Psalms 40:4

40:4 How blessed ¹  is the one ²  who trusts in the Lord ³ 

and does not seek help from ⁴  the proud or from liars! ⁵ 

Psalms 62:5

62:5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! ⁶ 

For he is the one who gives me confidence. ⁷ 

Psalms 91:14

91:14 The Lord says, ⁸ 

“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;

I will protect him ⁹  because he is loyal to me. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 130:6-7

130:6 I yearn for the Lord, ¹¹ 

more than watchmen do for the morning,

yes, more than watchmen do for the morning. ¹² 

130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,

for the Lord exhibits loyal love, ¹³ 

and is more than willing to deliver. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 146:5

146:5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Jeremiah 17:7-8

17:7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me,

who put their confidence in me. ¹⁵ 

17:8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream

whose roots spread out toward the water.

It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.

Its leaves are always green.

It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.

It does not stop bearing fruit.

Jeremiah 17:1

17:1 ¹⁶ The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel

on their stone-hard ¹⁷  hearts.

It is inscribed with a diamond ¹⁸  point

on the horns of their altars. ¹⁹ 

Jeremiah 1:1

The Superscription

1:1 The following is a record of what Jeremiah son of Hilkiah prophesied. ²⁰  He was one of the priests who lived at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin.

[40:4]  ¹ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[40:4]  ² tn Heb “man.” See the note on the word “one” in Ps 1:1.

[40:4]  ³ tn Heb “who has made the Lord his [object of] trust.”

[40:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and does not turn toward.”

[40:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “those falling away toward a lie.”

[62:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “only for God be silent, my soul.” The wording is similar to that of v. 1a. Here an imperatival form, דּוֹמִּי (dommiy, “be silent”), appears instead of the noun דּוּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”). The psalmist is encouraging himself to maintain his trust in God.

[62:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “for from him [is] my hope.”

[91:14]  ⁸ tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the words which follow are the Lord’s oracle of assurance.

[91:14]  ⁹ tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).

[91:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).

[130:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my soul for the master.”

[130:6]  ¹² tn Heb “more than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning.” The words “yes, more” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[130:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “for with the Lord [is] loyal love.”

[130:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and abundantly with him [is] redemption.”

[17:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Blessed is the person who trusts in the Lord, and whose confidence is in the Lord.” However, because this is a statement of the Lord and the translation chooses to show that the blessing comes from him, the first person is substituted for the divine name.

[17:1]  ¹⁶ tn The chapter division which was not a part of the original text but was added in the middle ages obscures the fact that there is no new speech here. The division may have resulted from the faulty identification of the “them” in the preceding verse. See the translator’s note on that verse.

[17:1]  ¹⁷ tn The adjective “stone-hard” is not in the Hebrew text. It is implicit in the metaphor and is supplied in the translation for clarity. Cf. Ezek 11:19; 36:26; and Job 19:24 for the figure.

[17:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “adamant.” The word “diamond” is an accommodation to modern times. There is no evidence that diamond was known in ancient times. This hard stone (perhaps emery) became metaphorical for hardness; see Ezek 3:9 and Zech 7:12. For discussion see W. E. Staples, “Adamant,” IDB 1:45.

[17:1]  ¹⁹ tn This verse has been restructured for the sake of the English poetry: Heb “The sin of Judah is engraved [or written] with an iron pen, inscribed with a point of a diamond [or adamant] upon the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.”

[1:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “This is a record of what Jeremiah prophesied and did”; Heb “The words [or affairs] of Jeremiah.” The phrase could refer to either the messages of Jeremiah recorded in the book or to both his messages and the biographical (and autobiographical) narratives recorded about him in the book. Since the phrase is intended to serve as the title or superscription for the whole book and recurs again in 51:64 at the end of the book before the final appendix, it might refer to the latter. The expression “The words of [someone]” is a standard introductory formula (Deut 29:1[28:69]; 2 Sam 23:1; Amos 1:1; Eccl 1:1; Neh 1:1).