Psalms 4:3

4:3 Realize that ¹  the Lord shows the godly special favor; ² 

the Lord responds ³  when I cry out to him.

Psalms 16:10

16:10 You will not abandon me ⁴  to Sheol; ⁵ 

you will not allow your faithful follower ⁶  to see ⁷  the Pit. ⁸ 

Psalms 43:1

Psalm 43 ⁹ 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ¹⁰  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ¹¹  from deceitful and evil men! ¹² 

Psalms 52:9

52:9 I will continually ¹³  thank you when ¹⁴  you execute judgment; ¹⁵ 

I will rely ¹⁶  on you, ¹⁷  for your loyal followers know you are good. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 79:2

79:2 They have given the corpses of your servants

to the birds of the sky; ¹⁹ 

the flesh of your loyal followers

to the beasts of the earth.

Psalms 86:2

86:2 Protect me, ²⁰  for I am loyal!

O my God, deliver your servant, who trusts in you!

Psalms 97:10

97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!

He protects ²¹  the lives of his faithful followers;

he delivers them from the power ²²  of the wicked.

Psalms 148:14--149:1

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ²³ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ²⁴ 

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 149 ²⁵ 

149:1 Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song!

Praise him in the assembly of the godly! ²⁶ 

Psalms 149:9

149:9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies ²⁷  have been sentenced. ²⁸ 

All his loyal followers will be vindicated. ²⁹ 

Praise the Lord!

[4:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and know that.”

[4:3]  ² tn Heb “that the Lord sets apart a faithful one for himself.” The psalmist states a general principle, though the singular form and the parallel line indicate he has himself in mind as the representative godly person. A חָסִיד (khasid; here translated as “the godly”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[4:3]  ³ tn Heb “hears.”

[16:10]  ⁴ tn Or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[16:10]  ⁵ sn In ancient Israelite cosmology Sheol is the realm of the dead, viewed as being under the earth’s surface. See L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 165-76.

[16:10]  ⁶ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד [khasid], traditionally rendered “holy one”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10). The psalmist here refers to himself, as the parallel line (“You will not abandon me to Sheol”) indicates.

[16:10]  ⁷ tn That is, “experience.” The psalmist is confident that the Lord will protect him in his present crisis (see v. 1) and prevent him from dying.

[16:10]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 30:9; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4). Note the parallelism with the previous line.

[43:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

[43:1]  ⁸ tn Or “argue my case.”

[43:1]  ⁹ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

[43:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.

[52:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[52:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[52:9]  ¹² tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.

[52:9]  ¹³ tn Or “wait.”

[52:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.

[52:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”

[79:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “[as] food for the birds of the sky.”

[86:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my life.”

[97:10]  ¹⁹ tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the Lord.” In this case one could translate, “Hate evil, you who love the Lord, the one who protects the lives…and delivers them.”

[97:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “hand.”

[148:14]  ²² tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ²³ tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.

[149:1]  ²⁵ sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.

[149:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”

[149:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[149:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”

[149:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “it is honor for all his godly ones.” The judgment of the oppressive kings will bring vindication and honor to God’s people (see vv. 4-5).