Psalms 22:5

22:5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;

in you they trusted and they were not disappointed. ¹ 

Psalms 30:8

30:8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;

I begged the Lord for mercy: ² 

Psalms 51:13

51:13 Then I will teach ³  rebels your merciful ways, ⁴ 

and sinners will turn ⁵  to you.

Psalms 59:9

59:9 You are my source of strength! I will wait for you! ⁶ 

For God is my refuge. ⁷ 

Psalms 86:3-4

86:3 Have mercy on me, ⁸  O Lord,

for I cry out to you all day long!

86:4 Make your servant ⁹  glad,

for to you, O Lord, I pray! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 88:13

88:13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;

in the morning my prayer confronts you.

Psalms 91:7

91:7 Though a thousand may fall beside you,

and a multitude on your right side,

it ¹¹  will not reach you.

Psalms 91:10

91:10 No harm will overtake ¹²  you;

no illness ¹³  will come near your home. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 123:1

Psalm 123 ¹⁵ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁶ 

123:1 I look up ¹⁷  toward you,

the one enthroned ¹⁸  in heaven.

Psalms 143:6

143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; ¹⁹ 

my soul thirsts for you in a parched ²⁰  land. ²¹ 

[22:5]  ¹ tn Or “were not ashamed.”

[30:8]  ² tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 8 are probably preterites; the psalmist recalls that he prayed in his time of crisis.

[51:13]  ³ tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. This may be a vow or promise. If forgiven, the psalmist will “repay” the Lord by declaring God’s mercy and motivating other sinners to repent.

[51:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “your ways.” The word “merciful” is added for clarification. God’s “ways” are sometimes his commands, but in this context, where the teaching of God’s ways motivates repentance (see the next line), it is more likely that God’s merciful and compassionate way of dealing with sinners is in view. Thanksgiving songs praising God for his deliverance typically focus on these divine attributes (see Pss 34, 41, 116, 138).

[51:13]  ⁵ tn Or “return,” i.e., in repentance.

[59:9]  ⁴ tc Heb “his strength, for you I will watch.” “His strength” should be emended to “my strength” (see v. 17). Some also emend אֶשְׁמֹרָה (’eshmorah, “I will watch”) to אֱזַמֵּרָה (’ezammerah, “I will sing praises [to you]”) See v. 17.

[59:9]  ⁵ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[86:3]  ⁵ tn Or “show me favor.”

[86:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the soul of your servant.”

[86:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “I lift up my soul.”

[91:7]  ⁷ tn Apparently the deadly disease mentioned in v. 6b is the understood subject here.

[91:10]  ⁸ tn Or “confront.”

[91:10]  ⁹ tn For this sense of the Hebrew term נגע see Ps 38:11.

[91:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “your tent.”

[123:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.

[123:1]  ¹⁰ 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.

[123:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[123:1]  ¹² tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12).

[143:6]  ¹⁰ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

[143:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

[143:6]  ¹² tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).