Psalms 43:4

43:4 Then I will go ¹  to the altar of God,

to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, ² 

so that I express my thanks to you, ³  O God, my God, with a harp.

Psalms 46:5

46:5 God lives within it, ⁴  it cannot be moved. ⁵ 

God rescues it ⁶  at the break of dawn. ⁷ 

Psalms 47:8

47:8 God reigns ⁸  over the nations!

God sits on his holy throne!

Psalms 51:17

51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit ⁹  –

O God, a humble and repentant heart ¹⁰  you will not reject. ¹¹ 

Psalms 52:8

52:8 But I ¹²  am like a flourishing ¹³  olive tree in the house of God;

I continually ¹⁴  trust in God’s loyal love.

Psalms 60:10

60:10 Have you not rejected us, O God?

O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.

Psalms 71:19

71:19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above; ¹⁵ 

you have done great things. ¹⁶ 

O God, who can compare to you? ¹⁷ 

Psalms 82:1

Psalm 82 ¹⁸ 

A psalm of Asaph.

82:1 God stands in ¹⁹  the assembly of El; ²⁰ 

in the midst of the gods ²¹  he renders judgment. ²² 

[43:4]  ¹ tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”

[43:4]  ² tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[43:4]  ³ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.

[46:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “God [is] within her.” The feminine singular pronoun refers to the city mentioned in v. 4.

[46:5]  ⁵ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect verbal form as future, “it will not be upended.” Even if one chooses this option, the future tense must be understood in a generalizing sense. The verb מוֹט (mot), translated “upended” here, is used in v. 2 of the mountains “tumbling” into the seas and in v. 6 of nations being “upended.” By way of contrast, Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place, is secure and immune from such turmoil and destruction.

[46:5]  ⁶ tn Or “helps her.” The imperfect draws attention to the generalizing character of the statement.

[46:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “at the turning of morning.” (For other uses of the expression see Exod 14:27 and Judg 19:26).

[47:8]  ⁷ tn When a new king was enthroned, his followers would acclaim him king using this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3ms מָלַךְ, malakh, “to reign,” followed by the name of the king). See 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13, as well as Isa 52:7. In this context the perfect verbal form is generalizing, but the declaration logically follows the historical reference in v. 5 to the Lord’s having ascended his throne.

[51:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a broken spirit.”

[51:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”

[51:17]  ¹² tn Or “despise.”

[52:8]  ¹³ tn The disjunctive construction (vav [ו] + subject) highlights the contrast between the evildoer’s destiny (vv. 5-7) and that of the godly psalmist’s security.

[52:8]  ¹⁴ tn Or “luxuriant, green, leafy.”

[52:8]  ¹⁵ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever and ever.”

[71:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your justice, O God, [is] unto the height.” The Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) is here a title for the sky/heavens.

[71:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you who have done great things.”

[71:19]  ¹⁸ tn Or “Who is like you?”

[82:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.

[82:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “presides over.”

[82:1]  ²¹ tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.

[82:1]  ²² sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).

[82:1]  ²³ sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).