Psalms 7:8

7:8 The Lord judges the nations. ¹ 

Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, ² 

because I am blameless, ³  O Exalted One! ⁴ 

Psalms 9:4

9:4 For you defended my just cause; ⁵ 

from your throne you pronounced a just decision. ⁶ 

Psalms 17:1

Psalm 17 ⁷ 

A prayer of David.

17:1 Lord, consider my just cause! ⁸ 

Pay attention to my cry for help!

Listen to the prayer

I sincerely offer! ⁹ 

Psalms 18:24

18:24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; ¹⁰ 

he took notice of my blameless behavior. ¹¹ 

Psalms 35:27

35:27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice!

May they continually say, ¹²  “May the Lord be praised, ¹³  for he wants his servant to be secure.” ¹⁴ 

Psalms 40:9

40:9 I have told the great assembly ¹⁵  about your justice. ¹⁶ 

Look! I spare no words! ¹⁷ 

O Lord, you know this is true.

Psalms 45:4

45:4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious! ¹⁸ 

Ride forth for the sake of what is right, ¹⁹ 

on behalf of justice! ²⁰ 

Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts! ²¹ 

Psalms 48:10

48:10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth

is worthy of your reputation, O God. ²² 

You execute justice! ²³ 

Psalms 51:19

51:19 Then you will accept ²⁴  the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings;

then bulls will be sacrificed ²⁵  on your altar. ²⁶ 

Psalms 65:5

65:5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,

O God, our savior. ²⁷ 

All the ends of the earth trust in you, ²⁸ 

as well as those living across the wide seas. ²⁹ 

Psalms 89:14

89:14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. ³⁰ 

Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. ³¹ 

Psalms 94:15

94:15 For justice will prevail, ³² 

and all the morally upright ³³  will be vindicated. ³⁴ 

Psalms 98:9

98:9 before the Lord!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly, ³⁵ 

and the nations in a just manner.

[7:8]  ¹ sn The Lord judges the nations. In hyperbolic fashion the psalmist pictures the nations assembled around the divine throne (v. 7a). He urges God to take his rightful place on the throne (v. 7b) and then pictures him making judicial decisions that vindicate the innocent (see vv. 8-16).

[7:8]  ² tn Heb “judge me, O Lord, according to my innocence.”

[7:8]  ³ tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.

[7:8]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew form עָלָי (’alay) has been traditionally understood as the preposition עַל (’al, “over”) with a first person suffix. But this is syntactically awkward and meaningless. The form is probably a divine title derived from the verbal root עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”). This relatively rare title appears elsewhere in the OT (see HALOT 824-25 s.v. I עַל, though this text is not listed) and in Ugaritic as an epithet for Baal (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 98). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:44-45, and P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 98.

[9:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “for you accomplished my justice and my legal claim.”

[9:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “you sat on a throne [as] one who judges [with] righteousness.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 4 probably allude to a recent victory (see vv. 5-7). Another option is to understand the verbs as describing what is typical (“you defend…you sit on a throne”).

[17:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 17. The psalmist asks God to intervene on his behalf because his life is threatened by dangerous enemies. He appeals to divine justice, for he is certain of his own innocence. Because he is innocent, he expects to encounter God and receive an assuring word.

[17:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “hear, Lord, what is just.”

[17:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”

[18:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “according to my righteousness.”

[18:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.” 2 Sam 22:25 reads “according to my purity before his eyes.” The verbal repetition (compare vv. 20 and 24) sets off vv. 20-24 as a distinct sub-unit within the psalm.

[35:27]  ¹⁷ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 27a are understood as jussives (see vv. 24b-26).

[35:27]  ¹⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great.”

[35:27]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the one who desires the peace of his servant.”

[40:9]  ²¹ sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Pss 22:25 and 35:18.

[40:9]  ²² tn Heb “I proclaim justice in the great assembly.” Though “justice” appears without a pronoun here, the Lord’s just acts are in view (see v. 10). His “justice” (צֶדֶק, tsedeq) is here the deliverance that originates in his justice; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just.

[40:9]  ²³ tn Heb “Look! My lips I do not restrain.”

[45:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and your majesty, be successful.” The syntax is awkward. The phrase “and your majesty” at the beginning of the verse may be accidentally repeated (dittography); it appears at the end of v. 3.

[45:4]  ²⁶ tn Or “for the sake of truth.”

[45:4]  ²⁷ tc The precise meaning of the MT is uncertain. The form עַנְוָה (’anvah) occurs only here. One could emend the text to עֲנָוָה וְצֶדֶק (’anavah vÿtsedeq, “[for the sake of truth], humility, and justice”). In this case “humility” would perhaps allude to the king’s responsibility to “serve” his people by promoting justice (cf. NIV “in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness”). The present translation assumes an emendation to יַעַן (ya’an, “because; on account of”) which would form a suitable parallel to עַל־דְּבַר (’al-dÿvar, “because; for the sake of”) in the preceding line.

[45:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and your right hand will teach you mighty acts”; or “and may your right hand teach you mighty acts.” After the imperatives in the first half of the verse, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive likely indicates purpose (“so that your right hand might teach you mighty acts”) or result (see the present translation). The “right hand” here symbolizes the king’s military strength. His right hand will “teach” him mighty acts by performing them and thereby causing him to experience their magnificence.

[48:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “like your name, O God, so [is] your praise to the ends of the earth.” Here “name” refers to God’s reputation and revealed character.

[48:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “your right hand is full of justice.” The “right hand” suggests activity and power.

[51:19]  ³³ tn Or “desire, take delight in.”

[51:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “then they will offer up bulls.” The third plural subject is indefinite.

[51:19]  ³⁵ sn Verses 18-19 appear to reflect the exilic period, when the city’s walls lay in ruins and the sacrificial system had been disrupted.

[65:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”

[65:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”

[65:5]  ³⁹ tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (rÿkhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.

[89:14]  ⁴¹ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[89:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean “confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps 95:2).

[94:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “for judgment will return to justice.”

[94:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “all the pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 97:11).

[94:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and after it [are] the pure of heart.”

[98:9]  ⁴⁹ tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).