Psalms 63:3-5

63:3 Because ¹  experiencing ²  your loyal love is better than life itself,

my lips will praise you.

63:4 For this reason ³  I will praise you while I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands. ⁴ 

63:5 As if with choice meat ⁵  you satisfy my soul. ⁶ 

My mouth joyfully praises you, ⁷ 

Psalms 92:1

Psalm 92 ⁸ 

A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.

92:1 It is fitting ⁹  to thank the Lord,

and to sing praises to your name, O sovereign One! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 135:3

135:3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good!

Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant! ¹¹ 

[63:3]  ¹ tn This line is understood as giving the basis for the praise promised in the following line. Another option is to take the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) as asseverative/emphasizing, “Indeed, your loyal love is better” (cf. NEB, which leaves the particle untranslated).

[63:3]  ² tn The word “experiencing” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist does not speak here of divine loyal love in some abstract sense, but of loyal love revealed and experienced.

[63:4]  ³ tn Or perhaps “then.”

[63:4]  ⁴ sn I will lift up my hands. Lifting up one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer (see Ps 28:2; Lam 2:19) or respect (Ps 119:48).

[63:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”

[63:5]  ⁶ tn Or “me.”

[63:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”

[92:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 92. The psalmist praises God because he defeats the wicked and vindicates his loyal followers.

[92:1]  ⁹ tn Or “good.”

[92:1]  ¹⁰ tn Traditionally “O Most High.”

[135:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for [it is] pleasant.” The translation assumes that it is the Lord’s “name” that is pleasant. Another option is to understand the referent of “it” as the act of praising (see Ps 147:1).