Psalms 36:6

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ¹ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ²  mankind and the animal kingdom. ³ 

Psalms 71:20

71:20 Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress, ⁴ 

revive me once again! ⁵ 

Bring me up once again ⁶  from the depths of the earth!

Psalms 77:16

77:16 The waters ⁷  saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and trembled. ⁸ 

Yes, the depths of the sea ⁹  shook with fear. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 135:6

135:6 He does whatever he pleases

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and all the ocean depths.

[36:6]  ¹ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ² tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ³ sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.

[71:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “you who have caused me to see many harmful distresses.”

[71:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “you return, you give me life.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will revive me once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[71:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “you return, you bring me up.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will bring me up once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[77:16]  ⁷ tn The waters of the Red Sea are here personified; they are portrayed as seeing God and fearing him.

[77:16]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.

[77:16]  ⁹ tn The words “of the sea” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[77:16]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.