Psalms 42:5

42:5 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 42:11

42:11 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 43:5

43:5 Why are you depressed, ⁹  O my soul? ¹⁰ 

Why are you upset? ¹¹ 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. ¹² 

Psalms 88:5

88:5 adrift ¹³  among the dead,

like corpses lying in the grave,

whom you remember no more,

and who are cut off from your power. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 104:35

104:35 May sinners disappear ¹⁵  from the earth,

and the wicked vanish!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Praise the Lord!

Psalms 141:5

141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!

May my head not refuse ¹⁶  choice oil! ¹⁷ 

Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. ¹⁸ 

[42:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[42:5]  ² sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[42:5]  ³ tn Heb “and [why] are you in turmoil upon me?” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the descriptive present nuance of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.

[42:5]  ⁴ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of his face.” The verse division in the Hebrew text is incorrect. אֱלֹהַי (’elohay, “my God”) at the beginning of v. 7 belongs with the end of v. 6 (see the corresponding refrains in 42:11 and 43:5, both of which end with “my God” after “saving acts of my face”). The Hebrew term פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”) should be emended to פְּנֵי (pÿney, “face of”). The emended text reads, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention.

[42:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[42:11]  ⁶ sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[42:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”

[42:11]  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 almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.

[43:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[43:5]  ¹⁰ sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[43:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”

[43:5]  ¹² 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.

[88:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “set free.”

[88:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from your hand.”

[104:35]  ¹⁷ tn Or “be destroyed.”

[141:5]  ²¹ tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.

[141:5]  ²² sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.

[141:5]  ²³ tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.