Psalms 34:12

34:12 Do you want to really live? ¹ 

Would you love to live a long, happy life? ² 

Psalms 35:27

35:27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice!

May they continually say, ³  “May the Lord be praised, ⁴  for he wants his servant to be secure.” ⁵ 

[34:12]  ¹ tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.

[34:12]  ² tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”

[35:27]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 27a are understood as jussives (see vv. 24b-26).

[35:27]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great.”

[35:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one who desires the peace of his servant.”