)

Psalms 56:2

56:2 Those who anticipate my defeat ⁴  attack me all day long.

Indeed, ⁵  many are fighting against me, O Exalted One. ⁶ 

Psalms 68:19

68:19 The Lord deserves praise! ⁷ 

Day after day ⁸  he carries our burden,

the God who delivers us. (Selah)

Psalms 88:9

88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.

I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;

I spread out my hands in prayer to you. ⁹ 

Psalms 89:45

89:45 You have cut short his youth, ¹⁰ 

and have covered him with shame. (Selah)

[21:4]  ¹ tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”

[21:4]  ² tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.

[22:2]  ³ tn Heb “there is no silence to me.”

[56:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 54:5; 59:10.

[56:2]  ⁶ tn Or “for.”

[56:2]  ⁷ tn Some take the Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “on high; above”) as an adverb modifying the preceding participle and translate, “proudly” (cf. NASB; NIV “in their pride”). The present translation assumes the term is a divine title here. The Lord is pictured as enthroned “on high” in Ps 92:8. (Note the substantival use of the term in Isa 24:4 and see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:34), who prefer to place the term at the beginning of the next verse.)

[68:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”

[68:19]  ⁸ tn It is possible to take this phrase with what precedes (“The Lord deserves praise day after day”) rather than with what follows.

[88:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “I spread out my hands to you.” Spreading out the hands toward God was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). The words “in prayer” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this.

[89:45]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the days of his youth” (see as well Job 33:25).