Psalms 33:9

33:9 For he spoke, and it ¹  came into existence,

he issued the decree, ²  and it stood firm.

Psalms 44:4

44:4 You are my ³  king, O God!

Decree ⁴  Jacob’s ⁵  deliverance!

Psalms 91:11

91:11 For he will order his angels ⁶ 

to protect you in all you do. ⁷ 

Psalms 105:8

105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,

the promise he made ⁸  to a thousand generations –

Psalms 148:5

148:5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for he gave the command and they came into existence.

[33:9]  ¹ tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).

[33:9]  ² tn Heb “he commanded.”

[44:4]  ³ sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.

[44:4]  ⁴ tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).

[44:4]  ⁵ tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.

[91:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “for his angels he will command concerning you.”

[91:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “in all your ways.”

[105:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.