Psalms 47:9

47:9 The nobles of the nations assemble,

along with the people of the God of Abraham, ¹ 

for God has authority over the rulers ²  of the earth.

He is highly exalted! ³ 

Psalms 62:9

62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;

human beings are unreliable. ⁴ 

When they are weighed in the scales,

all of them together are lighter than air. ⁵ 

Psalms 68:18

68:18 You ascend on high, ⁶ 

you have taken many captives. ⁷ 

You receive tribute ⁸  from ⁹  men,

including even sinful rebels.

Indeed the Lord God lives there! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 137:6

137:6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

and do not give Jerusalem priority

over whatever gives me the most joy. ¹¹ 

[47:9]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn The verb עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”) appears once more (see v. 5), though now in the Niphal stem.

[62:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bÿney ’adam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bÿney ’ish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.

[62:9]  ⁵ tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.

[68:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “to the elevated place”; or “on high.” This probably refers to the Lord’s throne on Mount Zion.

[68:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “you have taken captives captive.”

[68:18]  ⁹ tn Or “gifts.”

[68:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “among.”

[68:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so that the Lord God might live [there].” Many take the infinitive construct with -לְ (lamed) as indicating purpose here, but it is unclear how the offering of tribute enables the Lord to live in Zion. This may be an occurrence of the relatively rare emphatic lamed (see HALOT 510-11 s.v. II לְ, though this text is not listed as an example there). If so, the statement corresponds nicely to the final line of v. 16, which also affirms emphatically that the Lord lives in Zion.

[137:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “if I do not lift up Jerusalem over the top of my joy.”