Psalms 4:4

4:4 Tremble with fear and do not sin! ¹ 

Meditate as you lie in bed, and repent of your ways! ²  (Selah)

Psalms 6:2

6:2 Have mercy on me, ³  Lord, for I am frail!

Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! ⁴ 

Psalms 45:3

45:3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior! ⁵ 

Appear in your majestic splendor! ⁶ 

Psalms 53:2

53:2 God looks down from heaven ⁷  at the human race, ⁸ 

to see if there is anyone who is wise ⁹  and seeks God. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 58:2

58:2 No! ¹¹  You plan how to do what is unjust; ¹² 

you deal out violence in the earth. ¹³ 

Psalms 69:29

69:29 I am oppressed and suffering!

O God, deliver and protect me! ¹⁴ 

Psalms 72:6

72:6 He ¹⁵  will descend like rain on the mown grass, ¹⁶ 

like showers that drench ¹⁷  the earth. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 78:49

78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, ¹⁹ 

He sent fury, rage, and trouble

as messengers who bring disaster. ²⁰ 

Psalms 86:16

86:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me!

Give your servant your strength!

Deliver your slave! ²¹ 

Psalms 91:12

91:12 They will lift you up in their hands,

so you will not slip and fall on a stone. ²² 

Psalms 92:3

92:3 to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre,

to the accompaniment of the meditative tone of the harp.

Psalms 107:40

107:40 He would pour ²³  contempt upon princes,

and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.

Psalms 116:4

116:4 I called on the name of the Lord,

“Please Lord, rescue my life!”

Psalms 116:13

116:13 I will celebrate my deliverance, ²⁴ 

and call on the name of the Lord.

Psalms 143:10

143:10 Teach me to do what pleases you, ²⁵ 

for you are my God.

May your kind presence ²⁶ 

lead me ²⁷  into a level land. ²⁸ 

Psalms 144:7

144:7 Reach down ²⁹  from above!

Grab me and rescue me from the surging water, ³⁰ 

from the power of foreigners, ³¹ 

[4:4]  ¹ sn The psalmist warns his enemies that they need to tremble with fear before God and repudiate their sinful ways.

[4:4]  ² tn Heb “say in your heart(s) on your bed(s) and wail/lament.” The verb דֹמּוּ (dommu) is understood as a form of דָמָם (“wail, lament”) in sorrow and repentance. Another option is to take the verb from II דָמָם (damam, “be quiet”); cf. NIV, NRSV “be silent.”

[6:2]  ³ tn Or “show me favor.”

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Normally the verb בָּהַל (bahal) refers to an emotional response and means “tremble with fear, be terrified” (see vv. 3, 10). Perhaps here the “bones” are viewed as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. However, the verb may describe one of the effects of his physical ailment, perhaps a fever. In Ezek 7:27 the verb describes how the hands of the people will shake with fear when they experience the horrors of divine judgment.

[45:3]  ⁵ tn Or “mighty one.”

[45:3]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text has simply, “your majesty and your splendor,” which probably refers to the king’s majestic splendor when he appears in full royal battle regalia.

[53:2]  ⁷ sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.

[53:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”

[53:2]  ⁹ tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.

[53:2]  ¹⁰ tn That is, who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

[58:2]  ⁹ tn The particle אַף (’af, “no”) is used here as a strong adversative emphasizing the following statement, which contrasts reality with the rulers’ claim alluded to in the rhetorical questions (see Ps 44:9).

[58:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the heart unjust deeds you do.” The phrase “in the heart” (i.e., “mind”) seems to refer to their plans and motives. The Hebrew noun עַוְלָה (’avlah, “injustice”) is collocated with פָּעַל (pa’al, “do”) here and in Job 36:23 and Ps 119:3. Some emend the plural form עוֹלֹת (’olot, “unjust deeds”; see Ps 64:6) to the singular עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”; see Job 34:32), taking the final tav (ת) as dittographic (note that the following verbal form begins with tav). Some then understand עָוֶל (’avel, “injustice”) as a genitive modifying “heart” and translate, “with a heart of injustice you act.”

[58:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the earth the violence of your hands you weigh out.” The imagery is from the economic realm. The addressees measure out violence, rather than justice, and distribute it like a commodity. This may be ironic, since justice was sometimes viewed as a measuring scale (see Job 31:6).

[69:29]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your deliverance, O God, may it protect me.”

[72:6]  ¹³ tn That is, the king (see vv. 2, 4).

[72:6]  ¹⁴ tn The rare term zg refers to a sheep’s fleece in Deut 18:4 and Job 31:20, but to “mown” grass or crops here and in Amos 7:1.

[72:6]  ¹⁵ tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to be an otherwise unattested noun. Many prefer to emend the form to a verb from the root זָרַף (zaraf). BHS in textual note b on this verse suggests a Hiphil imperfect, third masculine plural יַזְרִיפוּ (yazrifu), while HALOT 283 s.v. *זרף prefers a Pilpel perfect, third masculine plural זִרְזְפוּ (zirzÿfu). The translation assumes the latter.

[72:6]  ¹⁶ sn The imagery of this verse compares the blessings produced by the king’s reign to fructifying rains that cause the crops to grow.

[78:49]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he sent against them the rage of his anger.” The phrase “rage of his anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[78:49]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”

[86:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 116:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

[91:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “so your foot will not strike a stone.”

[107:40]  ²¹ tn The active participle is understood as past durative here, drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame. However, it could be taken as generalizing (in which case one should translate using the English present tense), in which case the psalmist moves from narrative to present reality. Perhaps the participial form appears because the statement is lifted from Job 12:21.

[116:13]  ²³ tn Heb “a cup of deliverance I will lift up.” Perhaps this alludes to a drink offering the psalmist will present as he thanks the Lord for his deliverance. See v. 17.

[143:10]  ²⁵ tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.

[143:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).

[143:10]  ²⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

[143:10]  ²⁸ sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery.

[144:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “stretch out your hands.”

[144:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful foreign enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see the next line and Ps 18:16-17).

[144:7]  ²⁹ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”