Psalms 41:13

41:13 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise ¹ 

in the future and forevermore! ² 

We agree! We agree! ³ 

Psalms 50:7

50:7 He says: ⁴ 

“Listen my people! I am speaking!

Listen Israel! I am accusing you! ⁵ 

I am God, your God!

Psalms 68:34

68:34 Acknowledge God’s power, ⁶ 

his sovereignty over Israel,

and the power he reveals in the skies! ⁷ 

Psalms 71:22

71:22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,

praising ⁸  your faithfulness, O my God!

I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,

O Holy One of Israel! ⁹ 

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.

Psalms 78:55

78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;

he assigned them their tribal allotments ¹⁰ 

and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. ¹¹ 

Psalms 81:8

81:8 I said, ¹²  ‘Listen, my people!

I will warn ¹³  you!

O Israel, if only you would obey me! ¹⁴ 

Psalms 83:4

83:4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! ¹⁵ 

Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”

Psalms 98:3

98:3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel. ¹⁶ 

All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 115:12

115:12 The Lord takes notice of us, ¹⁸  he will bless ¹⁹  –

he will bless the family ²⁰  of Israel,

he will bless the family of Aaron.

Psalms 124:1

Psalm 124 ²¹ 

A song of ascents, ²²  by David.

124:1 “If the Lord had not been on our side” –

let Israel say this! –

Psalms 125:5

125:5 As for those who are bent on traveling a sinful path, ²³ 

may the Lord remove them, ²⁴  along with those who behave wickedly! ²⁵ 

May Israel experience peace! ²⁶ 

Psalms 130:7

130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,

for the Lord exhibits loyal love, ²⁷ 

and is more than willing to deliver. ²⁸ 

Psalms 135:19

135:19 O family ²⁹  of Israel, praise the Lord!

O family of Aaron, praise the Lord!

Psalms 148:14

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ³⁰ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ³¹ 

Praise the Lord!

[41:13]  ¹ tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.

[41:13]  ² tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.” See 1 Chr 16:36; Neh 9:5; Pss 90:2; 106:48.

[41:13]  ³ tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [’amen vÿ’amen], i.e., “amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.

[50:7]  ⁴ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.

[50:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[68:34]  ⁷ tn Heb “give strength to God.”

[68:34]  ⁸ sn The language of v. 34 echoes that of Deut 33:26.

[71:22]  ¹⁰ tn The word “praising” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[71:22]  ¹¹ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior.

[78:55]  ¹³ tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”

[78:55]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”

[81:8]  ¹⁶ tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8-10 appear to recall what the Lord commanded the generation of Israelites that experienced the events described in v. 7. Note the statement in v. 11, “my people did not listen to me.”

[81:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or perhaps “command.”

[81:8]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (“if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (GKC 321 §109.b). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.

[83:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “we will cause them to disappear from [being] a nation.”

[98:3]  ²² tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”

[98:3]  ²³ tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).

[115:12]  ²⁵ tn Or “remembers us.”

[115:12]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[124:1]  ²⁸ sn Psalm 124. Israel acknowledges that the Lord delivered them from certain disaster.

[124:1]  ²⁹ 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.

[125:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “and the ones making their paths twisted.” A sinful lifestyle is compared to a twisting, winding road.

[125:5]  ³² tn Heb “lead them away.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer here (note the prayers directly before and after this). Another option is to translate, “the Lord will remove them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[125:5]  ³³ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.”

[125:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “peace [be] upon Israel.” The statement is understood as a prayer (see Ps 122:8 for a similar prayer for peace).

[130:7]  ³⁴ tn Heb “for with the Lord [is] loyal love.”

[130:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and abundantly with him [is] redemption.”

[135:19]  ³⁷ tn Heb “house” (here and in the next two lines).

[148:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ⁴¹ tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.