Psalms 51:9

51:9 Hide your face ¹  from my sins!

Wipe away ²  all my guilt!

Psalms 69:28

69:28 May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living! ³ 

Do not let their names be listed with the godly! ⁴ 

Psalms 109:13

109:13 May his descendants ⁵  be cut off! ⁶ 

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! ⁷ 

Psalms 9:5

9:5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry; ⁸ 

you destroyed the wicked; ⁹ 

you permanently wiped out all memory of them. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 109:14

109:14 May his ancestors’ ¹¹  sins be remembered by the Lord!

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten! ¹² 

Psalms 51:1

Psalm 51 ¹³ 

For the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba. ¹⁴ 

51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of ¹⁵  your loyal love!

Because of ¹⁶  your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! ¹⁷ 

[51:9]  ¹ sn In this context Hide your face from my sins means “Do not hold me accountable for my sins.”

[51:9]  ² tn See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. 1.

[69:28]  ³ tn Heb “let them be wiped out of the scroll of the living.”

[69:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “and with the godly let them not be written.”

[109:13]  ⁵ tn Or “offspring.”

[109:13]  ⁶ sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.

[109:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”

[9:5]  ⁷ tn The verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke” and in this context taken to refer to the Lord’s “rebuke” of the nations. In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[9:5]  ⁸ tn The singular form is collective (note “nations” and “their name”). In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). In this context the hostile nations who threaten Israel/Judah are in view.

[9:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “their name you wiped out forever and ever.” The three perfect verbal forms in v. 5 probably refer to a recent victory (definite past or present perfect use), although they might express what is typical (characteristic use).

[109:14]  ⁹ tn Or “fathers’ sins.”

[109:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “not be wiped out.”

[51:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 51. The psalmist confesses his sinfulness to God and begs for forgiveness and a transformation of his inner character. According to the psalm superscription, David offered this prayer when Nathan confronted him with his sin following the king’s affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11-12). However, the final two verses of the psalm hardly fit this situation, for they assume the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and that the sacrificial system has been temporarily suspended. These verses are probably an addition to the psalm made during the period of exile following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. The exiles could relate to David’s experience, for they, like him, and had been forced to confront their sin. They appropriated David’s ancient prayer and applied it to their own circumstances.

[51:1]  ¹² tn Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”

[51:1]  ¹³ tn Or “according to.”

[51:1]  ¹⁴ tn Or “according to.”

[51:1]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally “blot out my transgressions.” Because of the reference to washing and cleansing in the following verse, it is likely that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to wiping an object clean (note the use of the verb מָחָה (makhah) in the sense of “wipe clean; dry” in 2 Kgs 21:13; Prov 30:20; Isa 25:8). Another option is that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to erasing or blotting out names from a register (see Exod 32:32-33). In this case one might translate, “erase all record of my rebellious acts.”