Psalms 58:5

58:5 that does not respond to ¹  the magicians,

or to a skilled snake-charmer.

Psalms 71:9

71:9 Do not reject me in my old age! ² 

When my strength fails, do not abandon me!

Psalms 89:7

89:7 a God who is honored ³  in the great angelic assembly, ⁴ 

and more awesome than ⁵  all who surround him?

Psalms 108:1

Psalm 108 ⁶ 

A song, a psalm of David.

108:1 I am determined, ⁷  O God!

I will sing and praise you with my whole heart. ⁸ 

Psalms 139:6

139:6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;

it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. ⁹ 

Psalms 7:9

7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked ¹⁰  come to an end! ¹¹ 

But make the innocent ¹²  secure, ¹³ 

O righteous God,

you who examine ¹⁴  inner thoughts and motives! ¹⁵ 

Psalms 47:9

47:9 The nobles of the nations assemble,

along with the people of the God of Abraham, ¹⁶ 

for God has authority over the rulers ¹⁷  of the earth.

He is highly exalted! ¹⁸ 

[58:5]  ¹ tn Heb “does not listen to the voice of.”

[71:9]  ² tn Heb “do not cast me away at the time of old age.”

[89:7]  ³ tn Heb “feared.”

[89:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the great assembly of the holy ones.”

[89:7]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “feared by.”

[108:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 108. With some minor variations, this psalm is a composite of Ps 57:7-11 (see vv. 1-5) and Ps 60:5-12 (see vv. 6-13).

[108:1]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “confident”; Heb “my heart is steadfast.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and/or emotions.

[108:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “also my glory,” but this makes little sense in the context. Some view the term כָּבוֹד (“glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvodiy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 30:12; 57:9; as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 3:93. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”

[139:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “too amazing [is this] knowledge for me, it is elevated, I cannot attain to it.”

[7:9]  ⁶ tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are 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). They oppose God and his people.

[7:9]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.

[7:9]  ⁸ tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.

[7:9]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.

[7:9]  ¹⁰ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.

[7:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.

[47:9]  ⁷ tc The words “along with” do not appear in the MT. However, the LXX has “with,” suggesting that the original text may have read עִם עַם (’im ’am, “along with the people”). In this case the MT is haplographic (the consonantal sequence ayin-mem [עם] being written once instead of twice). Another option is that the LXX is simply and correctly interpreting “people” as an adverbial accusative and supplying the appropriate preposition.

[47:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “for to God [belong] the shields of the earth.” Perhaps the rulers are called “shields” because they are responsible for protecting their people. See Ps 84:9, where the Davidic king is called “our shield,” and perhaps also Hos 4:18.

[47:9]  ⁹ tn The verb עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”) appears once more (see v. 5), though now in the Niphal stem.