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 71:5

71:5 For you give me confidence, ⁴  O Lord;

O Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young. ⁵ 

Psalms 115:9-13

115:9 O Israel, trust in the Lord!

He is their deliverer ⁶  and protector. ⁷ 

115:10 O family ⁸  of Aaron, trust in the Lord!

He is their deliverer ⁹  and protector. ¹⁰ 

115:11 You loyal followers of the Lord, ¹¹  trust in the Lord!

He is their deliverer ¹²  and protector. ¹³ 

115:12 The Lord takes notice of us, ¹⁴  he will bless ¹⁵  –

he will bless the family ¹⁶  of Israel,

he will bless the family of Aaron.

115:13 He will bless his loyal followers, ¹⁷ 

both young and old. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 131:1

Psalm 131 ¹⁹ 

A song of ascents, ²⁰  by David.

131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud,

nor do I have a haughty look. ²¹ 

I do not have great aspirations,

or concern myself with things that are beyond me. ²² 

Psalms 131:3

131:3 O Israel, hope in the Lord

now and forevermore!

Zephaniah 3:12

3:12 I will leave in your midst a humble and meek group of people, ²³ 

and they will find safety in the Lord’s presence. ²⁴ 

[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.

[71:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “for you [are] my hope.”

[71:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “O Lord, my source of confidence from my youth.”

[115:9]  ⁶ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[115:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “and their shield.”

[115:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[115:10]  ⁹ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[115:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and their shield.”

[115:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[you] fearers of the Lord.” See Ps 15:4.

[115:11]  ¹² tn Or “[source of] help.”

[115:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “and their shield.”

[115:12]  ¹⁴ tn Or “remembers us.”

[115:12]  ¹⁵ tn Another option is to translate the prefixed form of the verb “bless” in vv. 12-13 as a jussive, “may he bless” (see v. 14).

[115:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[115:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the fearers of the Lord.”

[115:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the small along with the great.” The translation assumes that “small” and “great” here refer to age (see 2 Chr 15:13). Another option is to translate “both the insignificant and the prominent” (see Job 3:19; cf. NEB “high and low alike”).

[131:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 131. The psalmist affirms his humble dependence on the Lord and urges Israel to place its trust in God.

[131:1]  ²⁰ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[131:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “and my eyes are not lifted up.”

[131:1]  ²² tn Heb “I do not walk in great things, and in things too marvelous for me.”

[3:12]  ²³ tn Heb “needy and poor people.” The terms often refer to a socioeconomic group, but here they may refer to those who are humble in a spiritual sense.

[3:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.”