Psalms 7:11

7:11 God is a just judge;

he is angry throughout the day. ¹ 

Psalms 9:8

9:8 He judges the world fairly;

he makes just legal decisions for the nations. ² 

Psalms 35:24

35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!

Do not let them gloat ³  over me!

Psalms 37:33

37:33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,

or allow them to be condemned in a court of law. ⁴ 

Psalms 50:6

50:6 The heavens declare his fairness, ⁵ 

for God is judge. ⁶  (Selah)

Psalms 72:4

72:4 He will defend ⁷  the oppressed among the people;

he will deliver ⁸  the children ⁹  of the poor

and crush the oppressor.

Psalms 75:2

75:2 God says, ¹⁰ 

“At the appointed times, ¹¹ 

I judge ¹²  fairly.

Psalms 75:7

75:7 For God is the judge! ¹³ 

He brings one down and exalts another. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 82:2

82:2 He says, ¹⁵  “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? ¹⁶  (Selah)

Psalms 94:2

94:2 Rise up, O judge of the earth!

Pay back the proud!

Psalms 109:31

109:31 because he stands at the right hand of the needy,

to deliver him from those who threaten ¹⁷  his life.

Psalms 141:6

141:6 They will be thrown down the side of a cliff by their judges. ¹⁸ 

They ¹⁹  will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.

Psalms 148:11

148:11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,

you princes and all you leaders ²⁰  on the earth,

[7:11]  ¹ tn Heb “God (the divine name אֵל [’el] is used) is angry during all the day.” The verb זֹעֵם (zo’em) means “be indignant, be angry, curse.” Here God’s angry response to wrongdoing and injustice leads him to prepare to execute judgment as described in the following verses.

[9:8]  ² tn Heb “the peoples.” The imperfect verbal forms in v. 8 either describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).

[35:24]  ³ tn Heb “rejoice.”

[37:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord does not abandon him into his hand or condemn him when he is judged.” The imperfects draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic behavior in this regard.

[50:6]  ⁵ tn Or “justice.”

[50:6]  ⁶ tn Or “for God, he is about to judge.” The participle may be taken as substantival (as in the translation above) or as a predicate (indicating imminent future action in this context).

[72:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “judge [for].”

[72:4]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “sons.”

[75:2]  ⁷ tn The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in vv. 2-3.

[75:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “when I take an appointed time.”

[75:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “I, [in] fairness, I judge.” The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically executes fair judgment as he governs the world. One could take this as referring to an anticipated (future) judgment, “I will judge.”

[75:7]  ⁸ tn Or “judges.”

[75:7]  ⁹ tn The imperfects here emphasize the generalizing nature of the statement.

[82:2]  ⁹ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to indicate that the following speech is God’s judicial decision (see v. 1).

[82:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the face of the wicked lift up.”

[109:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “judge.”

[141:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they are thrown down by the hands of a cliff, their judges.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult and the meaning uncertain. The perfect verbal form is understood as rhetorical; the psalmist describes the anticipated downfall of the wicked as if it had already occurred. “Their judges” could be taken as the subject of the verb, but this makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes the judges are the agents and that the wicked, mentioned earlier in the psalm, are the subjects of the verb.

[141:6]  ¹² tn It is unclear how this statement relates to the preceding sentence. Perhaps the judges are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the verb “will listen,” and “my words” are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the phrase “are pleasant.” The psalmist may be affirming here his confidence that he will be vindicated when he presents his case before the judges, while the wicked will be punished.

[148:11]  ¹² tn Or “judges.”