Psalms 8:3

8:3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,

and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place, ¹ 

Psalms 19:1

Psalm 19 ² 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; ³ 

the sky displays his handiwork. ⁴ 

Psalms 28:4-5

28:4 Pay them back for their evil deeds!

Pay them back for what they do!

Punish them! ⁵ 

28:5 For they do not understand the Lord’s actions,

or the way he carries out justice. ⁶ 

The Lord ⁷  will permanently demolish them. ⁸ 

Psalms 62:12

62:12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. ⁹ 

For you repay men for what they do. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 64:9

64:9 and all people will fear. ¹¹ 

They will proclaim ¹²  what God has done,

and reflect on his deeds.

Psalms 66:3

66:3 Say to God:

“How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ¹³  before you.

Psalms 103:22

103:22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made, ¹⁴ 

in all the regions ¹⁵  of his kingdom!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Psalms 104:24

104:24 How many living things you have made, O Lord! ¹⁶ 

You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; ¹⁷ 

the earth is full of the living things you have made.

Psalms 138:8

138:8 The Lord avenges me. ¹⁸ 

O Lord, your loyal love endures.

Do not abandon those whom you have made! ¹⁹ 

Psalms 139:14

139:14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. ²⁰ 

You knew me thoroughly; ²¹ 

Psalms 143:5

143:5 I recall the old days; ²² 

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on your accomplishments. ²³ 

[8:3]  ¹ tn Heb “when I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and stars which you established.” The verb “[and] see” is understood by ellipsis in the second half of the verse.

[19:1]  ² sn Psalm 19. The psalmist praises God for his self-revelation in the heavens and in the Mosaic law. The psalmist concludes with a prayer, asking the Lord to keep him from sinning and to approve of his thoughts and words.

[19:1]  ³ sn God’s glory refers here to his royal majesty and power.

[19:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the work of his hands the sky declares.” The participles emphasize the ongoing testimony of the heavens/sky.

[28:4]  ³ tn Heb “Give to them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds. According to the work of their hands give to them. Return their due to them.” The highly repetitive style reflects the psalmist’s agitated emotional state and draws attention to his yearning for justice.

[28:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “or the work of his hands.” In this context “the Lord’s actions” and “the work of his hands” probably refer to the way he carries out justice by vindicating the godly and punishing the wicked. (Note the final line of the verse, which refers to divine judgment. See also Ps 92:4-7.) Evil men do not “understand” God’s just ways; they fail to realize he will protect the innocent. Consequently they seek to harm the godly, as if they believe they will never be held accountable for their actions.

[28:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord, who is referred to in the two immediately preceding lines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “will tear them down and not rebuild them.” The ungodly are compared to a structure that is permanently demolished.

[62:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “and to you, O Master, [is] loyal love.”

[62:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “for you pay back to a man according to his deed.” Another option is to understand vv. 11b and 12a as the first principle and v. 12b as the second. In this case one might translate, “God has declared one principle, two principles I have heard, namely, that God is strong, and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love, and that you repay men for what they do.”

[64:9]  ⁶ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read וַיִּרְאוּ (vayyir’u, “and they will see”) instead of וַיִּירְאוּ (vayyirÿ’u, “and they will proclaim”).

[64:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “the work of God,” referring to the judgment described in v. 7.

[66:3]  ⁷ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).

[103:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “all his works,” which includes mankind.

[103:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “places.”

[104:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O Lord.” In this case the Lord’s “works” are the creatures he has made, as the preceding and following contexts make clear.

[104:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”

[138:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “avenges on my behalf.” For the meaning “to avenge” for the verb גָּמַר (gamar), see HALOT 197-98 s.v. גמר.

[138:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the works of your hands.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the singular, “work of your hands.”

[139:14]  ¹¹ tc Heb “because awesome things, I am distinct, amazing [are] your works.” The text as it stands is syntactically problematic and makes little, if any, sense. The Niphal of פָּלָה (pala’) occurs elsewhere only in Exod 33:16. Many take the form from פָלָא (pala’; see GKC 216 §75.qq), which in the Niphal perfect means “to be amazing” (see 2 Sam 1:26; Ps 118:23; Prov 30:18). Some, following the LXX and some other ancient witnesses, also prefer to emend the verb from first to second person, “you are amazing” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 249, 251). The present translation assumes the text conflates two variants: נפלאים, the otherwise unattested masculine plural participle of פָלָא, and נִפְלָאוֹת (nifla’ot), the usual (feminine) plural form of the Niphal participle. The latter has been changed to a verb by later scribes in an attempt to accommodate it syntactically. The original text likely read, נוראות נפלאותים מעשׂיך (“your works [are] awesome [and] amazing”).

[139:14]  ¹² tc Heb “and my being knows very much.” Better parallelism is achieved (see v. 15a) if one emends יֹדַעַת (yoda’at), a Qal active participle, feminine singular form, to יָדַעְתָּ (yada’ta), a Qal perfect second masculine singular perfect. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 252.

[143:5]  ¹² tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

[143:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”