Psalms 38:12

38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me; ¹ 

those who want to harm me speak destructive words;

all day long they say deceitful things.

Psalms 38:1

Psalm 38 ² 

A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention. ³ 

38:1 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger!

Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury! ⁴ 

Psalms 23:1

Psalm 23 ⁵ 

A psalm of David.

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, ⁶ 

I lack nothing. ⁷ 

Psalms 23:1

Psalm 23 ⁸ 

A psalm of David.

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, ⁹ 

I lack nothing. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 19:10

19:10 They are of greater value ¹¹  than gold,

than even a great amount of pure gold;

they bring greater delight ¹²  than honey,

than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

Ezekiel 13:19

13:19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people ¹³  who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!

Matthew 27:1

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

27:1 When ¹⁴  it was early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to execute him.

[38:12]  ¹ tn Heb “lay snares.”

[38:1]  ² sn Psalm 38. The author asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. He confesses his sin and recognizes that the crisis he faces is the result of divine discipline. Yet he begs the Lord not to reject him.

[38:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “to cause to remember.” The same form, the Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the heading of Ps 70. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).

[38:1]  ⁴ tn The words “continue to” are supplied in the translation of both lines. The following verses make it clear that the psalmist is already experiencing divine rebuke/punishment. He asks that it might cease.

[23:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 23. In vv. 1-4 the psalmist pictures the Lord as a shepherd who provides for his needs and protects him from danger. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and then extends and develops that metaphor, speaking as if he were a sheep. In vv. 5-6 the metaphor changes as the psalmist depicts a great royal banquet hosted by the Lord. The psalmist is a guest of honor and recipient of divine favor, who enjoys unlimited access to the divine palace and the divine presence.

[23:1]  ⁶ sn The LORD is my shepherd. The opening metaphor suggests the psalmist is assuming the role of a sheep. In vv. 1b-4 the psalmist extends the metaphor and explains exactly how the LORD is like a shepherd to him. At the surface level the language can be understood in terms of a shepherd’s relationship to his sheep. The translation of vv. 1-4 reflects this level. But, of course, each statement also points to an underlying reality.

[23:1]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form is best understood as generalizing; the psalmist highlights his typical or ongoing experience as a result of having the LORD as his shepherd (habitual present use). The next verse explains more specifically what he means by this statement.

[23:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 23. In vv. 1-4 the psalmist pictures the Lord as a shepherd who provides for his needs and protects him from danger. The psalmist declares, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and then extends and develops that metaphor, speaking as if he were a sheep. In vv. 5-6 the metaphor changes as the psalmist depicts a great royal banquet hosted by the Lord. The psalmist is a guest of honor and recipient of divine favor, who enjoys unlimited access to the divine palace and the divine presence.

[23:1]  ⁹ sn The LORD is my shepherd. The opening metaphor suggests the psalmist is assuming the role of a sheep. In vv. 1b-4 the psalmist extends the metaphor and explains exactly how the LORD is like a shepherd to him. At the surface level the language can be understood in terms of a shepherd’s relationship to his sheep. The translation of vv. 1-4 reflects this level. But, of course, each statement also points to an underlying reality.

[23:1]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form is best understood as generalizing; the psalmist highlights his typical or ongoing experience as a result of having the LORD as his shepherd (habitual present use). The next verse explains more specifically what he means by this statement.

[19:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “more desirable.”

[19:10]  ¹² tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).

[13:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “human lives” or “souls.”

[27:1]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.