Psalms 6:1

Psalm 6 ¹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; ²  a psalm of David.

6:1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger!

Do not discipline me in your raging fury! ³ 

Psalms 10:5

10:5 He is secure at all times. ⁴ 

He has no regard for your commands; ⁵ 

he disdains all his enemies. ⁶ 

Psalms 14:2

14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven ⁷  at the human race, ⁸ 

to see if there is anyone who is wise ⁹  and seeks God. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 27:5

27:5 He will surely ¹¹  give me shelter ¹²  in the day of danger; ¹³ 

he will hide me in his home; ¹⁴ 

he will place me ¹⁵  on an inaccessible rocky summit. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 35:13

35:13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, ¹⁷ 

and refrained from eating food. ¹⁸ 

(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) ¹⁹ 

Psalms 37:34

37:34 Rely ²⁰  on the Lord! Obey his commands! ²¹ 

Then he will permit you ²²  to possess the land;

you will see the demise of evil men. ²³ 

Psalms 52:9

52:9 I will continually ²⁴  thank you when ²⁵  you execute judgment; ²⁶ 

I will rely ²⁷  on you, ²⁸  for your loyal followers know you are good. ²⁹ 

Psalms 91:14

91:14 The Lord says, ³⁰ 

“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;

I will protect him ³¹  because he is loyal to me. ³² 

Psalms 99:6

99:6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;

Samuel was one of those who prayed to him. ³³ 

They ³⁴  prayed to the Lord and he answered them.

Psalms 142:4

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ³⁵ 

I have nowhere to run; ³⁶ 

no one is concerned about my life. ³⁷ 

[6:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 6. The psalmist begs the Lord to withdraw his anger and spare his life. Having received a positive response to his prayer, the psalmist then confronts his enemies and describes how they retreat.

[6:1]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit, “sheminith”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.

[6:1]  ³ sn The implication is that the psalmist has sinned, causing God to discipline him by bringing a life-threatening illness upon him (see vv. 2-7).

[10:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “they are firm, his ways, at every time.” The verb חַיִל (khayil, “be firm, be strong”) occurs only here and in Job 20:21, where it has the sense “endure.”

[10:5]  ⁵ tc Heb “[on a] height, your judgments from before him.” If the MT is retained, then the idea may be that God’s “judgments” are high above (i.e., not recognized) by the wicked man. However, the syntax is awkward. The translation assumes an emendation of מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) to סָרוּ (saru, “[your judgments] are turned aside”), the final mem (ם) being dittographic (note the initial mem on the immediately following word [מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, mishÿfatekha, “your judgments”). “Judgments” probably refers here to God’s laws or commands, rather than his judicial decisions or acts of judgment.

[10:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “all his enemies, he snorts against them.” This may picture the wicked man defiantly challenging his enemies because he is confident of success. Another option is to take יָפִיחַ (yafiakh) from the root יָפַח (yafakh, “to testify”) and translate “he testifies against all his enemies,” implying that he gets the upper hand over them in legal battles. The noun יָפֵחַ (yafeakh, “witness”) is attested in biblical Hebrew (see Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3). The verb, however, is not clearly attested.

[14:2]  ⁷ sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.

[14:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”

[14:2]  ⁹ tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.

[14:2]  ¹⁰ sn Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

[27:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for he will.” The translation assumes the כִּי (ki) is asseverative here, rather than causal.

[27:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he will hide me in his hut.”

[27:5]  ¹² tn Or “trouble.”

[27:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “tent.”

[27:5]  ¹⁴ tn The three imperfect verb forms in v. 5 anticipate a positive response to the prayer offered in vv. 7-12.

[27:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “on a rocky summit he lifts me up.” The Lord places the psalmist in an inaccessible place where his enemies cannot reach him. See Ps 18:2.

[35:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.” Sackcloth was worn by mourners. When the psalmist’s enemies were sick, he was sorry for their misfortune and mourned for them.

[35:13]  ¹⁴ sn Fasting was also a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities, such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

[35:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and my prayer upon my chest will return.” One could translate, “but my prayer was returning upon my chest,” but the use of the imperfect verbal form sets this line apart from the preceding and following lines (vv. 13a, 14), which use the perfect to describe the psalmist’s past actions.

[37:34]  ¹⁶ tn Or “wait.”

[37:34]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “keep his way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.

[37:34]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he will lift you up.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause following the imperatives in the preceding lines.

[37:34]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “when evil men are cut off you will see.”

[52:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[52:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “for.”

[52:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.

[52:9]  ²² tn Or “wait.”

[52:9]  ²³ tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.

[52:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”

[91:14]  ²² tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the words which follow are the Lord’s oracle of assurance.

[91:14]  ²³ tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).

[91:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).

[99:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”

[99:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.

[142:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”