Psalms 45:1

Psalm 45 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ²  by the Korahites, a well-written poem, ³  a love song.

45:1 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. ⁴ 

I say, “I have composed this special song ⁵  for the king;

my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” ⁶ 

Psalms 60:1

Psalm 60 ⁷ 

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; ⁸  a prayer ⁹  of David written to instruct others. ¹⁰  It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down ¹¹  12,000 Edomites ¹²  in the Valley of Salt. ¹³ 

60:1 O God, you have rejected us. ¹⁴ 

You suddenly turned on us in your anger. ¹⁵ 

Please restore us! ¹⁶ 

Psalms 69:1

Psalm 69 ¹⁷ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ¹⁸  by David.

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck. ¹⁹ 

[45:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 45. This is a romantic poem celebrating the Davidic king’s marriage to a lovely princess. The psalmist praises the king for his military prowess and commitment to justice, urges the bride to be loyal to the king, and anticipates that the marriage will be blessed with royal offspring.

[45:1]  ² tn Heb “according to lilies.” “Lilies” may be a tune title or musical style, suggestive of romantic love. The imagery of a “lily” appears frequently in the Song of Solomon in a variety of contexts (see 2:1-2, 16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2-3; 7:2).

[45:1]  ³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 42.

[45:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “[with] a good word.” The “good word” probably refers here to the song that follows.

[45:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “my works [are] for a king.” The plural “works” may here indicate degree, referring to the special musical composition that follows.

[45:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “my tongue [is] a stylus of a skillful scribe.” Words flow from the psalmist’s tongue just as they do from a scribe’s stylus.

[60:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.

[60:1]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.

[60:1]  ⁹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[60:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to teach.”

[60:1]  ¹¹ tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.

[60:1]  ¹² tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).

[60:1]  ¹³ sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.

[60:1]  ¹⁴ sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.

[60:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”

[60:1]  ¹⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[69:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.

[69:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.

[69:1]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.