Psalms 78:72

78:72 David ¹  cared for them with pure motives; ² 

he led them with skill. ³ 

Psalms 81:6

81:6 It said: ⁴  “I removed the burden from his shoulder;

his hands were released from holding the basket. ⁵ 

Psalms 9:16

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ⁶  (Higgaion. ⁷  Selah)

[78:72]  ¹ tn Heb “He”; the referent (David, God’s chosen king, mentioned in v. 70) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[78:72]  ² tn Heb “and he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.”

[78:72]  ³ tn Heb “and with the understanding of his hands he led them.”

[81:6]  ⁴ tn The words “It said” are not included in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[81:6]  ⁵ sn I removed the burden. The Lord speaks metaphorically of how he delivered his people from Egyptian bondage. The reference to a basket/burden probably alludes to the hard labor of the Israelites in Egypt, where they had to carry loads of bricks (see Exod 1:14).

[9:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “by the work of his hands [the] wicked [one] was ensnared. The singular form רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is collective or representative here (see vv. 15, 17). The form נוֹקֵשׁ (noqesh) appears to be an otherwise unattested Qal form (active participle) from נָקַשׁ (naqash), but the form should be emended to נוֹקַשׁ (noqash), a Niphal perfect from יָקַשׁ (yaqash).

[9:16]  ⁸ tn This is probably a technical musical term.