Psalms 25:9

25:9 May he show ¹  the humble what is right! ² 

May he teach ³  the humble his way!

Psalms 10:12

10:12 Rise up, Lord! ⁴ 

O God, strike him down! ⁵ 

Do not forget the oppressed!

Psalms 10:17

10:17 Lord, you have heard ⁶  the request ⁷  of the oppressed;

you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer. ⁸ 

Psalms 34:2

34:2 I will boast ⁹  in the Lord;

let the oppressed hear and rejoice! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 69:32

69:32 The oppressed look on – let them rejoice!

You who seek God, ¹¹  may you be encouraged! ¹² 

Psalms 147:6

147:6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,

but knocks ¹³  the wicked to the ground.

Psalms 149:4

149:4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;

he exalts the oppressed by delivering them. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 9:12

9:12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; ¹⁵ 

he did not overlook ¹⁶  their cry for help ¹⁷ 

Psalms 9:18

9:18 for the needy are not permanently ignored, ¹⁸ 

the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 22:26

22:26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled! ²⁰ 

Let those who seek his help praise the Lord!

May you ²¹  live forever!

[25:9]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.

[25:9]  ² tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.

[25:9]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).

[10:12]  ⁴ sn Rise up, O Lord! The psalmist’s mood changes from lament to petition and confidence.

[10:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “lift up your hand.” Usually the expression “lifting the hand” refers to praying (Pss 28:2; 134:2) or making an oath (Ps 106:26), but here it probably refers to “striking a blow” (see 2 Sam 18:28; 20:21). Note v. 15, where the psalmist asks the Lord to “break the arm of the wicked.” A less likely option is that the psalmist is requesting that the Lord declare by oath his intention to intervene.

[10:17]  ⁷ sn You have heard. The psalmist is confident that God has responded positively to his earlier petitions for divine intervention. The psalmist apparently prayed the words of vv. 16-18 after the reception of an oracle of deliverance (given in response to the confident petition of vv. 12-15) or after the Lord actually delivered him from his enemies.

[10:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “desire.”

[10:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “you make firm their heart, you cause your ear to listen.”

[34:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my soul will boast”; or better, “let my soul boast.” Following the cohortative form in v. 1, it is likely that the prefixed verbal form here is jussive.

[34:2]  ¹¹ tn The two prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best taken as jussives, for the psalmist is calling his audience to worship (see v. 3).

[69:32]  ¹³ sn You who seek God refers to those who seek to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him (see Ps 53:2).

[69:32]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “may your heart[s] live.” See Ps 22:26.

[147:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “brings down.”

[149:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he honors the oppressed [with] deliverance.”

[9:12]  ²² tn Heb “for the one who seeks shed blood remembered them.” The idiomatic expression “to seek shed blood” seems to carry the idea “to seek payment/restitution for one’s shed blood.” The plural form דָּמִים (damim, “shed blood”) occurs only here as the object of דָּרַשׁ (darash); the singular form דָּם (dam, “blood”) appears with the verb in Gen 9:5; 42:22; Ezek 33:6. “Them,” the pronominal object of the verb “remembered,” refers to the oppressed, mentioned specifically in the next line, so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:12]  ²³ tn Heb “did not forget.”

[9:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the cry for help of the oppressed.” In this context the “oppressed” are the psalmist and those he represents, whom the hostile nations have threatened.

[9:18]  ²⁵ tn Or “forgotten.”

[9:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the hope of the afflicted does [not] perish forever.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The imperfect verbal forms express what typically happens.

[22:26]  ²⁸ sn Eat and be filled. In addition to praising the Lord, the psalmist also offers a thank offering to the Lord and invites others to share in a communal meal.

[22:26]  ²⁹ tn Heb “may your heart[s].”