Psalms 40:3

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ¹ 

praising our God. ² 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ³ 

Psalms 63:11

63:11 But the king ⁴  will rejoice in God;

everyone who takes oaths in his name ⁵  will boast,

for the mouths of those who speak lies will be shut up. ⁶ 

Psalms 68:16

68:16 Why do you look with envy, ⁷  O mountains ⁸  with many peaks,

at the mountain where God has decided to live? ⁹ 

Indeed ¹⁰  the Lord will live there ¹¹  permanently!

Psalms 78:8

78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,

who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation that was not committed

and faithful to God. ¹² 

[40:3]  ¹ sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

[40:3]  ² tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

[40:3]  ³ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

[63:11]  ⁴ sn The psalmist probably refers to himself in the third person here.

[63:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “who swears [an oath] by him.”

[63:11]  ⁶ tn The Niphal of this verb occurs only here and in Gen 8:2, where it is used of God “stopping” or “damming up” the great deep as he brought the flood to an end.

[68:16]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb רָצַד (ratsad), translated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow 1492 s.v. רְצַד).

[68:16]  ⁸ tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a singular with enclitic mem (ם; later misinterpreted as a plural ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.

[68:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.

[68:16]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew particle אַף (’af) has an emphasizing function here.

[68:16]  ¹¹ tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[78:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).