Psalms 4:8

4:8 I will lie down and sleep peacefully, ¹ 

for you, Lord, make me safe and secure. ² 

Psalms 34:6

34:6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;

he saved him ³  from all his troubles.

Psalms 34:11

34:11 Come children! Listen to me!

I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord. ⁴ 

Psalms 57:2

57:2 I cry out for help to the sovereign God, ⁵ 

to the God who vindicates ⁶  me.

Psalms 61:4

61:4 I will be a permanent guest in your home; ⁷ 

I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. ⁸  (Selah)

Psalms 68:22

68:22 The Lord says,

“I will retrieve them ⁹  from Bashan,

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,

Psalms 69:16

69:16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! ¹⁰ 

Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

Psalms 82:6

82:6 I thought, ¹¹  ‘You are gods;

all of you are sons of the Most High.’ ¹² 

Psalms 86:1

Psalm 86 ¹³ 

A prayer of David.

86:1 Listen ¹⁴  O Lord! Answer me!

For I am oppressed and needy.

Psalms 103:5

103:5 who satisfies your life with good things, ¹⁵ 

so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 119:95

119:95 The wicked prepare to kill me, ¹⁷ 

yet I concentrate on your rules.

Psalms 139:6

139:6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;

it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. ¹⁸ 

[4:8]  ¹ tn Heb “in peace at the same time I will lie down and sleep.”

[4:8]  ² tn Heb “for you, Lord, solitarily, securely make me dwell.” The translation understands לְבָדָד (lÿvadad) as modifying the verb; the Lord keeps enemies away from the psalmist so that he is safe and secure. Another option is to take לְבָדָד with what precedes and translate, “you alone, Lord, make me secure.”

[34:6]  ³ tn The pronoun refers back to “this oppressed man,” namely, the psalmist.

[34:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord I will teach you.” In vv. 13-14 the psalmist explains to his audience what it means to “fear” the Lord.

[57:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “to God Most High.” The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[57:2]  ⁸ tn Or “avenges in favor of.”

[61:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will live as a resident alien in your tent permanently.” The cohortative is understood here as indicating resolve. Another option is to take it as expressing a request, “please let me live” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[61:4]  ¹⁰ sn I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.

[68:22]  ¹¹ tn That is, the enemies mentioned in v. 21. Even if they retreat to distant regions, God will retrieve them and make them taste his judgment.

[69:16]  ¹³ tn Or “pleasant”; or “desirable.”

[82:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “said.”

[82:6]  ¹⁶ sn Normally in the OT the title Most High belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El (see v. 1, as well as Isa 14:13).

[86:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.

[86:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[103:5]  ¹⁹ tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (’ed’ekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (’odekhiy, “your duration; your continuance”) that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).

[103:5]  ²⁰ sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.

[119:95]  ²¹ tn Heb “the wicked wait for me to kill me.”

[139:6]  ²³ tn Heb “too amazing [is this] knowledge for me, it is elevated, I cannot attain to it.”