Psalms 82:3

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless! ¹ 

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

Psalms 19:9

19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right ² 

and endure forever. ³ 

The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy

and absolutely just. ⁴ 

Psalms 51:4

51:4 Against you – you above all ⁵  – I have sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

So ⁶  you are just when you confront me; ⁷ 

you are right when you condemn me. ⁸ 

Psalms 143:2

143:2 Do not sit in judgment on ⁹  your servant,

for no one alive is innocent before you. ¹⁰ 

[82:3]  ¹ tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).

[19:9]  ² tn Heb “the fear of the Lord is clean.” The phrase “fear of the Lord” probably refers here to the law, which teaches one how to demonstrate proper reverence for the Lord. See Ps 111:10 for another possible use of the phrase in this sense.

[19:9]  ³ tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”

[19:9]  ⁴ sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.

[51:4]  ³ tn Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא (hata’, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2.a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah (2 Sam 12:9), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “especially,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”

[51:4]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea – the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17; Jer 27:15; Amos 2:7, as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.

[51:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12).

[51:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “when you judge.”

[143:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”

[143:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”