Psalms 23:2

23:2 He takes me to lush pastures, ¹ 

he leads me to refreshing water. ² 

Psalms 24:3

24:3 Who is allowed to ascend ³  the mountain of the Lord? ⁴ 

Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?

Psalms 25:12

25:12 The Lord shows his faithful followers

the way they should live. ⁵ 

Psalms 33:7

33:7 He piles up the water of the sea; ⁶ 

he puts the oceans ⁷  in storehouses.

Psalms 73:25

73:25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?

I desire no one but you on earth. ⁸ 

Psalms 77:13

77:13 ⁹ O God, your deeds are extraordinary! ¹⁰ 

What god can compare to our great God? ¹¹ 

Psalms 106:2

106:2 Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts,

or relate all his praiseworthy deeds? ¹² 

Psalms 106:32

106:32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,

and Moses suffered ¹³  because of them,

Psalms 107:43

107:43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things!

Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love!

Psalms 130:3

130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of ¹⁴  sins,

O Lord, who could stand before you? ¹⁵ 

Psalms 147:17

147:17 He throws his hailstones ¹⁶  like crumbs.

Who can withstand the cold wind he sends? ¹⁷ 

[23:2]  ¹ tn Heb “he makes me lie down in lush pastures.” The Hiphil verb יַרְבִּיצֵנִי (yarbitseniy) has a causative-modal nuance here (see IBHS 445-46 §27.5 on this use of the Hiphil), meaning “allows me to lie down” (see also Jer 33:12). The point is that the shepherd takes the sheep to lush pastures and lets them eat and rest there. Both imperfect verbal forms in v. 2 are generalizing and highlight the psalmist’s typical experience.

[23:2]  ² tn Both genitives in v. 2 indicate an attribute of the noun they modify: דֶּשֶׁא (deshe’) characterizes the pastures as “lush” (i.e., rich with vegetation), while מְנֻחוֹת (mÿnukhot) probably characterizes the water as refreshing. In this case the plural indicates an abstract quality. Some take מְנֻחוֹת in the sense of “still, calm” (i.e., as describing calm pools in contrast to dangerous torrents) but it is unlikely that such a pastoral scene is in view. Shepherds usually watered their sheep at wells (see Gen 29:2-3; Exod 2:16-19). Another option is to take מְנֻחוֹת as “resting places” and to translate, “water of/at the resting places” (i.e., a genitive of location; see IBHS 147-48 §9.5.2e).

[24:3]  ³ tn The imperfects in v. 3 are modal, expressing potential or permission.

[24:3]  ⁴ sn In this context the Lord’s mountain probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem (see Isa 2:2-3).

[25:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “Who is this man, the one who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” The singular (note “man”) is representative here (see v. 14, where the plural is used), and has thus been translated as a plural (“followers…they”).

[33:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “[he] gathers like a pile the waters of the sea.” Some prefer to emend נֵד (ged, “heap, pile”; cf. NASB) to נֹד (nod, “bottle”; cf. NRSV; NIV “into jars”), but “pile” is used elsewhere to describe water that the Lord confines to one place (Exod 15:8; Josh 3:13, 16; Ps 78:13). This verse appears to refer to Gen 1:9, where God decrees that the watery deep be gathered to one place so that dry land might appear. If so, the participles in this and the following line depict this action with special vividness, as if the reader were present on the occasion. Another option is that the participles picture the confinement of the sea to one place as an ongoing divine activity.

[33:7]  ⁸ tn Or “watery depths.” The form תְּהוֹמוֹת (tÿhomot, “watery depths”) is the plural form of תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “great deep”; see Gen 1:2).

[73:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.

[77:13]  ¹¹ sn Verses 13-20 are the content of the psalmist’s reflection (see vv. 11-12). As he thought about God’s work in Israel’s past, he reached the place where he could confidently cry out for God’s help (see v. 1).

[77:13]  ¹² tn Heb “O God, in holiness [is] your way.” God’s “way” here refers to his actions. “Holiness” is used here in the sense of “set apart, unique,” rather than in a moral/ethical sense. As the next line and the next verse emphasize, God’s deeds are incomparable and set him apart as the one true God.

[77:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “Who [is] a great god like God?” The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “No one!”

[106:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “[or] cause to be heard all his praise.”

[106:32]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “there was harm to Moses.”

[130:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “observe.”

[130:3]  ¹⁸ tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”

[147:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “his ice.”

[147:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?”