Psalms 28:4

28:4 Pay them back for their evil deeds!

Pay them back for what they do!

Punish them! ¹ 

Psalms 44:1

Psalm 44 ² 

For the music director; by the Korahites, a well-written song. ³ 

44:1 O God, we have clearly heard; ⁴ 

our ancestors ⁵  have told us

what you did ⁶  in their days,

in ancient times. ⁷ 

Psalms 98:1

Psalm 98 ⁸ 

A psalm.

98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, ⁹ 

for he performs ¹⁰  amazing deeds!

His right hand and his mighty arm

accomplish deliverance. ¹¹ 

[28:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Give to them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds. According to the work of their hands give to them. Return their due to them.” The highly repetitive style reflects the psalmist’s agitated emotional state and draws attention to his yearning for justice.

[44:1]  ² sn Psalm 44. The speakers in this psalm (the worshiping community within the nation Israel) were disappointed with God. The psalm begins on a positive note, praising God for leading Israel to past military victories. Verses 1-8 appear to be a song of confidence and petition which the people recited prior to battle. But suddenly the mood changes as the nation laments a recent defeat. The stark contrast between the present and the past only heightens the nation’s confusion. Israel trusted in God for victory, but the Lord rejected them and allowed them to be humiliated in battle. If Israel had been unfaithful to God, their defeat would make sense, but the nation was loyal to the Lord. Comparing the Lord to a careless shepherd, the nation urges God to wake up and to extend his compassion to his suffering people.

[44:1]  ³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 42.

[44:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “with our ears we have heard.”

[44:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 2; the same Hebrew word may be translated either “fathers” or “ancestors” depending on the context.

[44:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the work you worked.”

[44:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the days of old.” This refers specifically to the days of Joshua, during Israel’s conquest of the land, as vv. 2-3 indicate.

[98:1]  ³ sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.

[98:1]  ⁴ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.

[98:1]  ⁵ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.

[98:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.