Psalms 3:4

3:4 To the Lord I cried out, ¹ 

and he answered me from his holy hill. ²  (Selah)

Psalms 18:41

18:41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; ³ 

they cry out to the Lord, ⁴  but he does not answer them.

Psalms 22:7

22:7 All who see me taunt ⁵  me;

they mock me ⁶  and shake their heads. ⁷ 

Psalms 36:2

36:2 for he is too proud

to recognize and give up his sin. ⁸ 

Psalms 41:8

41:8 They say, ⁹ 

‘An awful disease ¹⁰  overwhelms him, ¹¹ 

and now that he is bed-ridden he will never recover.’ ¹² 

Psalms 89:34

89:34 I will not break ¹³  my covenant

or go back on what I promised. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 98:4

98:4 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!

Break out in a joyful shout and sing!

Psalms 107:3

107:3 and gathered from foreign lands, ¹⁵ 

from east and west,

from north and south.

Psalms 110:2

110:2 The Lord ¹⁶  extends ¹⁷  your dominion ¹⁸  from Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Psalms 124:7

124:7 We escaped with our lives, ¹⁹  like a bird from a hunter’s snare.

The snare broke, and we escaped.

Psalms 128:5

128:5 May the Lord bless you ²⁰  from Zion,

that you might see ²¹  Jerusalem ²²  prosper

all the days of your life,

Psalms 135:21

135:21 The Lord deserves praise in Zion ²³  –

he who dwells in Jerusalem. ²⁴ 

Praise the Lord!

Psalms 139:3

139:3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; ²⁵ 

you are aware of everything I do. ²⁶ 

Psalms 141:1

Psalm 141 ²⁷ 

A psalm of David.

141:1 O Lord, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me!

Pay attention to me when I cry out to you!

[3:4]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form could be an imperfect, yielding the translation “I cry out,” but the verb form in the next line (a vav [ו] consecutive with the preterite) suggests this is a brief narrative of what has already happened. Consequently the verb form in v. 4a is better understood as a preterite, “I cried out.” (For another example of the preterite of this same verb form, see Ps 30:8.) Sometime after the crisis arose, the psalmist prayed to the Lord and received an assuring answer. Now he confidently awaits the fulfillment of the divine promise.

[3:4]  ² sn His holy hill. That is, Zion (see Pss 2:6; 48:1-2). The psalmist recognizes that the Lord dwells in his sanctuary on Mount Zion.

[18:41]  ³ tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”

[18:41]  ⁴ tn Heb “to the Lord.” The words “they cry out” are supplied in the translation because they are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[22:7]  ⁵ tn Or “scoff at, deride, mock.”

[22:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “they separate with a lip.” Apparently this refers to their verbal taunting.

[22:7]  ⁷ sn Shake their heads. Apparently this refers to a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 109:25; Lam 2:15.

[36:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “for it causes to be smooth to him in his eyes to find his sin to hate.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Perhaps the point is this: His rebellious attitude makes him reject any notion that God will hold him accountable. His attitude also prevents him from recognizing and repudiating his sinful ways.

[41:8]  ⁹ tn The words “they say” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to make it clear that v. 8 contains a quotation of what the psalmist’s enemies say about him (see v. 7a).

[41:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “thing of worthlessness.” In Ps 101:3 the phrase refers to evil deeds in general, but here it appears to refer more specifically to the illness that plagues the psalmist.

[41:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “is poured out on him.” The passive participle of יָצַק (yatsaq) is used.

[41:8]  ¹² tn Heb “and he who lies down will not again arise.”

[89:34]  ¹¹ tn Or “desecrate.”

[89:34]  ¹² tn Heb “and what proceeds out of my lips I will not alter.”

[107:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “from lands.” The word “foreign” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[110:2]  ¹⁵ tn Since the Lord is mentioned in the third person (note the use of the first person in v. 1), it is likely that these are the psalmist’s words to the king, not a continuation of the oracle per se.

[110:2]  ¹⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.

[110:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.

[124:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “our life escaped.”

[128:5]  ¹⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the imperatives that are subordinated to this clause in vv. 5b-6a). Having described the blessings that typically come to the godly, the psalmist concludes by praying that this ideal may become reality for the representative godly man being addressed.

[128:5]  ²⁰ tn The imperative with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding jussive.

[128:5]  ²¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[135:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “praised be the Lord from Zion.”

[135:21]  ²² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[139:3]  ²³ tn Heb “my traveling and my lying down you measure.” The verb זָרָה (zarah, “to measure”) is probably here a denominative from זָרָת (zarat, “a span; a measure”), though some derive it from זָרָה (zarat, “to winnow; to sift”; see BDB 279-80 s.v. זָרָה).

[139:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “all my ways.”

[141:1]  ²⁵ sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.