Psalms 37:8

37:8 Do not be angry and frustrated! ¹ 

Do not fret! That only leads to trouble!

Psalms 62:5-6

62:5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! ² 

For he is the one who gives me confidence. ³ 

62:6 He alone is my protector ⁴  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ⁵  I will not be upended. ⁶ 

Psalms 73:1

Book 3
(Psalms 73-89)

Psalm 73 ⁷ 

A psalm by Asaph.

73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, ⁸ 

and to those whose motives are pure! ⁹ 

Psalms 73:13

73:13 I concluded, ¹⁰  “Surely in vain I have kept my motives ¹¹  pure

and maintained a pure lifestyle. ¹² 

Psalms 85:9

85:9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance; ¹³ 

then his splendor will again appear in our land. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 139:11

139:11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, ¹⁵ 

and the light will turn to night all around me,” ¹⁶ 

[37:8]  ¹ tn Heb “Refrain from anger! Abandon rage!”

[62:5]  ² tn Heb “only for God be silent, my soul.” The wording is similar to that of v. 1a. Here an imperatival form, דּוֹמִּי (dommiy, “be silent”), appears instead of the noun דּוּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”). The psalmist is encouraging himself to maintain his trust in God.

[62:5]  ³ tn Heb “for from him [is] my hope.”

[62:6]  ³ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:6]  ⁴ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:6]  ⁵ sn The wording is identical to that of v. 2, except that רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) does not appear in v. 6.

[73:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 73. In this wisdom psalm the psalmist offers a personal testimony of his struggle with the age-old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. As he observed evil men prosper, he wondered if a godly lifestyle really pays off. In the midst of his discouragement, he reflected upon spiritual truths and realities. He was reminded that the prosperity of the wicked is only temporary. God will eventually vindicate his people.

[73:1]  ⁵ tn Since the psalm appears to focus on an individual’s concerns, not the situation of Israel, this introduction may be a later addition designed to apply the psalm’s message to the entire community. To provide a better parallel with the next line, some emend the Hebrew phrase לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֱלֹהִים (lÿyisra’el ’elohim, “to Israel, God”) to אֱלֹהִים [or אֵל] לָיָּשָׁר (’elohim [or ’el] lÿyyashar, “God [is good] to the upright one”).

[73:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the pure of heart.”

[73:13]  ⁵ tn The words “I concluded” are supplied in the translation. It is apparent that vv. 13-14 reflect the psalmist’s thoughts at an earlier time (see vv. 2-3), prior to the spiritual awakening he describes in vv. 17-28.

[73:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.

[73:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “and washed my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The reference to “hands” suggests actions.

[85:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “certainly his deliverance [is] near to those who fear him.”

[85:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “to dwell, glory, in our land.” “Glory” is the subject of the infinitive. The infinitive with -לְ (lÿ), “to dwell,” probably indicates result here (“then”). When God delivers his people and renews his relationship with them, he will once more reveal his royal splendor in the land.

[139:11]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.

[139:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”