Psalms 8:6

8:6 you appoint them to rule over your creation; ¹ 

you have placed ²  everything under their authority, ³ 

Psalms 18:9

18:9 He made the sky sink ⁴  as he descended;

a thick cloud was under his feet.

Psalms 18:33

18:33 He gives me the agility of a deer; ⁵ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ⁶ 

Psalms 18:38

18:38 I beat them ⁷  to death; ⁸ 

they fall at my feet. ⁹ 

Psalms 31:8

31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;

you enable me to stand ¹⁰  in a wide open place.

Psalms 47:3

47:3 He subdued nations beneath us ¹¹ 

and countries ¹²  under our feet.

Psalms 66:9

66:9 He preserves our lives ¹³ 

and does not allow our feet to slip.

Psalms 73:2

73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my feet almost slid out from under me. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 91:12

91:12 They will lift you up in their hands,

so you will not slip and fall on a stone. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 94:18

94:18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”

your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.

Psalms 99:5

99:5 Praise ¹⁶  the Lord our God!

Worship ¹⁷  before his footstool!

He is holy!

Psalms 119:101

119:101 I stay away ¹⁸  from the evil path,

so that I might keep your instructions. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 121:3

121:3 May he not allow your foot to slip!

May your protector ²⁰  not sleep! ²¹ 

[8:6]  ¹ tn Heb “you cause [i.e., “permit, allow”] him to rule over the works of your hands.”

[8:6]  ² tn The perfect verbal form probably has a present perfect nuance here. It refers to the continuing effects of God’s original mandate (see Gen 1:26-30).

[8:6]  ³ tn Heb “under his feet.”

[18:9]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense “[cause to] bend, bow down.” For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that “bends” its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the Lord causes the sky, pictured as a dome or vault, to sink down as he descends in the storm.

[18:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “[the one who] makes my feet like [those of ] a deer.”

[18:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “and on my high places he makes me walk.” The imperfect verbal form emphasizes God’s characteristic provision. The psalmist compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.

[18:38]  ¹⁰ tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”

[18:38]  ¹¹ tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”

[18:38]  ¹² sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.

[31:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “you cause my feet to stand.”

[47:3]  ¹⁶ tn On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue”), a homonym of דָּבַר (“speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 18:47 and 2 Chr 22:10. The preterite form of the verb suggests this is an historical reference and the next verse, which mentions the gift of the land, indicates that the conquest under Joshua is in view.

[47:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or “peoples” (see Pss 2:1; 7:7; 9:8; 44:2).

[66:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the one who places our soul in life.”

[73:2]  ²² tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”

[91:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “so your foot will not strike a stone.”

[99:5]  ²⁸ tn Or “exalt.”

[99:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “bow down.”

[119:101]  ³¹ tn Heb “I hold back my feet.”

[119:101]  ³² tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural.

[121:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the one who guards you.”

[121:3]  ³⁵ tn The prefixed verbal forms following the negative particle אל appear to be jussives. As noted above, if they are taken as true jussives of prayer, then the speaker in v. 3 would appear to be distinct from both the speaker in vv. 1-2 and the speaker in vv. 4-8. However, according to GKC 322 §109.e), the jussives are used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.” In this case one should probably translate, “he will not allow your foot to slip, your protector will not sleep,” and understand just one speaker in vv. 4-8.