Psalms 5:8

5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness ¹ 

because of those who wait to ambush me, ² 

remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! ³ 

Psalms 31:1

Psalm 31 ⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!

Never let me be humiliated!

Vindicate me by rescuing me! ⁵ 

Psalms 36:6

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ⁶ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ⁷  mankind and the animal kingdom. ⁸ 

Psalms 51:14

51:14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, ⁹  O God, the God who delivers me!

Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 71:15

71:15 I will tell about your justice,

and all day long proclaim your salvation, ¹¹ 

though I cannot fathom its full extent. ¹² 

Psalms 71:19

71:19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above; ¹³ 

you have done great things. ¹⁴ 

O God, who can compare to you? ¹⁵ 

Psalms 71:24

71:24 All day long my tongue will also tell about your justice,

for those who want to harm me ¹⁶  will be embarrassed and ashamed. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 99:4

99:4 The king is strong;

he loves justice. ¹⁸ 

You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; ¹⁹ 

you promote justice and equity in Jacob.

Psalms 103:17

103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, ²⁰ 

and is faithful to their descendants, ²¹ 

Psalms 112:9

112:9 He generously gives ²²  to the needy;

his integrity endures. ²³ 

He will be vindicated and honored. ²⁴ 

Psalms 143:1

Psalm 143 ²⁵ 

A psalm of David.

143:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!

Pay attention to my plea for help!

Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me!

[5:8]  ¹ tn God’s providential leading is in view. His צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) includes here the deliverance that originates in his righteousness; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 842 s.v.

[5:8]  ² tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “make level before me your way.” The imperative “make level” is Hiphil in the Kethib (consonantal text); Piel in the Qere (marginal reading). God’s “way” is here the way in which he leads the psalmist providentially (see the preceding line, where the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him).

[31:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 31. The psalmist confidently asks the Lord to protect him. Enemies threaten him and even his friends have abandoned him, but he looks to the Lord for vindication. In vv. 19-24, which were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18, the psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him.

[31:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”

[36:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ⁸ tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ⁹ sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.

[51:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.

[51:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my tongue will shout for joy your deliverance.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may my tongue shout for joy.” However, the pattern in vv. 12-15 appears to be prayer/request (see vv. 12, 14a, 15a) followed by promise/vow (see vv. 13, 14b, 15b).

[71:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “my mouth declares your vindication, all the day your deliverance.”

[71:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “though I do not know [the] numbers,” that is, the tally of God’s just and saving acts. HALOT 768 s.v. סְפֹרוֹת understands the plural noun to mean “the art of writing.”

[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?”

[71:24]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “those who seek my harm.”

[71:24]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will have become embarrassed and ashamed.” The perfect verbal forms function here as future perfects, indicating future actions which will precede chronologically the action expressed by the main verb in the preceding line.

[99:4]  ²² tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (’oz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (’az, “strong”).

[99:4]  ²³ tn Heb “you establish fairness.”

[103:17]  ²⁵ tn Heb “but the loyal love of the Lord [is] from everlasting to everlasting over those who fear him.”

[103:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”

[112:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he scatters, he gives.”

[112:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “stands forever.”

[112:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “his horn will be lifted up in honor.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[143:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.