Psalms 28:4

28:4 Pay them back for their evil deeds!

Pay them back for what they do!

Punish them! ¹ 

Psalms 72:1

Psalm 72 ² 

For ³  Solomon.

72:1 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ⁴ 

Grant the king’s son ⁵  the ability to make fair decisions! ⁶ 

Psalms 115:1

Psalm 115 ⁷ 

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!

But to your name bring honor, ⁸ 

for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. ⁹ 

[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.

[72:1]  ² sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.

[72:1]  ³ tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.

[72:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”

[72:1]  ⁵ sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.

[72:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”

[115:1]  ³ sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.

[115:1]  ⁴ tn Or “give glory.”

[115:1]  ⁵ sn The psalmist asks the Lord to demonstrate his loyal love and faithfulness, not simply so Israel may benefit, but primarily so that the Lord will receive honor among the nations, who will recognize, contrary to their present view (see v. 2), that Israel’s God is committed to his people.