Psalms 41:12

41:12 As for me, you uphold ¹  me because of my integrity; ² 

you allow ³  me permanent access to your presence. ⁴ 

Psalms 51:16

51:16 Certainly ⁵  you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; ⁶ 

you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. ⁷ 

Psalms 64:8

64:8 Their slander will bring about their demise. ⁸ 

All who see them will shudder, ⁹ 

Psalms 68:31

68:31 They come with red cloth ¹⁰  from Egypt,

Ethiopia ¹¹  voluntarily offers tribute ¹²  to God.

Psalms 74:3

74:3 Hurry and look ¹³  at the permanent ruins,

and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! ¹⁴ 

Psalms 78:31

78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them.

He killed some of the strongest of them;

he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.

[41:12]  ¹ tn Or “have upheld.” The perfect verbal form can be taken as generalizing/descriptive (present) or as a present perfect.

[41:12]  ² sn Because of my integrity. See Pss 7:8; 25:21; 26:1, 11.

[41:12]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect. It is either generalizing/descriptive (present) or has a present perfect nuance (“you have allowed”).

[41:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and you cause me to stand before you permanently.”

[51:16]  ⁵ tn Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.

[51:16]  ⁶ tn The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)

[51:16]  ⁷ sn You do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The terminology used in v. 16 does not refer to expiatory sacrifices, but to dedication and communion offerings. This is not a categorical denial of the sacrificial system in general or of the importance of such offerings. The psalmist is talking about his specific situation. Dedication and communion offerings have their proper place in worship (see v. 19), but God requires something more fundamental, a repentant and humble attitude (see v. 17), before these offerings can have real meaning.

[64:8]  ⁹ tc The MT reads literally, “and they caused him to stumble, upon them, their tongue.” Perhaps the third plural subject of the verb is indefinite with the third singular pronominal suffix on the verb being distributive (see Ps 63:10). In this case one may translate, “each one will be made to stumble.” The preposition עַל (’al) might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to וַיַּכְשִׁילֵמוֹ עֲלֵי לְשׁוֹנָם (vayyakhshilemo ’aley lÿshonam, “and he caused them to stumble over their tongue”). However, if this reading is original, it is difficult to see how the present reading of the MT arose. Furthermore, the preposition is not collocated with the verb כָּשַׁל (kashal) elsewhere. It is likely that the MT is corrupt, but a satisfying emendation has not yet been proposed.

[64:8]  ¹⁰ tn The Hitpolel verbal form is probably from the root נוּד (nud; see HALOT 678 s.v. נוד), which is attested elsewhere in the Hitpolel stem, not the root נָדַד (nadad, as proposed by BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד), which does not occur elsewhere in this stem.

[68:31]  ¹³ tn This noun, which occurs only here in the OT, apparently means “red cloth” or “bronze articles” (see HALOT 362 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NEB “tribute”). Traditionally the word has been taken to refer to “nobles” (see BDB 365 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NIV “envoys”). Another option would be to emend the text to הַשְׁמַנִּים (hashmannim, “the robust ones,” i.e., leaders).

[68:31]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Cush.”

[68:31]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “causes its hands to run,” which must mean “quickly stretches out its hands” (to present tribute).

[74:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”

[74:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”