Discovery BoxPsalms 22:25
Context22:25 You are the reason I offer praise 1 in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers. 2
Psalms 64:4
Context64:4 in order to shoot down the innocent 3 in secluded places.
They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation. 4
Psalms 85:9
Context85:9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance; 5
then his splendor will again appear in our land. 6
Psalms 86:11
Context86:11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live! 7
Then I will obey your commands. 8
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you! 9
Psalms 96:4
Context96:4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods. 10
Psalms 111:5
Context111:5 He gives 11 food to his faithful followers; 12
he always remembers his covenant. 13
Psalms 112:1
Context112:1 Praise the Lord!
How blessed is the one 15 who obeys 16 the Lord,
who takes great delight in keeping his commands. 17
Psalms 118:6
Context118:6 The Lord is on my side, 18 I am not afraid!
What can people do to me? 19
Psalms 128:1
ContextA song of ascents. 21
128:1 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers, 22
each one who keeps his commands! 23
Psalms 135:20
Context135:20 O family of Levi, praise the Lord!
You loyal followers 24 of the Lord, praise the Lord!
Psalms 139:14
Context139:14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. 25
You knew me thoroughly; 26
Psalms 147:11
Context147:11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers, 27
and in those who wait for his loyal love.
[22:25] 1 tn Heb “from with you [is] my praise.”
[22:25] 2 tn Heb “my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.” When asking the
[64:4] 3 tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.
[64:4] 4 tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[85:9] 5 tn Heb “certainly his deliverance [is] near to those who fear him.”
[85:9] 6 tn Heb “to dwell, glory, in our land.” “Glory” is the subject of the infinitive. The infinitive with -לְ (lÿ), “to dwell,” probably indicates result here (“then”). When God delivers his people and renews his relationship with them, he will once more reveal his royal splendor in the land.
[86:11] 7 tn Heb “teach me your way.” The
[86:11] 8 tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The
[86:11] 9 tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).
[96:4] 9 tn Or perhaps “and feared by all gods.” See Ps 89:7.
[111:5] 11 tn Or “gave,” if the events of the exodus and conquest period (see v. 6, 9) are primarily in view.
[111:5] 12 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
[111:5] 13 tn Or “he remembers his covenant forever” (see Ps 105:8).
[112:1] 13 sn Psalm 112. This wisdom psalm lists some of the benefits of living a godly life. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
[112:1] 14 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The individual is representative of a larger group, called the “godly” in vv. 3-4. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in the following verses.
[112:1] 16 tn Heb “in his commands he delights very much.” The words “in keeping” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Taking delight in the law is metonymic here for obeying God’s moral will. See Ps 1:2.
[118:6] 16 tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential. See Ps 56:11.
[128:1] 17 sn Psalm 128. The psalmist observes that the godly individual has genuine happiness because the Lord rewards such a person with prosperity and numerous children.
[128:1] 18 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
[128:1] 19 tn Heb “every fearer of the
[128:1] 20 tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”
[139:14] 21 tc Heb “because awesome things, I am distinct, amazing [are] your works.” The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of פָּלָה (pala’) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from פָלָא (pala’; see GKC 216 §75.qq), which in the Niphal perfect means “to be amazing” (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Prov 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, “you are amazing” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 249, 251). The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants: נפלאים, the otherwise unattested masculine plural participle of פָלָא, and נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot), the usual (feminine) plural form of the Niphal participle. The latter has been changed to a verb by later scribes in an attempt to accommodate it syntactically. The original text likely read, נוראות נפלאותים מעשׂיך (“your works [are] awesome [and] amazing”).
[139:14] 22 tc Heb “and my being knows very much.” Better parallelism is achieved (see v. 15a) if one emends יֹדַעַת (yoda’at), a Qal active participle, feminine singular form, to יָדַעְתָּ (yada’ta), a Qal perfect second masculine singular perfect. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252.
