Discovery BoxPsalms 4:2
Context4:2 You men, 1 how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? 2
How long 3 will you love what is worthless 4
and search for what is deceptive? 5 (Selah)
Psalms 37:14
Context37:14 Evil men draw their swords
and prepare their bows,
to bring down 6 the oppressed and needy,
and to slaughter those who are godly. 7
Psalms 45:4
Context45:4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious! 8
Ride forth for the sake of what is right, 9
on behalf of justice! 10
Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts! 11
Psalms 48:2
Context48:2 It is lofty and pleasing to look at, 12
a source of joy to the whole earth. 13
Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon; 14
it is the city of the great king.
Psalms 49:11
Context49:11 Their grave becomes their permanent residence,
their eternal dwelling place. 15
They name their lands after themselves, 16
Psalms 78:5
Context78:5 He established a rule 17 in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants, 18
Psalms 87:4
Context87:4 I mention Rahab 19 and Babylon to my followers. 20
Here are 21 Philistia and Tyre, 22 along with Ethiopia. 23
It is said of them, “This one was born there.” 24
Psalms 101:6
Context101:6 I will favor the honest people of the land, 25
and allow them to live with me. 26
Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me. 27
Psalms 125:5
Context125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, 28
may the Lord remove them, 29 along with those who behave wickedly! 30
May Israel experience peace! 31
Psalms 127:2
Context127:2 It is vain for you to rise early, come home late,
and work so hard for your food. 32
Yes, 33 he can provide for those whom he loves even when they sleep. 34
Psalms 144:2
Context144:2 who loves me 35 and is my stronghold,
my refuge 36 and my deliverer,
my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,
who makes nations submit to me. 37
Psalms 146:8
Context146:8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. 38
The Lord loves the godly.
[4:2] 2 tn Heb “how long my honor to shame?”
[4:2] 3 tn The interrogative construction עַד־מֶה (’ad-meh, “how long?”), is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
[4:2] 5 tn Heb “a lie.” Some see the metonymic language of v. 2b (“emptiness, lie”) as referring to idols or false gods. However, there is no solid immediate contextual evidence for such an interpretation. It is more likely that the psalmist addresses those who threaten him (see v. 1) and refers in a general way to their sinful lifestyle. (See R. Mosis, TDOT 7:121.) The two terms allude to the fact that sinful behavior is ultimately fruitless and self-destructive.
[37:14] 6 tn Heb “to cause to fall.”
[37:14] 7 tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.
[45:4] 11 tn Heb “and your majesty, be successful.” The syntax is awkward. The phrase “and your majesty” at the beginning of the verse may be accidentally repeated (dittography); it appears at the end of v. 3.
[45:4] 12 tn Or “for the sake of truth.”
[45:4] 13 tc The precise meaning of the MT is uncertain. The form עַנְוָה (’anvah) occurs only here. One could emend the text to עֲנָוָה וְצֶדֶק (’anavah vÿtsedeq, “[for the sake of truth], humility, and justice”). In this case “humility” would perhaps allude to the king’s responsibility to “serve” his people by promoting justice (cf. NIV “in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness”). The present translation assumes an emendation to יַעַן (ya’an, “because; on account of”) which would form a suitable parallel to עַל־דְּבַר (’al-dÿvar, “because; for the sake of”) in the preceding line.
[45:4] 14 tn Heb “and your right hand will teach you mighty acts”; or “and may your right hand teach you mighty acts.” After the imperatives in the first half of the verse, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive likely indicates purpose (“so that your right hand might teach you mighty acts”) or result (see the present translation). The “right hand” here symbolizes the king’s military strength. His right hand will “teach” him mighty acts by performing them and thereby causing him to experience their magnificence.
[48:2] 16 tn Heb “beautiful of height.” The Hebrew term נוֹף (nof, “height”) is a genitive of specification after the qualitative noun “beautiful.” The idea seems to be that Mount Zion, because of its lofty appearance, is pleasing to the sight.
[48:2] 17 sn A source of joy to the whole earth. The language is hyperbolic. Zion, as the dwelling place of the universal king, is pictured as the world’s capital. The prophets anticipated this idealized picture becoming a reality in the eschaton (see Isa 2:1-4).
[48:2] 18 tn Heb “Mount Zion, the peaks of Zaphon.” Like all the preceding phrases in v. 2, both phrases are appositional to “city of our God, his holy hill” in v. 1, suggesting an identification in the poet’s mind between Mount Zion and Zaphon. “Zaphon” usually refers to the “north” in a general sense (see Pss 89:12; 107:3), but here, where it is collocated with “peaks,” it refers specifically to Mount Zaphon, located in the vicinity of ancient Ugarit and viewed as the mountain where the gods assembled (see Isa 14:13). By alluding to West Semitic mythology in this way, the psalm affirms that Mount Zion is the real divine mountain, for it is here that the
[49:11] 21 tc Heb “their inward part [is] their houses [are] permanent, their dwelling places for a generation and a generation.” If one follows the MT, then קֶרֶב (qerev, “inward part”) must refer to the seat of these people’s thoughts (for other examples of this use of the term, see BDB 899 s.v., though BDB prefers an emendation in this passage). In this case all three lines of v. 11 expose these people’s arrogant assumption that they will last forever, which then stands in sharp contrast to reality as summarized in v. 12. In this case one might translate the first two lines, “they think that their houses are permanent and that their dwelling places will last forever” (cf. NASB). Following the lead of several ancient versions, the present translation assumes an emendation of קִרְבָּם (qirbam, “their inward part”) to קְבָרִים (qÿvarim, “graves”). This assumes that the letters bet (ב) and resh (ר) were accidentally transposed in the MT. In this case the first two lines support the point made in v. 10, while the third line of v. 11 stands in contrast to v. 12. The phrase בֵּית עוֹלָם (bet ’olam, “permanent house”) is used of a tomb in Eccl 12:5 (as well as in Phoenician tomb inscriptions, see DNWSI 1:160 for a list of texts) and מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, “dwelling place”) refers to a tomb in Isa 22:16. Cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV.
[49:11] 22 sn Naming their lands after themselves is a claim of possession.
[78:5] 26 tn The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to God’s command that the older generation teach their children about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history (see Exod 10:2; Deut 4:9; 6:20-25).
[78:5] 27 tn Heb “which he commanded our fathers to make them known to their sons.” The plural suffix “them” probably refers back to the
[87:4] 31 sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).
[87:4] 32 tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the
[87:4] 34 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[87:4] 36 tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.
[101:6] 36 tn Heb “my eyes [are] on the faithful of the land.”
[101:6] 37 tn The Hebrew text simply reads, “in order to live with me.”
[101:6] 38 tn Heb “one who walks in the way of integrity, he will minister to me.”
[125:5] 41 tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.
[125:5] 42 tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the
[125:5] 43 tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”
[125:5] 44 tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).
[127:2] 46 tn Heb “[it is] vain for you, you who are early to rise, who delay sitting, who eat the food of hard work.” The three substantival participles are parallel and stand in apposition to the pronominal suffix on the preposition. See לָכֶם (lakhem, “for you”).
[127:2] 47 tn Here the Hebrew particle כֵּן (ken) is used to stress the following affirmation (see Josh 2:4; Ps 63:2).
[127:2] 48 tn Heb “he gives to his beloved, sleep.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew term שֵׁנָא (shena’, “sleep,” an alternate form of שֵׁנָה, shenah) is an adverbial accusative. The point seems to be this: Hard work by itself is not what counts, but one’s relationship to God, for God is able to bless an individual even while he sleeps. (There may even be a subtle allusion to the miracle of conception following sexual intercourse; see the reference to the gift of sons in the following verse.) The statement is not advocating laziness, but utilizing hyperbole to give perspective and to remind the addressees that God must be one’s first priority. Another option is to take “sleep” as the direct object: “yes, he gives sleep to his beloved” (cf. NIV, NRSV). In this case the point is this: Hard work by itself is futile, for only God is able to bless one with sleep, which metonymically refers to having one’s needs met. He blesses on the basis of one’s relationship to him, not on the basis of physical energy expended.
[144:2] 51 tn Heb “my loyal love,” which is probably an abbreviated form of “the God of my loyal love” (see Ps 59:10, 17).
[144:2] 52 tn Or “my elevated place.”
