Psalms 40:7

40:7 Then I say,

“Look! I come!

What is written in the scroll pertains to me. ¹ 

Psalms 40:9

40:9 I have told the great assembly ²  about your justice. ³ 

Look! I spare no words! ⁴ 

O Lord, you know this is true.

Psalms 52:7

52:7 “Look, here is the man who would not make ⁵  God his protector!

He trusted in his great wealth

and was confident about his plans to destroy others.” ⁶ 

Psalms 59:7

59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me

and openly threaten to kill me, ⁷ 

for they say, ⁸ 

“Who hears?”

Psalms 87:4

87:4 I mention Rahab ⁹  and Babylon to my followers. ¹⁰ 

Here are ¹¹  Philistia and Tyre, ¹²  along with Ethiopia. ¹³ 

It is said of them, “This one was born there.” ¹⁴ 

Psalms 133:1

Psalm 133 ¹⁵ 

A song of ascents, ¹⁶  by David.

133:1 Look! How good and how pleasant it is

when brothers live together! ¹⁷ 

[40:7]  ¹ tn Heb “in the roll of the scroll it is written concerning me.” Apparently the psalmist refers to the law of God (see v. 8), which contains the commandments God desires him to obey. If this is a distinctly royal psalm, then the psalmist/king may be referring specifically to the regulations of kingship prescribed in Deut 17:14-20. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 315.

[40:9]  ² sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Pss 22:25 and 35:18.

[40:9]  ³ tn Heb “I proclaim justice in the great assembly.” Though “justice” appears without a pronoun here, the Lord’s just acts are in view (see v. 10). His “justice” (צֶדֶק, tsedeq) is here the deliverance that originates in his justice; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just.

[40:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “Look! My lips I do not restrain.”

[52:7]  ³ tn The imperfect verbal form here draws attention to the ongoing nature of the action. The evildoer customarily rejected God and trusted in his own abilities. Another option is to take the imperfect as generalizing, “[here is the man who] does not make.”

[52:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “he was strong in his destruction.” “Destruction” must refer back to the destructive plans mentioned in v. 2. The verb (derived from the root עָזַז, ’azaz, “be strong”) as it stands is either an imperfect (if so, probably used in a customary sense) or a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive). However the form should probably be emended to וַיָּעָז (vayya’az), a Qal preterite (with vav [ו] consecutive) from עָזַז. Note the preterite form without vav (ו) consecutive in the preceding line (וַיִּבְטַח, vayyivtakh, “and he trusted”). The prefixed vav (ו) was likely omitted by haplography (note the suffixed vav [ו] on the preceding עָשְׁרוֹ, ’oshro, “his wealth”).

[59:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”

[59:7]  ⁵ tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.

[87:4]  ⁵ sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).

[87:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition -לְ [le] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.

[87:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Look.”

[87:4]  ⁸ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[87:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “Cush.”

[87:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.

[133:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 133. The psalmist affirms the benefits of family unity.

[133:1]  ⁷ 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.

[133:1]  ⁸ sn This statement refers to the extended family structure of ancient Israel, where brothers would often live in proximity to one another (Deut 25:5), giving the family greater social prominence and security. However, in its later application in the Israelite cult it probably envisions unity within the covenant community. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 212-15.