Psalms 29:1

Psalm 29 ¹ 

A psalm of David.

29:1 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings, ² 

acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power! ³ 

Psalms 37:3

37:3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right!

Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! ⁴ 

Psalms 40:11

40:11 O Lord, you do not withhold ⁵  your compassion from me.

May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me! ⁶ 

Psalms 56:9

56:9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help; ⁷ 

I know that God is on my side. ⁸ 

Psalms 61:6

61:6 Give the king long life!

Make his lifetime span several generations! ⁹ 

Psalms 62:8

62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people!

Pour out your hearts before him! ¹⁰ 

God is our shelter! (Selah)

Psalms 65:7

65:7 You calm the raging seas ¹¹ 

and their roaring waves,

as well as the commotion made by the nations. ¹² 

Psalms 74:10

74:10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?

Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

Psalms 80:14

80:14 O God, invincible warrior, ¹³  come back!

Look down from heaven and take notice!

Take care of this vine,

Psalms 89:3

89:3 The Lord said, ¹⁴ 

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:

Psalms 102:24

102:24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! ¹⁵ 

You endure through all generations. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 104:5

104:5 He established the earth on its foundations;

it will never be upended.

Psalms 119:126

119:126 It is time for the Lord to act –

they break your law!

Psalms 119:132

119:132 Turn toward me and extend mercy to me,

as you typically do to your loyal followers. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 121:8

121:8 The Lord will protect you in all you do, ¹⁸ 

now and forevermore.

[29:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 29. In this hymn of praise the psalmist calls upon the heavenly assembly to acknowledge the royal splendor of the Lord. He describes the Lord’s devastating power as revealed in the thunderstorm and affirms that the Lord exerts this awesome might on behalf of his people. In its original context the psalm was a bold polemic against the Canaanite storm god Baal, for it affirms that the Lord is the real king who controls the elements of the storm, contrary to pagan belief. See R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “The Polemic against Baalism in Israel’s Early History and Literature,” BSac 150 (1994): 280-82.

[29:1]  ² tc Heb “sons of gods,” or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the MT, it is likely that the final mem is actually enclitic, rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8.

[29:1]  ³ tn Or “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.”

[37:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “tend integrity.” The verb רָעָה (ra’ah, “tend, shepherd”) is probably used here in the sense of “watch over, guard.” The noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness, honesty, integrity”) is understood as the direct object of the verb, though it could be taken as an adverbial accusative, “[feed] securely,” if the audience is likened to a flock of sheep.

[40:11]  ⁷ tn Some (cf. NIV, NRSV) translate the verb as a request (“do not withhold”), but elsewhere in the psalms the second masculine singular prefixed form, when addressed to God and preceded by לֹא (lo’), is always indicative in mood and never has the force of a prayer (see Pss 16:10; 22:2; 44:9 51:16-17; 60:10; 108:11; cf. NEB, NASB).

[40:11]  ⁸ tn In this line the psalmist makes the transition from confidence to petition (see v. 13). Since the prefixed verbal form in the preceding line is imperfect/indicative, one could take the verb in this line as imperfect as well and translate, “your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me” (cf. NEB). However, the כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the next verse, if causal (“because”), is best understood as introducing a motivating argument in support of a petition. For this reason v. 11b is best taken as a prayer with the prefixed form being understood as jussive (cf. NIV, NRSV). For parallels to the proposed construction (jussive followed by כִּי + perfect introducing motivating argument), see Ps 25:21, as well as Pss 10:2-3; 22:8.

[56:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “then my enemies will turn back in the day I cry out.” The Hebrew particle אָז (’az, “then”) is probably used here to draw attention to the following statement.

[56:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “this I know, that God is for me.”

[61:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “days upon days of the king add, his years like generation and generation.”

[62:8]  ¹⁶ tn To “pour out one’s heart” means to offer up to God intense, emotional lamentation and petitionary prayers (see Lam 2:19).

[65:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”

[65:7]  ²⁰ sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).

[80:14]  ²² tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also vv. 4, 7 for a similar construction.

[89:3]  ²⁵ tn The words “the Lord said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. It is clear that the words of vv. 3-4 are spoken by the Lord, in contrast to vv. 1-2, which are spoken by the psalmist.

[102:24]  ²⁸ tn Heb “do not lift me up in the middle of my days.”

[102:24]  ²⁹ tn Heb “in a generation of generations [are] your years.”

[119:132]  ³¹ tn Heb “according to custom toward the lovers of your name.” The “lovers of” God’s “name” are the Lord’s loyal followers. See Pss 5:11; 69:36; Isa 56:6.

[121:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.”