Psalms 76:2

76:2 He lives in Salem; ¹ 

he dwells in Zion. ² 

Psalms 78:68-69

78:68 He chose the tribe of Judah,

and Mount Zion, which he loves.

78:69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; ³ 

as secure as the earth, which he established permanently. ⁴ 

Psalms 78:1

Psalm 78 ⁵ 

A well-written song ⁶  by Asaph.

78:1 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction!

Listen to the words I speak! ⁷ 

Psalms 11:7

11:7 Certainly ⁸  the Lord is just; ⁹ 

he rewards godly deeds; ¹⁰ 

the upright will experience his favor. ¹¹ 

Psalms 15:1

Psalm 15 ¹² 

A psalm of David.

15:1 Lord, who may be a guest in your home? ¹³ 

Who may live on your holy hill? ¹⁴ 

Psalms 16:1

Psalm 16 ¹⁵ 

A prayer ¹⁶  of David.

16:1 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 16:1

Psalm 16 ¹⁸ 

A prayer ¹⁹  of David.

16:1 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. ²⁰ 

Psalms 25:1

Psalm 25 ²¹ 

By David.

25:1 O Lord, I come before you in prayer. ²² 

Revelation 14:1-3

An Interlude: The Song of the 144,000

14:1 Then ²³  I looked, and here was ²⁴  the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 14:2 I also heard a sound ²⁵  coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Now ²⁶  the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, 14:3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No ²⁷  one was able to learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth.

[76:2]  ¹ sn Salem is a shorter name for Jerusalem (see Gen 14:18).

[76:2]  ² tn Heb “and his place of refuge is in Salem, and his lair in Zion.” God may be likened here to a lion (see v. 4).

[78:69]  ³ tc Heb “and he built like the exalting [ones] his sanctuary.” The phrase כְּמוֹ־רָמִים (kÿmo-ramim, “like the exalting [ones]”) is a poetic form of the comparative preposition followed by a participial form of the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”). The text should be emended to כִּמְרֹמִים (kimromim, “like the [heavenly] heights”). See Ps 148:1, where “heights” refers to the heavens above.

[78:69]  ⁴ tn Heb “like the earth, [which] he established permanently.” The feminine singular suffix on the Hebrew verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish”) refers to the grammatically feminine noun “earth.”

[78:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 78. The author of this lengthy didactic psalm rehearses Israel’s history. He praises God for his power, goodness and patience, but also reminds his audience that sin angers God and prompts his judgment. In the conclusion to the psalm the author elevates Jerusalem as God’s chosen city and David as his chosen king.

[78:1]  ⁶ 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 74.

[78:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.”

[11:7]  ⁸ tn Or “for.”

[11:7]  ⁹ tn Or “righteous.”

[11:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he loves righteous deeds.” The “righteous deeds” are probably those done by godly people (see v. 5). The Lord “loves” such deeds in the sense that he rewards them. Another option is to take צְדָקוֹת (tsÿdaqot) as referring to God’s acts of justice (see Ps 103:6). In this case one could translate, “he loves to do just deeds.”

[11:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the upright will see his face.” The singular subject (“upright”) does not agree with the plural verb. However, collective singular nouns can be construed with a plural predicate (see GKC 462 §145.b). Another possibility is that the plural verb יֶחֱזוּ (yekhezu) is a corruption of an original singular form. To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 17:15 and Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזָה (khazah), is used]). On the form פָנֵימוֹ (fanemo, “his face”) see GKC 300-301 §103.b, n. 3.

[15:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 15. This psalm describes the character qualities that one must possess to be allowed access to the divine presence.

[15:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “Who may live as a resident alien in your tent?”

[15:1]  ¹⁴ sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 43:3; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.

[16:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

[16:1]  ¹⁶ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[16:1]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

[16:1]  ¹⁸ sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

[16:1]  ¹⁹ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[16:1]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

[25:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme.

[25:1]  ²² tn Heb “to you, O Lord, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. See Pss 86:4; 143:8.

[14:1]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:1]  ²⁴ tn The phrase “and here was” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[14:2]  ²⁵ tn Or “a voice” (cf. Rev 1:15), but since in this context nothing is mentioned as the content of the voice, it is preferable to translate φωνή (fwnh) as “sound” here.

[14:2]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new topic.

[14:3]  ²⁷ tn Grk “elders, and no one.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but because of the length and complexity of the sentence a new sentence was started here in the translation.