Psalms 33:3

33:3 Sing to him a new song! ¹ 

Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him! ² 

Psalms 96:1

Psalm 96 ³ 

96:1 Sing to the Lord a new song! ⁴ 

Sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Psalms 81:3

81:3 Sound the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon, ⁵ 

and on the day of the full moon when our festival begins. ⁶ 

Psalms 144:9

144:9 O God, I will sing a new song to you!

Accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, I will sing praises to you,

Psalms 149:1

Psalm 149 ⁷ 

149:1 Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song!

Praise him in the assembly of the godly! ⁸ 

Psalms 40:3

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ⁹ 

praising our God. ¹⁰ 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ¹¹ 

Psalms 98:1

Psalm 98 ¹² 

A psalm.

98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, ¹³ 

for he performs ¹⁴  amazing deeds!

His right hand and his mighty arm

accomplish deliverance. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 4:7

4:7 You make me happier ¹⁶ 

than those who have abundant grain and wine. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 104:30

104:30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,

and you replenish the surface of the ground.

Psalms 145:2

145:2 Every day I will praise you!

I will praise your name continually! ¹⁸ 

Psalms 19:7

19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect

and preserves one’s life. ¹⁹ 

The rules set down by the Lord ²⁰  are reliable ²¹ 

and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. ²² 

Psalms 23:3

23:3 He restores my strength. ²³ 

He leads me down ²⁴  the right paths ²⁵ 

for the sake of his reputation. ²⁶ 

Psalms 51:10

51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! ²⁷ 

Renew a resolute spirit within me! ²⁸ 

Psalms 90:5-6

90:5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” ²⁹ 

In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up;

90:6 in the morning it glistens ³⁰  and sprouts up;

at evening time it withers ³¹  and dries up.

Psalms 103:5

103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, ³² 

so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. ³³ 

Psalms 71:18

71:18 Even when I am old and gray, ³⁴ 

O God, do not abandon me,

until I tell the next generation about your strength,

and those coming after me about your power. ³⁵ 

[33:3]  ¹ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the lives of his people in fresh and exciting ways.

[33:3]  ² tn Heb “play skillfully with a loud shout.”

[96:1]  ³ sn Psalm 96. The psalmist summons everyone to praise the Lord, the sovereign creator of the world who preserves and promotes justice in the earth.

[96:1]  ⁴ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See also Pss 33:3; 40:3; 98:1.

[81:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the new moon.”

[81:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “at the full moon on the day of our festival.” The Hebrew word כֶּסֶה (keseh) is an alternate spelling of כֶּסֶא (kese’, “full moon”).

[149:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.

[149:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”

[40:3]  ⁹ sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

[40:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

[40:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

[98:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.

[98:1]  ¹² sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.

[98:1]  ¹³ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.

[98:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.

[4:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “you place joy in my heart.” Another option is to understand the perfect verbal form as indicating certitude, “you will make me happier.”

[4:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”

[145:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[19:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[it] restores life.” Elsewhere the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) when used with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”) as object, means to “rescue or preserve one’s life” (Job 33:30; Ps 35:17) or to “revive one’s strength” (emotionally or physically; cf. Ruth 4:15; Lam 1:11, 16, 19). Here the point seems to be that the law preserves the life of the one who studies it by making known God’s will. Those who know God’s will know how to please him and can avoid offending him. See v. 11a.

[19:7]  ¹⁸ tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the Lord.” The noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law.

[19:7]  ¹⁹ tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.

[19:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly.

[23:3]  ¹⁹ tn The appearance of the Hebrew term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi), traditionally translated “my soul,” might suggest a spiritualized interpretation for the first line of v. 3. However, at the surface level of the shepherd/sheep metaphor, this is unlikely. When it occurs with a pronominal suffix נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. 4 נֶפֶשׁ.a). In this context, where the statement most naturally refers to the physical provision just described, the form is best translated simply “me.” The accompanying verb (a Polel form [factitive use] of שׁוּב [shuv]), if referring to the physical provision just described, carries the nuance “refresh, restore strength.”

[23:3]  ²⁰ tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 (יְשׁוֹבֵב [yÿshovev] and יַנְחֵנִי [yakheniy]), like those in vv. 1-2, highlight what is typical of the shepherd/sheep relationship.

[23:3]  ²¹ tn The attributive genitive צֶדֶק (tsedeq) is traditionally translated “righteousness” here, as if designating a moral or ethical quality. But this seems unlikely, for it modifies מַעְגְּלֵי (ma’ggÿley, “paths”). Within the shepherd/sheep metaphor, the phrase likely refers to “right” or “correct” paths, i.e. ones that lead to pastures, wells, or the fold. While צֶדֶק usually does carry a moral or ethical nuance, it can occasionally refer to less abstract things, such as weights and offerings. In this context, which emphasizes divine provision and protection, the underlying reality is probably God’s providential guidance. The psalmist is confident that God takes him down paths that will ultimately lead to something beneficial, not destructive.

[23:3]  ²² tn The Hebrew term שֶׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the shepherd’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.) The statement לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ (lÿma’an shÿmo, “for the sake of his name”) makes excellent sense within the framework of the shepherd/sheep metaphor. Shepherds, who sometimes hired out their services, were undoubtedly concerned about their vocational reputation. To maintain their reputation as competent shepherds, they had to know the “lay of the land” and make sure they led the sheep down the right paths to the proper destinations. The underlying reality is a profound theological truth: God must look out for the best interests of the one he has promised to protect, because if he fails to do so, his faithfulness could legitimately be called into question and his reputation damaged.

[51:10]  ²¹ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.

[51:10]  ²² tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”

[90:5]  ²³ tn Heb “you bring them to an end [with] sleep.” The Hebrew verb זָרַם (zaram) has traditionally been taken to mean “flood” or “overwhelm” (note the Polel form of a root זרם in Ps 77:17, where the verb is used of the clouds pouring down rain). However, the verb form here is Qal, not Polel, and is better understood as a homonym meaning “to make an end [of life].” The term שֵׁנָה (shenah, “sleep”) can be taken as an adverbial accusative; it is a euphemism here for death (see Ps 76:5-6).

[90:6]  ²⁵ tn Or “flourishes.” The verb is used of a crown shining in Ps 132:18. Perhaps here in Ps 90:6 it refers to the glistening of the grass in the morning dew.

[90:6]  ²⁶ tn The Polel form of this verb occurs only here. Perhaps the form should be emended to a Qal (which necessitates eliminating the final lamed [ל] as dittographic). See Ps 37:2.

[103:5]  ²⁷ tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (’ed’ekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (’odekhiy, “your duration; your continuance”) that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).

[103:5]  ²⁸ sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.

[71:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and even unto old age and gray hair.”

[71:18]  ³⁰ tn Heb “until I declare your arm to a generation, to everyone who comes your power.” God’s “arm” here is an anthropomorphism that symbolizes his great strength.