Psalms 24:6

24:6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,

Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. ¹  (Selah)

Psalms 25:12

25:12 The Lord shows his faithful followers

the way they should live. ² 

Psalms 75:7

75:7 For God is the judge! ³ 

He brings one down and exalts another. ⁴ 

Psalms 78:54

78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,

to this mountainous land ⁵  which his right hand ⁶  acquired.

Psalms 87:6

87:6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations, ⁷ 

“This one was born there.” ⁸  (Selah)

Psalms 104:26

104:26 The ships travel there,

and over here swims the whale ⁹  you made to play in it.

Psalms 118:24

118:24 This is the day the Lord has brought about. ¹⁰ 

We will be happy and rejoice in it.

[24:6]  ¹ tn Heb “this [is the] generation of the ones seeking him, the ones seeking your face, Jacob.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 27:8; 105:4).

[25:12]  ² 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”).

[75:7]  ³ tn Or “judges.”

[75:7]  ⁴ tn The imperfects here emphasize the generalizing nature of the statement.

[78:54]  ⁴ tn Heb “this mountain.” The whole land of Canaan seems to be referred to here. In Exod 15:17 the promised land is called the “mountain of your [i.e., God’s] inheritance.”

[78:54]  ⁵ tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).

[87:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Lord records in the writing of the nations.”

[87:6]  ⁶ tn As noted in v. 4, the translation assumes a contrast between “there” (the various foreign lands) and “in her” (Zion). In contrast to foreigners, the citizens of Zion have special status because of their birthplace (v. 5). In this case vv. 4 and 6 form a structural frame around v. 5.

[104:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.

[118:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “this is the day the Lord has made.” Though sometimes applied in a general way, this statement in its context refers to the day of deliverance which the psalmist and people celebrate.