Psalms 7:12

7:12 If a person ¹  does not repent, God sharpens his sword ² 

and prepares to shoot his bow. ³ 

Psalms 8:5

8:5 and make them a little less than the heavenly beings? ⁴ 

You grant mankind ⁵  honor and majesty; ⁶ 

Psalms 36:6

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ⁷ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ⁸  mankind and the animal kingdom. ⁹ 

Psalms 71:5

71:5 For you give me confidence, ¹⁰  O Lord;

O Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young. ¹¹ 

Psalms 140:7

140:7 O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, ¹² 

you shield ¹³  my head in the day of battle.

[7:12]  ¹ tn Heb “If he”; the referent (a person who is a sinner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The subject of the first verb is understood as the sinner who fails to repent of his ways and becomes the target of God’s judgment (vv. 9, 14-16).

[7:12]  ² tn Heb “if he does not return, his sword he sharpens.” The referent (God) of the pronominal subject of the second verb (“sharpens”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:12]  ³ tn Heb “his bow he treads and prepares it.” “Treading the bow” involved stepping on one end of it in order to string it and thus prepare it for battle.

[8:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and you make him lack a little from [the] gods [or “God”].” The Piel form of חָסַר (khasar, “to decrease, to be devoid”) is used only here and in Eccl 4:8, where it means “to deprive, to cause to be lacking.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive either carries on the characteristic nuance of the imperfect in v. 5b or indicates a consequence (“so that you make him…”) of the preceding statement (see GKC 328 §111.m). Some prefer to make this an independent clause and translate it as a new sentence, “You made him….” In this case the statement might refer specifically to the creation of the first human couple, Adam and Eve (cf. Gen 1:26-27). The psalmist does appear to allude to Gen 1:26-27, where mankind is created in the image of God and his angelic assembly (note “let us make man in our image” in Gen 1:26). However, the psalmist’s statement need not be limited in its focus to that historical event, for all mankind shares the image imparted to the first human couple. Consequently the psalmist can speak in general terms of the exalted nature of mankind. The referent of אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God” or “the heavenly beings”) is unclear. Some understand this as a reference to God alone, but the allusion to Gen 1:26-27 suggests a broader referent, including God and the other heavenly beings (known in other texts as “angels”). The term אֱלֹהִים is also used in this way in Gen 3:5, where the serpent says to the woman, “you will be like the heavenly beings who know good and evil.” (Note Gen 3:22, where God says, “the man has become like one of us.”) Also אֱלֹהִים may refer to the members of the heavenly assembly in Ps 82:1, 6. The LXX (the ancient Greek translation of the OT) reads “angels” in Ps 8:5 (this is the source of the quotation of Ps 8:5 in Heb 2:7).

[8:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “you crown him [with].” The imperfect verbal forms in this and the next line describe God’s characteristic activity.

[8:5]  ⁶ sn Honor and majesty. These terms allude to mankind’s royal status as God’s vice-regents (cf. v. 6 and Gen 1:26-30).

[36:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ⁸ tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ⁹ sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.

[71:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for you [are] my hope.”

[71:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “O Lord, my source of confidence from my youth.”

[140:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “the strength of my deliverance.”

[140:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “cover.”