Psalms 32:6

32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers ¹  should pray to you

while there is a window of opportunity. ² 

Certainly ³  when the surging water ⁴  rises,

it will not reach them. ⁵ 

Psalms 46:1

Psalm 46 ⁶ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; ⁷  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; ⁸ 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. ⁹ 

Psalms 84:3

84:3 Even the birds find a home there,

and the swallow ¹⁰  builds a nest,

where she can protect her young ¹¹ 

near your altars, O Lord who rules over all,

my king and my God.

[32:6]  ¹ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[32:6]  ² tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the Lord]” and seek his forgiveness (cf. NIV). Some emend the text by combining מְצֹא (mÿtso’, “finding”) with the following term רַק (raq, “only, surely”) and read either ר[וֹ]מָצ (matsor, “distress”; see Ps 31:22) or ק[וֹ]מָצ (matsoq, “hardship”; see Ps 119:143). In this case, one may translate “in a time of distress/hardship” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[32:6]  ³ tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.

[32:6]  ⁴ sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.

[32:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.

[46:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.

[46:1]  ⁷ sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.

[46:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”

[46:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.

[84:3]  ¹¹ tn The word translated “swallow” occurs only here and in Prov 26:2.

[84:3]  ¹² tn Heb “even a bird finds a home, and a swallow a nest for herself, [in] which she places her young.”