Psalms 4:2

4:2 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 8:4

8:4 Of what importance is the human race, ⁶  that you should notice ⁷  them?

Of what importance is mankind, ⁸  that you should pay attention to them, ⁹ 

Psalms 10:13

10:13 Why does the wicked man reject God? ¹⁰ 

He says to himself, ¹¹  “You ¹²  will not hold me accountable.” ¹³ 

Psalms 21:1

Psalm 21 ¹⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

21:1 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give; ¹⁵ 

he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 30:9

30:9 “What ¹⁷  profit is there in taking my life, ¹⁸ 

in my descending into the Pit? ¹⁹ 

Can the dust of the grave ²⁰  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ²¹ 

Psalms 36:7

36:7 How precious ²²  is your loyal love, O God!

The human race finds shelter under your wings. ²³ 

Psalms 44:23

44:23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?

Wake up! ²⁴  Do not reject us forever!

Psalms 50:16

50:16 God says this to the evildoer: ²⁵ 

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant? ²⁶ 

Psalms 56:4

56:4 In God – I boast in his promise ²⁷  –

in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ²⁸  do to me? ²⁹ 

Psalms 56:11

56:11 in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ³⁰  do to me? ³¹ 

Psalms 66:3

66:3 Say to God:

“How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ³²  before you.

Psalms 74:1

Psalm 74 ³³ 

A well-written song ³⁴  by Asaph.

74:1 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us? ³⁵ 

Why does your anger burn ³⁶  against the sheep of your pasture?

Psalms 74:9

74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; ³⁷ 

there are no longer any prophets ³⁸ 

and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. ³⁹ 

Psalms 79:5

79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? ⁴⁰ 

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ⁴¹  burn like fire?

Psalms 79:10

79:10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants

be avenged among the nations! ⁴² 

Psalms 84:1

Psalm 84 ⁴³ 

For the music director; according to the gittith style; ⁴⁴  written by the Korahites, a psalm.

84:1 How lovely is the place where you live, ⁴⁵ 

O Lord who rules over all! ⁴⁶ 

Psalms 89:46

89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever? ⁴⁷ 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

Psalms 104:24

104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! ⁴⁸ 

You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; ⁴⁹ 

the earth is full of the living things you have made.

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[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]  ⁴ tn Heb “emptiness.”

[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.

[8:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “What is man[kind]?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh, “man”) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race.

[8:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “remember him.”

[8:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.

[8:4]  ⁹ tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.

[10:13]  ¹¹ tn The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s outrage that the wicked would have the audacity to disdain God.

[10:13]  ¹² tn Heb “he says in his heart” (see vv. 6, 11). Another option is to understand an ellipsis of the interrogative particle here (cf. the preceding line), “Why does he say in his heart?”

[10:13]  ¹³ tn Here the wicked man addresses God directly.

[10:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you will not seek.” The verb דָרַשׁ (darash, “seek”) is used here in the sense of “seek an accounting.” One could understand the imperfect as generalizing about what is typical and translate, “you do not hold [people] accountable.”

[21:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.

[21:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).

[21:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”

[30:9]  ²¹ sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.

[30:9]  ²² tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ²³ tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ²⁵ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[36:7]  ²⁶ tn Or “valuable.”

[36:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the sons of man in the shadow of your wings find shelter.” The preservation of physical life is in view, as the next verse makes clear.

[44:23]  ³¹ sn Wake up! See Ps 35:23.

[50:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[50:16]  ³⁷ tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).

[56:4]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “in God I boast, his word.” The syntax in the Hebrew text is difficult. (1) The line could be translated, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” Such a translation assumes that the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and that “his word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. Another option (2) is to translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” is a song of praise. (In this view the pronominal suffix “his” must be omitted as in v. 10.) The present translation reflects yet another option (3): In this case “I praise his word” is a parenthetical statement, with “his word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in the next line, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.

[56:4]  ⁴² tn Heb “flesh,” which refers by metonymy to human beings (see v. 11, where “man” is used in this same question), envisioned here as mortal and powerless before God.

[56:4]  ⁴³ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[56:11]  ⁴⁶ tn The statement is similar to that of v. 4, except “flesh” is used there instead of “man.”

[56:11]  ⁴⁷ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[66:3]  ⁵¹ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).

[74:1]  ⁵⁶ sn Psalm 74. The psalmist, who has just experienced the devastation of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., asks God to consider Israel’s sufferings and intervene on behalf of his people. He describes the ruined temple, recalls God’s mighty deeds in the past, begs for mercy, and calls for judgment upon God’s enemies.

[74:1]  ⁵⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[74:1]  ⁵⁸ sn The psalmist does not really believe God has permanently rejected his people or he would not pray as he does in this psalm. But this initial question reflects his emotional response to what he sees and is overstated for the sake of emphasis. The severity of divine judgment gives the appearance that God has permanently abandoned his people.

[74:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “smoke.” The picture is that of a fire that continues to smolder.

[74:9]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).

[74:9]  ⁶² tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”

[74:9]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”

[79:5]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “jealous anger.”

[79:10]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “may it be known among the nations, to our eyes, the vengeance of the shed blood of your servants.”

[84:1]  ⁷⁶ sn Psalm 84. The psalmist expresses his desire to be in God’s presence in the Jerusalem temple, for the Lord is the protector of his people.

[84:1]  ⁷⁷ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument.

[84:1]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 132:5, 7).

[84:1]  ⁷⁹ tn Traditionally, “Lord of hosts.” The title draws attention to God’s sovereign position (see Ps 69:6).

[89:46]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”

[104:24]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O Lord.” In this case the Lord’s “works” are the creatures he has made, as the preceding and following contexts make clear.

[104:24]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”