Psalms 4:6

4:6 Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”

Smile upon us, Lord! ¹ 

Psalms 6:5

6:5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death, ² 

In Sheol who gives you thanks? ³ 

Psalms 12:4

12:4 They say, ⁴  “We speak persuasively; ⁵ 

we know how to flatter and boast. ⁶ 

Who is our master?” ⁷ 

Psalms 18:31

18:31 Indeed, ⁸  who is God besides the Lord?

Who is a protector ⁹  besides our God? ¹⁰ 

Psalms 24:8

24:8 Who is this majestic king? ¹¹ 

The Lord who is strong and mighty!

The Lord who is mighty in battle!

Psalms 24:10

24:10 Who is this majestic king?

The Lord who commands armies! ¹² 

He is the majestic king! (Selah)

Psalms 34:12

34:12 Do you want to really live? ¹³ 

Would you love to live a long, happy life? ¹⁴ 

Psalms 55:6

55:6 I say, ¹⁵  “I wish I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and settle in a safe place!

Psalms 59:7

59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me

and openly threaten to kill me, ¹⁶ 

for they say, ¹⁷ 

“Who hears?”

Psalms 64:5

64:5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed. ¹⁸ 

They plan how to hide ¹⁹  snares,

and boast, ²⁰  “Who will see them?” ²¹ 

Psalms 71:19

71:19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above; ²² 

you have done great things. ²³ 

O God, who can compare to you? ²⁴ 

Psalms 81:7

81:7 In your distress you called out and I rescued you.

I answered you from a dark thundercloud. ²⁵ 

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. ²⁶  (Selah)

Psalms 89:6

89:6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?

Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings, ²⁷ 

Psalms 89:8

89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! ²⁸ 

Who is strong like you, O Lord?

Your faithfulness surrounds you.

Psalms 89:48

89:48 No man can live on without experiencing death,

or deliver his life from the power of Sheol. ²⁹  (Selah)

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “lift up upon us the light of your face, Lord.” The verb נסה is apparently an alternate form of נשׂא, “lift up.” See GKC 217 §76.b. The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[6:5]  ² tn Heb “for there is not in death your remembrance.” The Hebrew noun זֵכֶר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 30:4; 97:12. “Death” here refers to the realm of death where the dead reside. See the reference to Sheol in the next line.

[6:5]  ³ tn The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”

[12:4]  ³ tn Heb “which say.” The plural verb after the relative pronoun indicates a plural antecedent for the pronoun, probably “lips” in v. 3.

[12:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “to our tongue we make strong.” The Hiphil of גָבַר (gavar) occurs only here and in Dan 9:27, where it refers to making strong, or confirming, a covenant. Here in Ps 12 the evildoers “make their tongue strong” in the sense that they use their tongue to produce flattering and arrogant words to accomplish their purposes. The preposition -לְ (l) prefixed to “our tongue” may be dittographic.

[12:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “our lips [are] with us.” This odd expression probably means, “our lips are in our power,” in the sense that they say what they want, whether it be flattery or boasting. For other cases where אֵת (’et, “with”) has the sense “in the power of,” see Ps 38:10 and other texts listed by BDB 86 s.v. 3.a.

[12:4]  ⁶ sn The rhetorical question expresses the arrogant attitude of these people. As far as they are concerned, they are answerable to no one for how they speak.

[18:31]  ⁴ tn Or “for.”

[18:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor of divine protection. See v. 2, where the Hebrew term צוּר (tsur) is translated “rocky summit.”

[18:31]  ⁶ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “No one.” In this way the psalmist indicates that the Lord is the only true God and reliable source of protection. See also Deut 32:39, where the Lord affirms that he is the only true God. Note as well the emphasis on his role as protector (Heb “rocky cliff,” צוּר, tsur) in Deut 32:4, 15, 17-18, 30.

[24:8]  ⁵ sn Who is this majestic king? Perhaps the personified gates/doors ask this question, in response to the command given in v. 7.

[24:10]  ⁶ tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts,” a title which here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle.

[34:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.

[34:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”

[55:6]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the descriptive (present progressive) force of the verbs in v. 5.

[59:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”

[59:7]  ¹⁰ tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.

[64:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they give strength to themselves, an evil matter [or “word”].”

[64:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they report about hiding.”

[64:5]  ¹² tn Heb “they say.”

[64:5]  ¹³ tn If this is a direct quotation (cf. NASB, NIV), the pronoun “them” refers to the snares mentioned in the previous line. If it is an indirect quotation, then the pronoun may refer to the enemies themselves (cf. NEB, which is ambiguous). Some translations retain the direct quotation but alter the pronoun to “us,” referring clearly to the enemies (cf. NRSV).

[71:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your justice, O God, [is] unto the height.” The Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) is here a title for the sky/heavens.

[71:19]  ¹² tn Heb “you who have done great things.”

[71:19]  ¹³ tn Or “Who is like you?”

[81:7]  ¹² tn Heb “I answered you in the hidden place of thunder.” This may allude to God’s self-revelation at Mount Sinai, where he appeared in a dark cloud accompanied by thunder (see Exod 19:16).

[81:7]  ¹³ sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at the place called Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.

[89:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “sons of gods”; or “sons of God.” Though אֵלִים (’elim) is vocalized as a plural form (“gods”) in the Hebrew text, it is likely that the final mem (ם) is actually enclitic rather than a plural marker. In this case one may read “God.” Some, following a Qumran text and the LXX, also propose the phrase occurred in the original text of Deut 32:8. The phrase בְנֵי אֵלִים (vÿney ’elim, “sons of gods” or “sons of God”) occurs only here and in Ps 29:1. Since the “sons of gods/God” are here associated with “the assembly of the holy ones” and “council of the holy ones,” the heavenly assembly (comprised of so-called “angels” and other supernatural beings) appears to be in view. See Job 5:1; 15:15 and Zech 14:5, where these supernatural beings are referred to as “holy ones.” In Canaanite mythological texts the divine council of the high god El is called “the sons of El.” The OT apparently uses the Canaanite phrase, applying it to the supernatural beings that surround the Lord’s heavenly throne.

[89:8]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the Lord as enthroned in the midst of the angelic hosts of heaven.

[89:48]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Who [is] the man [who] can live and not see death, [who] can deliver his life from the hand of Sheol?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”