Psalms 26:11

26:11 But I have integrity! ¹ 

Rescue me ²  and have mercy on me!

Psalms 139:7

139:7 Where can I go to escape your spirit?

Where can I flee to escape your presence? ³ 

Psalms 39:13

39:13 Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy

before I pass away. ⁴ 

Psalms 42:9

42:9 I will pray ⁵  to God, my high ridge: ⁶ 

“Why do you ignore ⁷  me?

Why must I walk around mourning ⁸ 

because my enemies oppress me?”

Psalms 138:7

138:7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger, ⁹  you revive me.

You oppose my angry enemies, ¹⁰ 

and your right hand delivers me.

Psalms 23:4

23:4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, ¹¹ 

I fear ¹²  no danger, ¹³ 

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff reassure me. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 143:8

143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, ¹⁵ 

for I trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, ¹⁶ 

because I long for you. ¹⁷ 

[26:11]  ¹ tn Heb “and I in my integrity walk.” The psalmist uses the imperfect verbal form to emphasize this is his practice. The construction at the beginning of the verse (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist and the sinners mentioned in vv. 9-10.

[26:11]  ² tn Or “redeem me.”

[139:7]  ³ tn Heb “Where can I go from your spirit, and where from your face can I flee?” God’s “spirit” may refer here (1) to his presence (note the parallel term, “your face,” and see Ps 104:29-30, where God’s “face” is his presence and his “spirit” is the life-giving breath he imparts) or (2) to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).

[39:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “Gaze away from me and I will smile before I go and am not.” The precise identification of the initial verb form (הָשַׁע, hasha’) is uncertain. It could be from the root שָׁעָע (sha’a’, “smear”), but “your eyes” would be the expected object in this case (see Isa 6:10). The verb may be an otherwise unattested Hiphil form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “to gaze”) meaning “cause your gaze to be.” Some prefer to emend the form to the Qal שְׁעֵה (shÿ’eh, “gaze”; see Job 14:6). If one does read a form of the verb “to gaze,” the angry divine “gaze” of discipline would seem to be in view (see vv. 10-11). For a similar expression of this sentiment see Job 10:20-21.

[42:9]  ⁷ tn The cohortative form indicates the psalmist’s resolve.

[42:9]  ⁸ tn This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3.

[42:9]  ⁹ tn Or “forget.”

[42:9]  ¹⁰ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.

[138:7]  ⁹ tn Or “distress.”

[138:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “against the anger of my enemies you extend your hand.”

[23:4]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל [tsel] + מָוֶת [mavet]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת). Other scholars prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צָלַם, tsalam) meaning “darkness.” An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. If the word does indeed mean “darkness,” it modifies גַיְא (gay’, “valley, ravine”) quite naturally. At the metaphorical level, v. 4 pictures the shepherd taking his sheep through a dark ravine where predators might lurk. The life-threatening situations faced by the psalmist are the underlying reality behind the imagery.

[23:4]  ¹² tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 4, as in vv. 1-3, highlight what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.

[23:4]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term רַע (ra’) is traditionally translated “evil” here, perhaps suggesting a moral or ethical nuance. But at the level of the metaphor, the word means “danger, injury, harm,” as a sheep might experience from a predator. The life-threatening dangers faced by the psalmist, especially the enemies mentioned in v. 5, are the underlying reality.

[23:4]  ¹⁴ tn The Piel of נָחַם (nakham), when used with a human object, means “comfort, console.” But here, within the metaphorical framework, it refers to the way in which a shepherd uses his implements to assure the sheep of his presence and calm their nerves. The underlying reality is the emotional stability God provides the psalmist during life threatening situations.

[143:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.

[143:8]  ¹⁴ sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

[143:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).