Psalms 72:20

72:20 This collection of the prayers of David son of Jesse ends here. ¹ 

Psalms 29:6

29:6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf

and Sirion ²  like a young ox. ³ 

Psalms 144:3

144:3 O Lord, of what importance is the human race, ⁴  that you should notice them?

Of what importance is mankind, ⁵  that you should be concerned about them? ⁶ 

Psalms 80:15

80:15 the root ⁷  your right hand planted,

the shoot you made to grow! ⁸ 

Psalms 80:17

80:17 May you give support to the one you have chosen, ⁹ 

to the one whom you raised up for yourself! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 116:16

116:16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;

I am your lowest slave. ¹¹ 

You saved me from death. ¹² 

Psalms 7:1

Psalm 7 ¹³ 

A musical composition ¹⁴  by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning ¹⁵  a Benjaminite named Cush. ¹⁶ 

7:1 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. ¹⁷ 

Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!

[72:20]  ¹ tn Heb “the prayers of David, son of Jesse, are concluded.” As noted earlier, v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter. In the present arrangement of the Book of Psalms, not all psalms prior to this are attributed to David (see Pss 1-2, 10, 33, 42-50, 66-67, 71-72) and several psalms attributed to David appear after this (see Pss 86, 101, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 138-145).

[29:6]  ² sn Sirion is another name for Mount Hermon (Deut 3:9).

[29:6]  ³ sn Lebanon and Sirion are compared to frisky young animals (a calf…a young ox) who skip and jump. The thunderous shout of the Lord is so powerful, one can see the very mountains shake on the horizon.

[144:3]  ³ tn Heb “What is mankind?” The singular noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race. See Ps 8:5.

[144:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the son of man.” The phrase “son of man” is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12.

[144:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “take account of him.” The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God’s characteristic activity.

[80:15]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן emends the form to כַּנָּהּ (kannah, “its shoot”).

[80:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “and upon a son you strengthened for yourself.” In this context, where the extended metaphor of the vine dominates, בֵּן (ben, “son”) probably refers to the shoots that grow from the vine. Cf. Gen 49:22.

[80:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “may your hand be upon the man of your right hand.” The referent of the otherwise unattested phrase “man of your right hand,” is unclear. It may refer to the nation collectively as a man. (See the note on the word “yourself” in v. 17b.)

[80:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “upon the son of man you strengthened for yourself.” In its only other use in the Book of Psalms, the phrase “son of man” refers to the human race in general (see Ps 8:4). Here the phrase may refer to the nation collectively as a man. Note the use of the statement “you strengthened for yourself” both here and in v. 15, where the “son” (i.e., the branch of the vine) refers to Israel.

[116:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

[116:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).

[7:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 7. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from his enemies. He protests his innocence and declares his confidence in God’s justice.

[7:1]  ⁸ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שִׁגָּיוֹן (shiggayon; translated here “musical composition”) is uncertain. Some derive the noun from the verbal root שָׁגָה (shagah, “swerve, reel”) and understand it as referring to a “wild, passionate song, with rapid changes of rhythm” (see BDB 993 s.v. שִׁגָּיוֹן). But this proposal is purely speculative. The only other appearance of the noun is in Hab 3:1, where it occurs in the plural.

[7:1]  ⁹ tn Or “on account of.”

[7:1]  ¹⁰ sn Apparently this individual named Cush was one of David’s enemies.

[7:1]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.