Psalms 22:1

Psalm 22 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the tune “Morning Doe;” ²  a psalm of David.

22:1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? ³ 

I groan in prayer, but help seems far away. ⁴ 

Psalms 42:1

Book 2
(Psalms 42-72)

Psalm 42 ⁵ 

For the music director; a well-written song ⁶  by the Korahites.

42:1 As a deer ⁷  longs ⁸  for streams of water,

so I long ⁹  for you, O God!

Psalms 45:1

Psalm 45 ¹⁰ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ¹¹  by the Korahites, a well-written poem, ¹²  a love song.

45:1 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. ¹³ 

I say, “I have composed this special song ¹⁴  for the king;

my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” ¹⁵ 

Psalms 45:1

Psalm 45 ¹⁶ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ¹⁷  by the Korahites, a well-written poem, ¹⁸  a love song.

45:1 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. ¹⁹ 

I say, “I have composed this special song ²⁰  for the king;

my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” ²¹ 

Psalms 25:1-6

Psalm 25 ²² 

By David.

25:1 O Lord, I come before you in prayer. ²³ 

25:2 My God, I trust in you.

Please do not let me be humiliated;

do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!

25:3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.

Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted ²⁴  and humiliated.

25:4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!

Teach me your paths! ²⁵ 

25:5 Guide me into your truth ²⁶  and teach me.

For you are the God who delivers me;

on you I rely all day long.

25:6 Remember ²⁷  your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,

for you have always acted in this manner. ²⁸ 

[22:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 22. The psalmist cries out to the Lord for deliverance from his dangerous enemies, who have surrounded him and threaten his life. Confident that the Lord will intervene, he then vows to thank the Lord publicly for his help and anticipates a time when all people will recognize the Lord’s greatness and worship him.

[22:1]  ² tn Heb “according to the doe of the dawn.” Apparently this refers to a particular musical tune or style.

[22:1]  ³ sn From the psalmist’s perspective it seems that God has abandoned him, for he fails to answer his cry for help (vv. 1b-2).

[22:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “far from my deliverance [are] the words of my groaning.” The Hebrew noun שְׁאָגָה (shÿ’agah) and its related verb שָׁאַג (sha’ag) are sometimes used of a lion’s roar, but they can also describe human groaning (see Job 3:24 and Pss 32:3 and 38:8.

[42:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalms 42 and 43 into a single psalm.

[42:1]  ⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[42:1]  ⁷ tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (’ayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (’ayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.

[42:1]  ⁸ tn Or “pants [with thirst].”

[42:1]  ⁹ tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[45:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 45. This is a romantic poem celebrating the Davidic king’s marriage to a lovely princess. The psalmist praises the king for his military prowess and commitment to justice, urges the bride to be loyal to the king, and anticipates that the marriage will be blessed with royal offspring.

[45:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to lilies.” “Lilies” may be a tune title or musical style, suggestive of romantic love. The imagery of a “lily” appears frequently in the Song of Solomon in a variety of contexts (see 2:1-2, 16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2-3; 7:2).

[45:1]  ¹² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 42.

[45:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “[with] a good word.” The “good word” probably refers here to the song that follows.

[45:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my works [are] for a king.” The plural “works” may here indicate degree, referring to the special musical composition that follows.

[45:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my tongue [is] a stylus of a skillful scribe.” Words flow from the psalmist’s tongue just as they do from a scribe’s stylus.

[45:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 45. This is a romantic poem celebrating the Davidic king’s marriage to a lovely princess. The psalmist praises the king for his military prowess and commitment to justice, urges the bride to be loyal to the king, and anticipates that the marriage will be blessed with royal offspring.

[45:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “according to lilies.” “Lilies” may be a tune title or musical style, suggestive of romantic love. The imagery of a “lily” appears frequently in the Song of Solomon in a variety of contexts (see 2:1-2, 16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2-3; 7:2).

[45:1]  ¹⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 42.

[45:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[with] a good word.” The “good word” probably refers here to the song that follows.

[45:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “my works [are] for a king.” The plural “works” may here indicate degree, referring to the special musical composition that follows.

[45:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “my tongue [is] a stylus of a skillful scribe.” Words flow from the psalmist’s tongue just as they do from a scribe’s stylus.

[25:1]  ²² sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme.

[25:1]  ²³ tn Heb “to you, O Lord, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. See Pss 86:4; 143:8.

[25:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “those who deal in treachery in vain.” The adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “in vain”) probably refers to the failure (or futility) of their efforts. Another option is to understand it as meaning “without cause” (cf. NIV “without excuse”; NRSV “wantonly treacherous”).

[25:4]  ²⁵ sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.

[25:5]  ²⁶ sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will.

[25:6]  ²⁷ tn That is, “remember” with the intention of repeating.

[25:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “for from antiquity [are] they.”