Psalms 8:6

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

you have placed ²  everything under their authority, ³ 

Psalms 45:16

45:16 Your ⁴  sons will carry ⁵  on the dynasty of your ancestors; ⁶ 

you will make them princes throughout the land.

Psalms 76:12

76:12 He humbles princes; ⁷ 

the kings of the earth regard him as awesome. ⁸ 

Psalms 141:6

141:6 They will be thrown down the side of a cliff by their judges. ⁹ 

They ¹⁰  will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.

[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.”

[45:16]  ⁴ tn The pronoun is second masculine singular, indicating the king is being addressed from this point to the end of the psalm.

[45:16]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive and the statement interpreted as a prayer, “May your sons carry on the dynasty of your ancestors!” The next line could then be taken as a relative clause, “[your sons] whom you will make princes throughout the land.”

[45:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “in place of your fathers will be your sons.”

[76:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “he reduces the spirit of princes.” According to HALOT 148 s.v. II בצר, the Hebrew verb בָּצַר (batsar) is here a hapax legomenon meaning “reduce, humble.” The statement is generalizing, with the imperfect tense highlighting God’s typical behavior.

[76:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “[he is] awesome to the kings of the earth.”

[141:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they are thrown down by the hands of a cliff, their judges.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult and the meaning uncertain. The perfect verbal form is understood as rhetorical; the psalmist describes the anticipated downfall of the wicked as if it had already occurred. “Their judges” could be taken as the subject of the verb, but this makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes the judges are the agents and that the wicked, mentioned earlier in the psalm, are the subjects of the verb.

[141:6]  ¹¹ tn It is unclear how this statement relates to the preceding sentence. Perhaps the judges are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the verb “will listen,” and “my words” are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the phrase “are pleasant.” The psalmist may be affirming here his confidence that he will be vindicated when he presents his case before the judges, while the wicked will be punished.