Psalms 77:5

77:5 I thought about the days of old,

about ancient times. ¹ 

Psalms 91:16

91:16 I will satisfy him with long life, ² 

and will let him see my salvation.

Psalms 8:8

8:8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea

and everything that moves through the currents ³  of the seas.

Psalms 24:2

24:2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,

and established ⁴  it upon the ocean currents. ⁵ 

Psalms 65:7

65:7 You calm the raging seas ⁶ 

and their roaring waves,

as well as the commotion made by the nations. ⁷ 

Psalms 69:34

69:34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,

along with the seas and everything that swims in them!

Psalms 78:27

78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust,

birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. ⁸ 

Psalms 21:4

21:4 He asked you to sustain his life, ⁹ 

and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 23:6

23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness ¹¹  will pursue ¹²  me all my days, ¹³ 

and I will live in ¹⁴  the Lord’s house ¹⁵  for the rest of my life. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 34:12

34:12 Do you want to really live? ¹⁷ 

Would you love to live a long, happy life? ¹⁸ 

Psalms 46:2

46:2 For this reason we do not fear ¹⁹  when the earth shakes, ²⁰ 

and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, ²¹ 

Psalms 61:6

61:6 Give the king long life!

Make his lifetime span several generations! ²² 

Psalms 93:5

93:5 The rules you set down ²³  are completely reliable. ²⁴ 

Holiness ²⁵  aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever. ²⁶ 

Psalms 139:16

139:16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. ²⁷ 

All the days ordained for me

were recorded in your scroll

before one of them came into existence. ²⁸ 

Psalms 143:5

143:5 I recall the old days; ²⁹ 

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on your accomplishments. ³⁰ 

[77:5]  ¹ tn Heb “the years of antiquity.”

[91:16]  ² tn Heb “length of days.”

[8:8]  ³ tn Heb “paths.”

[24:2]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, referring to the creation of the world.

[24:2]  ⁵ sn He…established it upon the ocean currents. The description reflects ancient Israelite prescientific cosmology, which is based on outward appearances. The language also suggests that God’s creative work involved the subjugation of chaos, symbolized by the sea.

[65:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”

[65:7]  ⁶ sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).

[78:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “and like the sand of the seas winged birds.”

[21:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”

[21:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.

[23:6]  ⁸ tn The noun חֶסֶד (khesed; v. 6) has been the subject of several monographs. G. R. Clark concludes that חֶסֶד “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.” He explains that an act of חֶסֶד is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him- or herself.” (See G. R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267.) HALOT 336-37 s.v. defines the word as “loyalty,” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate meanings might be “commitment” and “devotion.”

[23:6]  ⁹ tn The use of רָדַף (radaf, “pursue, chase”) with טוֹב וָחֶסֶד (tov vakhesed, “goodness and faithfulness”) as subject is ironic. This is the only place in the entire OT where either of these nouns appears as the subject of this verb רָדַף (radaf, “pursue”). This verb is often used to describe the hostile actions of enemies. One might expect the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 5) to chase him, but ironically God’s “goodness and faithfulness” (which are personified and stand by metonymy for God himself) pursue him instead. The word “pursue” is used outside of its normal context in an ironic manner and creates a unique, but pleasant word picture of God’s favor (or a kind God) “chasing down” the one whom he loves.

[23:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the days of my life.”

[23:6]  ¹¹ tn The verb form וְשַׁבְתִּי (vÿshavtiy) is a Qal perfect (with vav [ו] consecutive), first common singular, from שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) and should be translated, “and I will return.” But this makes no sense when construed with the following phrase, “in the house of the Lord.” The term שׁוּב (shuv) appears only here with the following phrase בְּבֵית (bÿvet). The form should be emended to וְשִׁבְתִּי (vÿshivtiy; an infinitive construct from יָשַׁב, yashav, “live”) with pronominal suffix) or to וְיָשַׁבְתִּי (vÿyashavtiy; a Qal perfect with vav [ו] consecutive, first common singular, from ישׁב [see BHS, note c]). In either case one could then translate, “and I will live [in the house of the Lord].” The phrase “in the house” frequently follows the verb יָשַׁב in the OT.

[23:6]  ¹² tn Heb “the house of the Lord.” The phrase may be purely metaphorical here, referring to the royal palace where the royal host of v. 5 holds his banquet and lives. If one takes the phrase more literally, it would refer to the earthly tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the later temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).

[23:6]  ¹³ tn The phrase אֹרֶךְ יָמִים (’orekh yamim, “length of days”) is traditionally translated “forever.” However, this phrase, when used elsewhere of people, usually refers to a lengthy period of time, such as one’s lifetime, and does not mean “forever” in the sense of eternity. (Cf. Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20.) Furthermore, the parallel phrase “all the days of my life” suggests this more limited meaning. Psalm 21:4, where the phrase is followed by “forever and ever,” may be an exception, though the juxtaposition of the phrases may be an example of intensification, where the second phrase goes beyond the limits of the first, rather than synonymity. Even if one takes both expressions as referring to eternal life, the language is part of the king’s hyperbolic description of the Lord’s blessings and should not be taken literally.

[34:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.

[34:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”

[46:2]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect is taken in a generalizing sense (cf. NEB) because the situation described in vv. 2-3 is understood as symbolizing typical world conditions. In this case the imperfect draws attention to the typical nature of the response. The covenant community characteristically responds with confidence, not fear. Another option is to take the situation described as purely hypothetical. In this case one might translate, “We will not fear, even though the earth should shake” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[46:2]  ¹¹ tn The Hiphil infinitival form is normally taken to mean “when [the earth] is altered,” being derived from מוּר (mur, “to change”). In this case the Hiphil would be intransitive, as in Ps 15:4. HALOT 560 s.v. II מור emends the form to a Niphal and derives it from a homonymic root מוּר attested in Arabic with the meaning “shake.”

[46:2]  ¹² tn Heb “heart of the seas.” The plural may be used for emphasis, pointing to the deepest sea. Note that the next verse uses a singular pronoun (“its waters,” “its swelling”) in referring back to the plural noun.

[61:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “days upon days of the king add, his years like generation and generation.”

[93:5]  ¹² tn Traditionally “your testimonies.” The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law. See Ps 19:7.

[93:5]  ¹³ sn The rules you set down. God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.

[93:5]  ¹⁴ sn Holiness refers here to God’s royal transcendence (see vv. 1-4), as well as his moral authority and perfection (see v. 5a).

[93:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for your house holiness is fitting, O Lord, for length of days.”

[139:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “Your eyes saw my shapeless form.” The Hebrew noun גֹּלֶם (golem) occurs only here in the OT. In later Hebrew the word refers to “a lump, a shapeless or lifeless substance,” and to “unfinished matter, a vessel wanting finishing” (Jastrow 222 s.v. גּוֹלֶם). The translation employs the dynamic rendering “when I was inside the womb” to clarify that the speaker was still in his mother’s womb at the time he was “seen” by God.

[139:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and on your scroll all of them were written, [the] days [which] were formed, and [there was] not one among them.” This “scroll” may be the “scroll of life” mentioned in Ps 69:28 (see the note on the word “living” there).

[143:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

[143:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”