Psalms 51:6

51:6 Look, ¹  you desire ²  integrity in the inner man; ³ 

you want me to possess wisdom. ⁴ 

Psalms 40:6

40:6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. ⁵ 

You make that quite clear to me! ⁶ 

You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.

Psalms 41:11

41:11 By this ⁷  I know that you are pleased with me,

for my enemy does ⁸  not triumph ⁹  over me.

[51:6]  ¹ sn The juxtaposition of two occurrences of “look” in vv. 5-6 draws attention to the sharp contrast between the sinful reality of the psalmist’s condition and the lofty ideal God has for him.

[51:6]  ² tn The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.

[51:6]  ³ tn Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.

[51:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the secret [place] wisdom you cause me to know.” The Hiphil verbal form is causative, while the imperfect is used in a modal sense to indicate God’s desire (note the parallel verb “desire”).

[40:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “sacrifice and offering you do not desire.” The statement is exaggerated for the sake of emphasis (see Ps 51:16 as well). God is pleased with sacrifices, but his first priority is obedience and loyalty (see 1 Sam 15:22). Sacrifices and offerings apart from genuine allegiance are meaningless (see Isa 1:11-20).

[40:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “ears you hollowed out for me.” The meaning of this odd expression is debated (this is the only collocation of “hollowed out” and “ears” in the OT). It may have been an idiomatic expression referring to making a point clear to a listener. The LXX has “but a body you have prepared for me,” a reading which is followed in Heb 10:5.

[41:11]  ⁹ sn By this. Having recalled his former lament and petition, the psalmist returns to the confident mood of vv. 1-3. The basis for his confidence may be a divine oracle of deliverance, assuring him that God would intervene and vindicate him. The demonstrative pronoun “this” may refer to such an oracle, which is assumed here, though its contents are not included. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 319, 321.

[41:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or “will.” One may translate the imperfect verbal form as descriptive (present, cf. NIV) or as anticipatory (future, cf. NEB).

[41:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “shout.”