Psalms 52:1

Psalm 52 ¹ 

For the music director; a well-written song ²  by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.” ³ 

52:1 Why do you boast about your evil plans, ⁴  O powerful man?

God’s loyal love protects me all day long! ⁵ 

Psalms 65:5

65:5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,

O God, our savior. ⁶ 

All the ends of the earth trust in you, ⁷ 

as well as those living across the wide seas. ⁸ 

Psalms 68:18

68:18 You ascend on high, ⁹ 

you have taken many captives. ¹⁰ 

You receive tribute ¹¹  from ¹²  men,

including even sinful rebels.

Indeed the Lord God lives there! ¹³ 

Psalms 69:4

69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, ¹⁴  outnumber me. ¹⁵ 

They make me repay what I did not steal! ¹⁶ 

Psalms 75:1

Psalm 75 ¹⁷ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ¹⁸  a psalm of Asaph; a song.

75:1 We give thanks to you, O God! We give thanks!

You reveal your presence; ¹⁹ 

people tell about your amazing deeds.

[52:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 52. The psalmist confidently confronts his enemy and affirms that God will destroy evildoers and vindicate the godly.

[52:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[52:1]  ³ tn Heb “when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’”

[52:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “Why do you boast in evil?”

[52:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the loyal love of God [is] all the day.” In this context, where the psalmist is threatened by his enemy, the point seems to be that the psalmist is protected by God’s loyal love at all times.

[65:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”

[65:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”

[65:5]  ⁸ tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (rÿkhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.

[68:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to the elevated place”; or “on high.” This probably refers to the Lord’s throne on Mount Zion.

[68:18]  ¹² tn Heb “you have taken captives captive.”

[68:18]  ¹³ tn Or “gifts.”

[68:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “among.”

[68:18]  ¹⁵ 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.

[69:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).

[69:4]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).

[69:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (’az, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows.

[75:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 75. The psalmist celebrates God’s just rule, which guarantees that the godly will be vindicated and the wicked destroyed.

[75:1]  ²² tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57-59.

[75:1]  ²³ tn Heb “and near [is] your name.”