Psalms 28:7

28:7 The Lord strengthens and protects me; ¹ 

I trust in him with all my heart. ² 

I am rescued ³  and my heart is full of joy; ⁴ 

I will sing to him in gratitude. ⁵ 

Psalms 31:19

31:19 How great is your favor, ⁶ 

which you store up for your loyal followers! ⁷ 

In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter ⁸  in you. ⁹ 

Psalms 39:1

Psalm 39 ¹⁰ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

39:1 I decided, ¹¹  “I will watch what I say

and make sure I do not sin with my tongue. ¹² 

I will put a muzzle over my mouth

while in the presence of an evil man.” ¹³ 

Psalms 40:12

40:12 For innumerable dangers ¹⁴  surround me.

My sins overtake me

so I am unable to see;

they outnumber the hairs of my head

so my strength fails me. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 55:23

55:23 But you, O God, will bring them ¹⁶  down to the deep Pit. ¹⁷ 

Violent and deceitful people ¹⁸  will not live even half a normal lifespan. ¹⁹ 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Psalms 69:6

69:6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,

O sovereign Lord and king! ²⁰ 

Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,

O God of Israel!

Psalms 141:5

141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!

May my head not refuse ²¹  choice oil! ²² 

Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. ²³ 

[28:7]  ¹ tn Heb “The Lord [is] my strength and my shield.”

[28:7]  ² tn Heb “in him my heart trusts.”

[28:7]  ³ tn Or “I am helped.”

[28:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and my heart exults.”

[28:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “and from my song I will thank him.” As pointed in the Hebrew text, מִשִּׁירִי (mishiri) appears to be “from my song,” but the preposition “from” never occurs elsewhere with the verb “to thank” (Hiphil of יָדָה, yadah). Perhaps משׁיר is a noun form meaning “song.” If so, it can be taken as an adverbial accusative, “and [with] my song I will thank him.” See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 236.

[31:19]  ⁶ tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”

[31:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “for those who fear you.”

[31:19]  ⁸ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 34:21-22).

[31:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”

[39:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 39. The psalmist laments his frailty and mortality as he begs the Lord to take pity on him and remove his disciplinary hand.

[39:1]  ¹² tn Heb “I said.”

[39:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will watch my ways, from sinning with my tongue.”

[39:1]  ¹⁴ sn The psalmist wanted to voice a lament to the Lord (see vv. 4-6), but he hesitated to do so in the presence of evil men, for such words might be sinful if they gave the wicked an occasion to insult God. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 1:345.

[40:12]  ¹⁶ tn Or “sinful deeds.” The Hebrew term used here can have a nonmoral nuance (“dangers”) or a moral one (“sinful deeds”) depending on the context. The next line (see “my sins”) seems to favor the moral sense, but the psalmist also speaks of enemies shortly after this (v. 14).

[40:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and my heart abandons me.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of emotional strength and courage. For a similar idea see Ps 38:10.

[55:23]  ²¹ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

[55:23]  ²² tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

[55:23]  ²³ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

[55:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

[69:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “O Master, Lord of hosts.” Both titles draw attention to God’s sovereign position.

[141:5]  ³¹ tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.

[141:5]  ³² sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.

[141:5]  ³³ tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.