Psalms 4:7

Context

4:7 You make me happier¹

than those who have abundant grain and wine.²

Psalms 45:15

Context

45:15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession

and enter the royal palace.³

Psalms 51:8

Context

51:8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven!⁴

May the bones⁵ you crushed rejoice!⁶

Psalms 68:3

Context

68:3 But the godly⁷ are happy;

they rejoice before God

and are overcome with joy.⁸

Psalms 100:2

Context

100:2 Worship⁹ the Lord with joy!

Enter his presence with joyful singing!

[4:7] ¹tn Heb “you place joy in my heart.” Another option is to understand the perfect verbal form as indicating certitude, “you will make me happier.”

[4:7] ²tn Heb “from (i.e., more than) the time (when) their grain and their wine are abundant.”

[45:15] ³tn Heb “they are led with joy and happiness, they enter the house of the king.”

[51:8] ⁵tn Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.

[51:8] ⁶sn May the bones you crushed rejoice. The psalmist compares his sinful condition to that of a person who has been physically battered and crushed. Within this metaphorical framework, his “bones” are the seat of his emotional strength.

[51:8] ⁷tn In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.

[68:3] ⁷tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).

[68:3] ⁸tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)

[100:2] ⁹tn Or “serve.”