Psalms 78:46

78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,

the fruit of their labor to the locust.

Psalms 78:61

78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; ¹ 

he gave the symbol of his splendor ²  into the hand of the enemy. ³ 

Psalms 106:15

106:15 He granted their request,

then struck them with a disease. ⁴ 

Psalms 106:46

106:46 He caused all their conquerors ⁵ 

to have pity on them.

Psalms 18:32

18:32 The one true God ⁶  gives ⁷  me strength; ⁸ 

he removes ⁹  the obstacles in my way. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 37:4

37:4 Then you will take delight in the Lord, ¹¹ 

and he will answer your prayers. ¹² 

Psalms 105:44

105:44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,

and they took possession of what other peoples had produced, ¹³ 

Psalms 40:3

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ¹⁴ 

praising our God. ¹⁵ 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ¹⁶ 

Psalms 72:15

72:15 May he live! ¹⁷  May they offer him gold from Sheba! ¹⁸ 

May they continually pray for him!

May they pronounce blessings on him all day long! ¹⁹ 

[78:61]  ¹ tn Heb “and he gave to captivity his strength.” The expression “his strength” refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle at Shiloh.

[78:61]  ² tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.

[78:61]  ³ sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).

[106:15]  ¹ tn Heb “and he sent leanness into their being.”

[106:46]  ¹ tn Or “captors.”

[18:32]  ¹ tn Heb “the God.” The prefixed article emphasizes the Lord’s distinctiveness as the one true God (cf. Deut 33:26). See v. 30.

[18:32]  ² tn Heb “is the one who clothes.” For similar language see 1 Sam 2:4; Pss 65:6; 93:1. The psalmist employs a generalizing hymnic style in vv. 32-34; he uses participles in vv. 32a, 33a, and 34a to describe what God characteristically does on his behalf.

[18:32]  ³ tn 2 Sam 22:33 reads, “the God is my strong refuge.”

[18:32]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries along the generalizing force of the preceding participle.

[18:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “he made my path smooth.” The Hebrew term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).

[37:4]  ¹ tn Following the imperatives of v. 3 the prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) in v. 4 indicate result. Faith and obedience (v. 3) will bring divine blessing (v. 4).

[37:4]  ² tn Or “and he will give you what you desire most.” Heb “and he will grant to you the requests of your heart.”

[105:44]  ¹ tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”

[40:3]  ¹ sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

[40:3]  ² tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

[40:3]  ³ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

[72:15]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect. Because the form has the prefixed vav (ו), some subordinate it to what precedes as a purpose/result clause. In this case the representative poor individual might be the subject of this and the following verb, “so that he may live and give to him gold of Sheba.” But the idea of the poor offering gold is incongruous. It is better to take the jussive as a prayer with the king as subject of the verb. (Perhaps the initial vav is dittographic; note the vav at the end of the last form in v. 14.) The statement is probably an abbreviated version of the formula יְחִי הַמֶּלֶךְ (yÿkhiy hammelekh, “may the king live”; see 1 Sam 10:24; 2 Sam 16:16; 1 Kgs 1:25, 34, 39; 2 Kgs 11:12).

[72:15]  ² tn Heb “and he will give to him some gold of Sheba.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one give”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are the tribute bearers in view here.

[72:15]  ³ tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one pray…and may one bless”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are in view here.