Psalms 33:2

33:2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!

Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!

Psalms 81:2

81:2 Sing ¹  a song and play the tambourine,

the pleasant sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument!

Psalms 137:2-4

137:2 On the poplars in her midst

we hang our harps,

137:3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs; ² 

those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: ³ 

“Sing for us a song about Zion!” ⁴ 

137:4 How can we sing a song to the Lord

in a foreign land?

Psalms 150:3-5

150:3 Praise him with the blast of the horn!

Praise him with the lyre and the harp!

150:4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing!

Praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!

150:5 Praise him with loud cymbals!

Praise him with clanging cymbals!

Psalms 150:1

Psalm 150 ⁵ 

150:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary!

Praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength! ⁶ 

Psalms 15:1

Psalm 15 ⁷ 

A psalm of David.

15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? ⁸ 

Who may live on your holy hill? ⁹ 

Psalms 15:1

Psalm 15 ¹⁰ 

A psalm of David.

15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? ¹¹ 

Who may live on your holy hill? ¹² 

Psalms 16:1

Psalm 16 ¹³ 

A prayer ¹⁴  of David.

16:1 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 25:6

25:6 Remember ¹⁶  your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,

for you have always acted in this manner. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 25:2

25:2 My God, I trust in you.

Please do not let me be humiliated;

do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!

Psalms 29:1

Psalm 29 ¹⁸ 

A psalm of David.

29:1 Acknowledge the Lord, you heavenly beings, ¹⁹ 

acknowledge the Lord’s majesty and power! ²⁰ 

Ezra 3:10

3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, ²¹  and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by ²²  King David of Israel. ²³ 

[81:2]  ¹ tn Heb “lift up.”

[137:3]  ² tn Heb “ask us [for] the words of a song.”

[137:3]  ³ tn Heb “our [?] joy.” The derivation and meaning of the Hebrew phrase תוֹלָלֵינוּ (tolalenu, “our [?]”) are uncertain. A derivation from תָּלַל (talal, “to mock”) fits contextually, but this root occurs only in the Hiphil stem. For a discussion of various proposals, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 236.

[137:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “from a song of Zion.” Most modern translations read, “one of the songs of Zion,” taking the preposition מִן (min, “from”) as partitive and “song” as collective. The present translation assumes the mem (ם) is enclitic, being misunderstood later as the prefixed preposition.

[150:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 150. The Psalter concludes with a resounding call for praise from everything that has breath.

[150:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sky of his strength.”

[15:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 15. This psalm describes the character qualities that one must possess to be allowed access to the divine presence.

[15:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”

[15:1]  ⁹ sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 43:3; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.

[15:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 15. This psalm describes the character qualities that one must possess to be allowed access to the divine presence.

[15:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”

[15:1]  ¹² sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 43:3; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.

[16:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

[16:1]  ¹⁴ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[16:1]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

[25:6]  ¹⁶ tn That is, “remember” with the intention of repeating.

[25:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for from antiquity [are] they.”

[29:1]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Or “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.”

[3:10]  ²¹ sn This was a long, straight, metallic instrument used for signal calls, rather than the traditional ram’s horn (both instruments are typically translated “trumpet” by English versions).

[3:10]  ²² tn Heb “according to the hands of.”

[3:10]  ²³ sn See Ps 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.