Psalms 26:3

26:3 For I am ever aware of your faithfulness, ¹ 

and your loyalty continually motivates me. ² 

Psalms 26:11

26:11 But I have integrity! ³ 

Rescue me ⁴  and have mercy on me!

Psalms 73:9

73:9 They speak as if they rule in heaven,

and lay claim to the earth. ⁵ 

Psalms 81:12

81:12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; ⁶ 

they did what seemed right to them. ⁷ 

Psalms 91:6

91:6 the plague that comes in the darkness,

or the disease that comes at noon. ⁸ 

Psalms 95:1

Psalm 95 ⁹ 

95:1 Come! Let’s sing for joy to the Lord!

Let’s shout out praises to our protector who delivers us! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 97:3

97:3 Fire goes before him;

on every side ¹¹  it burns up his enemies.

Psalms 104:10

104:10 He turns springs into streams; ¹² 

they flow between the mountains.

Psalms 109:23

109:23 I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; ¹³ 

I am shaken off like a locust.

Psalms 116:9

116:9 I will serve ¹⁴  the Lord

in the land ¹⁵  of the living.

Psalms 119:1

Psalm 119 ¹⁶ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ¹⁷ 

who obey ¹⁸  the law of the Lord.

Psalms 119:3

119:3 who, moreover, do no wrong,

but follow in his footsteps. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 119:45

119:45 I will be secure, ²⁰ 

for I seek your precepts.

Psalms 136:16

136:16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,

for his loyal love endures,

Psalms 139:7

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

Where can I flee to escape your presence? ²¹ 

[26:3]  ¹ tn Heb “for your faithfulness [is] before my eyes.”

[26:3]  ² tn Heb “and I walk about in your loyalty.”

[26:11]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or “redeem me.”

[73:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “they set in heaven their mouth, and their tongue walks through the earth.” The meaning of the text is uncertain. Perhaps the idea is that they lay claim to heaven (i.e., speak as if they were ruling in heaven) and move through the earth declaring their superiority and exerting their influence. Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) the first line as adversative and translate, “they set their mouth against heaven,” that is, they defy God.

[81:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I sent him away in the stubbornness of their heart.”

[81:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “they walked in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite (“walked”) or a customary imperfect (“were walking”).

[91:6]  ⁹ sn As in Deut 32:23-24, vv. 5-6 closely associate military attack and deadly disease. Perhaps the latter alludes to one of the effects of siege warfare on the population of an entrapped city, which was especially vulnerable to the outbreak of epidemics.

[95:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 95. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God as the creator of the world and the nation’s protector, but he also reminds the people not to rebel against God.

[95:1]  ¹² tn Heb “to the rocky summit of our deliverance.”

[97:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “all around.”

[104:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[the] one who sends springs into streams.” Another option is to translate, “he sends streams [i.e., streams that originate from springs] into the valleys” (cf. NIV).

[109:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.

[116:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “walk before” (see Ps 56:13). On the meaning of the Hebrew idiom, see the notes at 2 Kgs 20:3/Isa 38:3.

[116:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “lands, regions.”

[119:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ²² tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ²³ tn Heb “walk in.”

[119:3]  ²³ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[119:45]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and I will walk about in a wide place.” The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive gives a further consequence of the anticipated positive divine response (see vv. 43-44). Another option is to take the cohortative as expressing the psalmist’s request. In this case one could translate, “and please give me security.”

[139:7]  ²⁷ 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).