Psalms 23:5

23:5 You prepare a feast before me ¹ 

in plain sight of my enemies.

You refresh ²  my head with oil;

my cup is completely full. ³ 

Psalms 63:5

63:5 As if with choice meat ⁴  you satisfy my soul. ⁵ 

My mouth joyfully praises you, ⁶ 

Psalms 65:4

65:4 How blessed ⁷  is the one whom you choose,

and allow to live in your palace courts. ⁸ 

May we be satisfied with the good things of your house –

your holy palace. ⁹ 

Psalms 104:28

104:28 You give food to them and they receive it;

you open your hand and they are filled with food. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 107:9

107:9 For he has satisfied those who thirst, ¹¹ 

and those who hunger he has filled with food. ¹² 

Psalms 115:15-16

115:15 May you be blessed by the Lord,

the creator ¹³  of heaven and earth!

115:16 The heavens belong to the Lord, ¹⁴ 

but the earth he has given to mankind. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 115:1

Psalm 115 ¹⁶ 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ¹⁷ 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 6:1

Psalm 6 ¹⁹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; ²⁰  a psalm of David.

6:1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger!

Do not discipline me in your raging fury! ²¹ 

[23:5]  ¹ sn In v. 5 the metaphor switches. (It would be very odd for a sheep to have its head anointed and be served wine.) The background for the imagery is probably the royal banquet. Ancient Near Eastern texts describe such banquets in similar terms to those employed by the psalmist. (See M. L. Barre and J. S. Kselman, “New Exodus, Covenant, and Restoration in Psalm 23,” The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth, 97-127.) The reality behind the imagery is the Lord’s favor. Through his blessings and protection he demonstrates to everyone, including dangerous enemies, that the psalmist has a special relationship with him.

[23:5]  ² tn The imperfect verbal form in v. 5a carries on the generalizing mood of vv. 1-4. However, in v. 5b the psalmist switches to a perfect (דִּשַּׁנְתָּ, dishanta), which may have a generalizing force as well. But then again the perfect is conspicuous here and may be present perfect in sense, indicating that the divine host typically pours oil on his head prior to seating him at the banquet table. The verb דָשַׁן (dashan; the Piel is factitive) is often translated “anoint,” but this is misleading, for it might suggest a symbolic act of initiation into royal status. One would expect the verb מָשָׁח (mashan) in this case; דָשַׁן here describes an act of hospitality extended to guests and carries the nuance “refresh.” In Prov 15:30 it stands parallel to “make happy” and refers to the effect that good news has on the inner being of its recipient.

[23:5]  ³ tn The rare noun רְַָויָה (rÿvayah) is derived from the well-attested verb רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated, drink one’s fill”). In this context, where it describes a cup, it must mean “filled up,” but not necessarily to overflowing.

[63:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”

[63:5]  ⁵ tn Or “me.”

[63:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”

[65:4]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[65:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “[whom] you bring near [so that] he might live [in] your courts.”

[65:4]  ⁹ tn Or “temple.”

[104:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] good.”

[107:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[the] longing throat.” The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), which frequently refers to one’s very being or soul, here probably refers to one’s parched “throat” (note the parallelism with נֶפֱשׁ רְעֵבָה, nefesh rÿ’evah, “hungry throat”).

[107:9]  ¹² tn Heb “and [the] hungry throat he has filled [with] good.”

[115:15]  ¹³ tn Or “maker.”

[115:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the heavens [are] heavens to the Lord.”

[115:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to the sons of man.”

[115:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ¹⁸ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.

[6:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 6. The psalmist begs the Lord to withdraw his anger and spare his life. Having received a positive response to his prayer, the psalmist then confronts his enemies and describes how they retreat.

[6:1]  ²⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit, “sheminith”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.

[6:1]  ²¹ sn The implication is that the psalmist has sinned, causing God to discipline him by bringing a life-threatening illness upon him (see vv. 2-7).