Psalms 26:3

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

and your loyalty continually motivates me. ² 

Psalms 35:2

35:2 Grab your small shield and large shield, ³ 

and rise up to help me!

Psalms 69:11

69:11 I wear sackcloth

and they ridicule me. ⁴ 

Psalms 119:32

119:32 I run along the path of your commands,

for you enable me to do so. ⁵ 

Psalms 119:39

119:39 Take away the insults that I dread! ⁶ 

Indeed, ⁷  your regulations are good.

Psalms 119:76

119:76 May your loyal love console me,

as you promised your servant. ⁸ 

Psalms 119:97

מ (Mem)

119:97 O how I love your law!

All day long I meditate on it.

Psalms 119:175

119:175 May I ⁹  live and praise you!

May your regulations help me! ¹⁰ 

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

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

[35:2]  ³ tn Two different types of shields are mentioned here. See also Ezek 38:4. Many modern translations render the first term (translated here “small shield”) as “buckler” (cf. NASB “buckler and shield”; the order is often reversed in the translation, apparently for stylistic reasons: cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “shield and buckler”). The English term “buckler,” referring to a small round shield held on the arm to protect the upper body, is unfamiliar to many modern readers, so the term “small shield” was used in the present translation for clarity.

[69:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I am an object of ridicule to them.”

[119:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “for you make wide my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and understanding. The Lord gives the psalmist the desire and moral understanding that are foundational to the willing obedience depicted metaphorically in the preceding line. In Isa 60:5 the expression “your heart will be wide” means “your heart will swell with pride,” but here the nuance appears to be different.

[119:39]  ⁹ tn Heb “my reproach that I fear.”

[119:39]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[119:76]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to your word to your servant.”

[119:175]  ¹³ tn Heb “my life.”

[119:175]  ¹⁴ tn God’s regulations will “help” the psalmist by giving him moral and ethical guidance.