Psalms 8:1

Psalm 8 ¹ 

For the music director, according to the gittith style; ²  a psalm of David.

8:1 O Lord, our Lord, ³ 

how magnificent ⁴  is your reputation ⁵  throughout the earth!

You reveal your majesty in the heavens above! ⁶ 

Psalms 37:14

37:14 Evil men draw their swords

and prepare their bows,

to bring down ⁷  the oppressed and needy,

and to slaughter those who are godly. ⁸ 

Psalms 71:22

71:22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,

praising ⁹  your faithfulness, O my God!

I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,

O Holy One of Israel! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 81:1

Psalm 81 ¹¹ 

For the music director; according to the gittith style; ¹²  by Asaph.

81:1 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!

Shout out to the God of Jacob!

[8:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 8. In this hymn to the sovereign creator, the psalmist praises God’s majesty and marvels that God has given mankind dominion over the created order.

[8:1]  ² tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הגתית is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or type of instrument.

[8:1]  ³ tn The plural form of the title emphasizes the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.

[8:1]  ⁴ tn Or “awesome”; or “majestic.”

[8:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[8:1]  ⁶ tc Heb “which, give, your majesty on the heavens.” The verb form תְּנָה (tÿnah; an imperative?) is corrupt. The form should be emended to a second masculine singular perfect (נָתַתָּה, natatah) or imperfect (תִתֵן, titen) form. The introductory אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) can be taken as a relative pronoun (“you who”) or as a causal conjunction (“because”). One may literally translate, “you who [or “because you”] place your majesty upon the heavens.” For other uses of the phrase “place majesty upon” see Num 27:20 and 1 Chr 29:25.

[37:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “to cause to fall.”

[37:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.

[71:22]  ¹³ tn The word “praising” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[71:22]  ¹⁴ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior.

[81:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 81. The psalmist calls God’s people to assemble for a festival and then proclaims God’s message to them. The divine speech (vv. 6-16) recalls how God delivered the people from Egypt, reminds Israel of their rebellious past, expresses God’s desire for his people to obey him, and promises divine protection in exchange for obedience.

[81:1]  ²⁰ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term הַגִּתִּית (haggittit) is uncertain; it probably refers to a musical style or instrument. See the superscription to Ps 8.