Psalms 42:11

42:11 Why are you depressed, ¹  O my soul? ² 

Why are you upset? ³ 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. ⁴ 

Psalms 43:5

43:5 Why are you depressed, ⁵  O my soul? ⁶ 

Why are you upset? ⁷ 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. ⁸ 

Psalms 47:9

47:9 The nobles of the nations assemble,

along with the people of the God of Abraham, ⁹ 

for God has authority over the rulers ¹⁰  of the earth.

He is highly exalted! ¹¹ 

Psalms 55:19

55:19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,

will hear and humiliate them. ¹²  (Selah)

They refuse to change,

and do not fear God. ¹³ 

Psalms 56:4

56:4 In God – I boast in his promise ¹⁴  –

in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ¹⁵  do to me? ¹⁶ 

Psalms 59:5

59:5 You, O Lord God, the invincible warrior, ¹⁷  the God of Israel,

rouse yourself and punish ¹⁸  all the nations!

Have no mercy on any treacherous evildoers! (Selah)

Psalms 77:1

Psalm 77 ¹⁹ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.

77:1 I will cry out to God ²⁰  and call for help!

I will cry out to God and he will pay attention ²¹  to me.

Psalms 81:1

Psalm 81 ²² 

For the music director; according to the gittith style; ²³  by Asaph.

81:1 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!

Shout out to the God of Jacob!

[42:11]  ¹ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[42:11]  ² sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[42:11]  ³ tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”

[42:11]  ⁴ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.

[43:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[43:5]  ⁶ sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[43:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”

[43:5]  ⁸ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is identical to the one in Ps 42:11. See also 42:5, which differs only slightly.

[47:9]  ⁹ tc The words “along with” do not appear in the MT. However, the LXX has “with,” suggesting that the original text may have read עִם עַם (’im ’am, “along with the people”). In this case the MT is haplographic (the consonantal sequence ayin-mem [עם] being written once instead of twice). Another option is that the LXX is simply and correctly interpreting “people” as an adverbial accusative and supplying the appropriate preposition.

[47:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for to God [belong] the shields of the earth.” Perhaps the rulers are called “shields” because they are responsible for protecting their people. See Ps 84:9, where the Davidic king is called “our shield,” and perhaps also Hos 4:18.

[47:9]  ¹¹ tn The verb עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”) appears once more (see v. 5), though now in the Niphal stem.

[55:19]  ¹³ tc Heb “God will hear and answer them, even [the] one who sits [from] ancient times.” The prefixed verbal from with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the anticipatory force of the preceding imperfect. The verb appears to be a Qal form from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). If this reading is retained, the point would be that God “answered” them in judgment. The translation assumes an emendation to the Piel וַיְעַנֵּם (vay’annem; see 2 Kgs 17:20) and understands the root as עָנָה (’anah, “to afflict”; see also 1 Kgs 8:35).

[55:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[the ones] for whom there are no changes, and they do not fear God.”

[56:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in God I boast, his word.” The syntax in the Hebrew text is difficult. (1) The line could be translated, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” Such a translation assumes that the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and that “his word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. Another option (2) is to translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” is a song of praise. (In this view the pronominal suffix “his” must be omitted as in v. 10.) The present translation reflects yet another option (3): In this case “I praise his word” is a parenthetical statement, with “his word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in the next line, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.

[56:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “flesh,” which refers by metonymy to human beings (see v. 11, where “man” is used in this same question), envisioned here as mortal and powerless before God.

[56:4]  ¹⁹ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[59:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “Lord, God, Hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי (’elohey) before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”). See Ps 89:9, but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yÿhvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 80:4, 19; 84:8 as well.

[59:5]  ²² tn Heb “wake up to punish” (see Pss 35:23; 44:23).

[77:1]  ²⁵ sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.

[77:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.

[77:1]  ²⁷ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).

[81:1]  ²⁹ sn Psalm 81. The psalmist calls God’s people to assemble for a festival and then proclaims God’s message to them. The divine speech (vv. 6-16) recalls how God delivered the people from Egypt, reminds Israel of their rebellious past, expresses God’s desire for his people to obey him, and promises divine protection in exchange for obedience.

[81:1]  ³⁰ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument. See the superscription to Ps 8.