Psalms 49:5

49:5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, ¹ 

when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me? ² 

Psalms 89:29

89:29 I will give him an eternal dynasty, ³ 

and make his throne as enduring as the skies above. ⁴ 

Psalms 102:24

102:24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! ⁵ 

You endure through all generations. ⁶ 

Psalms 138:3

138:3 When ⁷  I cried out for help, you answered me.

You made me bold and energized me. ⁸ 

[49:5]  ¹ tn Heb “days of trouble.” The phrase also occurs in Ps 94:13. The question is rhetorical; there is no reason to be afraid when the rich oppressors threaten the weak (see v. 17). The following verses explain why this is so.

[49:5]  ² tc The MT has, “the iniquity of my heels surrounds me.” The clause is best understood as temporal and as elaborating on the preceding phrase “times of trouble.” If the MT is retained, the genitive “of my heels” would probably indicate location (“the iniquity at my heels”); the sinful actions of the rich threaten to overtake the psalmist, as it were. It is better, however, to emend עֲקֵבַי (’aqivay, “my heels”) to either (1) עֲקֻבַּי (’aqubay, “my deceitful ones,” i.e., “those who deceive me” [from the adjective עָקֹב (’aqov), “deceitful,” see Jer 17:9]) or (2) עֹקְבַי (’oqÿvay, “those who deceive me” [a suffixed active participle from עָקַב, ’aqav, “betray, deceive”]). Origen’s transliteration of the Hebrew text favors the first of these options. Either of the emendations provides a much smoother transition to v. 6, because “those who trust in their wealth” would then be appositional to “those who deceive me.”

[89:29]  ³ tn Heb “and I will set in place forever his offspring.”

[89:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his throne like the days of the heavens.”

[102:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “do not lift me up in the middle of my days.”

[102:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “in a generation of generations [are] your years.”

[138:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the day.”

[138:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “you made me bold in my soul [with] strength.”