Psalms 21:6

21:6 For you grant him lasting blessings;

you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence. ¹ 

Psalms 42:5

42:5 Why are you depressed, ²  O my soul? ³ 

Why are you upset? ⁴ 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. ⁵ 

Psalms 44:3

44:3 For they did not conquer ⁶  the land by their swords,

and they did not prevail by their strength, ⁷ 

but rather by your power, ⁸  strength ⁹  and good favor, ¹⁰ 

for you were partial to ¹¹  them.

Psalms 67:1

Psalm 67 ¹² 

For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.

67:1 May God show us his favor ¹³  and bless us! ¹⁴ 

May he smile on us! ¹⁵  (Selah)

Psalms 80:1-3

Psalm 80 ¹⁶ 

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ¹⁷  a psalm of Asaph.

80:1 O shepherd of Israel, pay attention,

you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep!

You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, ¹⁸  reveal your splendor! ¹⁹ 

80:2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal ²⁰  your power!

Come and deliver us! ²¹ 

80:3 O God, restore us!

Smile on us! ²²  Then we will be delivered! ²³ 

Psalms 80:7

80:7 O God, invincible warrior, ²⁴  restore us!

Smile on us! ²⁵  Then we will be delivered! ²⁶ 

Psalms 80:19

80:19 O Lord God, invincible warrior, ²⁷  restore us!

Smile on us! ²⁸  Then we will be delivered! ²⁹ 

Psalms 89:15

89:15 How blessed are the people who worship you! ³⁰ 

O Lord, they experience your favor. ³¹ 

Psalms 119:135

119:135 Smile ³²  on your servant!

Teach me your statutes!

Numbers 6:26

6:26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you ³³ 

and give you peace.”’

[21:6]  ¹ tn Heb “you make him happy with joy with [i.e., “close by” or “in”] your face.” On the idiom “with your face” (i.e., “in your presence”) see Ps 16:11 and BDB 816 s.v. פָּנֻה II.2.a.

[42:5]  ² tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[42:5]  ³ sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[42:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and [why] are you in turmoil upon me?” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the descriptive present nuance of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.

[42:5]  ⁵ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of his face.” The verse division in the Hebrew text is incorrect. אֱלֹהַי (’elohay, “my God”) at the beginning of v. 7 belongs with the end of v. 6 (see the corresponding refrains in 42:11 and 43:5, both of which end with “my God” after “saving acts of my face”). The Hebrew term פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”) should be emended to פְּנֵי (pÿney, “face of”). The emended text reads, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention.

[44:3]  ⁶ tn Or “take possession of.”

[44:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.

[44:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7; 20:6; 21:8).

[44:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “your arm.”

[44:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[44:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “favorable toward.”

[67:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.

[67:1]  ¹³ tn Or “have mercy on us.”

[67:1]  ¹⁴ tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (ya’er) in the next line.

[67:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”

[80:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 80. The psalmist laments Israel’s demise and asks the Lord to show favor toward his people, as he did in earlier times.

[80:1]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew expression shushan-eduth means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title. See the superscription to Ps 60.

[80:1]  ¹⁸ sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.

[80:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “shine forth.”

[80:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “stir up”; “arouse.”

[80:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “come for our deliverance.”

[80:3]  ²² tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[80:3]  ²³ tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[80:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also v. 4 for a similar construction.

[80:7]  ²⁵ tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[80:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[80:19]  ²⁷ tn Heb “O Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also vv. 4, 7, 14 for a similar construction.

[80:19]  ²⁸ tn The idiom “cause your face to shine” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[80:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “cause your face to shine in order that we may be delivered.” After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[89:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “who know the shout.” “Shout” here refers to the shouts of the Lord’s worshipers (see Pss 27:6; 33:3; 47:5).

[89:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “in the light of your face they walk.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; Dan 9:17).

[119:135]  ³² tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”

[6:26]  ³³ tn The last line of the blessing also has first the image and then the parallel interpretation – for God to lift up his face is for God to give peace. The idea of the fallen face is one of anger (see Gen 4:6,7); and the idea of the hidden face is that of withholding support, favor, or peace (see Deut 31:18; Ps 30:8; Ps 44:25). If God lifts his face toward his people, it means he has given them peace – peace, prosperity, completeness, health, safety, general well-being, and the like.