Psalms 54:5

54:5 May those who wait to ambush me ¹  be repaid for their evil! ² 

As a demonstration of your faithfulness, ³  destroy them!

Psalms 55:23

55:23 But you, O God, will bring them ⁴  down to the deep Pit. ⁵ 

Violent and deceitful people ⁶  will not live even half a normal lifespan. ⁷ 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Psalms 136:15-20

136:15 and tossed ⁸  Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,

for his loyal love endures,

136:16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,

for his loyal love endures,

136:17 to the one who struck down great kings,

for his loyal love endures,

136:18 and killed powerful kings,

for his loyal love endures,

136:19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his loyal love endures,

136:20 Og, king of Bashan,

for his loyal love endures,

Psalms 136:1

Psalm 136 ⁹ 

136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his loyal love endures. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 24:1

Psalm 24 ¹¹ 

A psalm of David.

24:1 The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,

the world and all who live in it.

Psalms 25:1

Psalm 25 ¹² 

By David.

25:1 O Lord, I come before you in prayer. ¹³ 

Psalms 26:10

26:10 who are always ready to do wrong ¹⁴ 

or offer a bribe. ¹⁵ 

[54:5]  ¹ tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.

[54:5]  ² tn The Kethib (consonantal text) reads a Qal imperfect, “the evil will return,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Hiphil imperfect, “he will repay.” The parallel line has an imperative (indicating a prayer/request), so it is best to read a jussive form יָשֹׁב (yashov, “let it [the evil] return”) here.

[54:5]  ³ tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”

[55:23]  ⁴ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

[55:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

[55:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

[55:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

[136:15]  ⁸ tn Or “shook off.”

[136:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 136. In this hymn the psalmist affirms that God is praiseworthy because of his enduring loyal love, sovereign authority, and compassion. Each verse of the psalm concludes with the refrain “for his loyal love endures.”

[136:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “is forever.”

[24:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 24. The psalmist affirms the universal kingship of the sovereign creator, reminds his people that only the morally pure are qualified to worship him, and celebrates his splendor as a mighty warrior king.

[25:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme.

[25:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “to you, O Lord, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. See Pss 86:4; 143:8.

[26:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “who [have] in their hands evil.”

[26:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and their right hand is full of a bribe.”