Psalms 72:2

72:2 Then he will judge ¹  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ²  equitably.

Psalms 9:8

9:8 He judges the world fairly;

he makes just legal decisions for the nations. ³ 

Psalms 50:4

50:4 He summons the heavens above,

as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people. ⁴ 

Psalms 135:14

135:14 For the Lord vindicates ⁵  his people,

and has compassion on his servants. ⁶ 

Psalms 7:8

7:8 The Lord judges the nations. ⁷ 

Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, ⁸ 

because I am blameless, ⁹  O Exalted One! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 96:10

96:10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!

The world is established, it cannot be moved.

He judges the nations fairly.”

Psalms 110:6

110:6 He executes judgment ¹¹  against ¹²  the nations;

he fills the valleys with corpses; ¹³ 

he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 54:1

Psalm 54 ¹⁵ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song ¹⁶  by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.” ¹⁷ 

54:1 O God, deliver me by your name! ¹⁸ 

Vindicate me ¹⁹  by your power!

[72:2]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ² sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

[9:8]  ³ 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…”).

[50:4]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”

[135:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “judges,” but here the idea is that the Lord “judges on behalf of” his people. The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic actions.

[135:14]  ⁸ sn Verse 14 echoes Deut 32:36, where Moses affirms that God mercifully relents from fully judging his wayward people.

[7:8]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “judge me, O Lord, according to my innocence.”

[7:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.

[7:8]  ¹² 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.

[110:6]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 6-7 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though they could be taken as future.

[110:6]  ¹² tn Or “among.”

[110:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “he fills [with] corpses,” but one expects a double accusative here. The translation assumes an emendation to גְוִיּוֹת גֵאָיוֹת(בִּ) מִלֵּא or מִלֵּא גֵאָיוֹת גְּוִיוֹת (for a similar construction see Ezek 32:5). In the former case גֵאָיוֹת(ge’ayot) has accidentally dropped from the text due to homoioteleuton; in the latter case it has dropped out due to homoioarcton.

[110:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he strikes [the verb is מָחַץ (makhats), translated “strikes down” in v. 5] head[s] over a great land.” The Hebrew term רַבָּה (rabbah, “great”) is here used of distance or spatial measurement (see 1 Sam 26:13).

[54:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 54. The psalmist asks God for protection against his enemies, confidently affirms that God will vindicate him, and promises to give thanks to God for his saving intervention.

[54:1]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[54:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Is not David hiding with us?”

[54:1]  ¹⁶ tn God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character, which would instill fear in the psalmist’s enemies (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:17).

[54:1]  ¹⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.