Psalms 89:25

89:25 I will place his hand over the sea,

his right hand over the rivers. ¹ 

Psalms 78:54

78:54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,

to this mountainous land ²  which his right hand ³  acquired.

Psalms 90:12

90:12 So teach us to consider our mortality, ⁴ 

so that we might live wisely. ⁵ 

Psalms 90:14

90:14 Satisfy us in the morning ⁶  with your loyal love!

Then we will shout for joy and be happy ⁷  all our days!

Psalms 109:6

109:6 ⁸ Appoint an evil man to testify against him! ⁹ 

May an accuser stand ¹⁰  at his right side!

Psalms 90:9

90:9 Yes, ¹¹  throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; ¹² 

the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh. ¹³ 

Psalms 20:6

20:6 Now I am sure ¹⁴  that the Lord will deliver ¹⁵  his chosen king; ¹⁶ 

he will intervene for him ¹⁷  from his holy heavenly temple, ¹⁸ 

and display his mighty ability to deliver. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 98:1

Psalm 98 ²⁰ 

A psalm.

98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, ²¹ 

for he performs ²²  amazing deeds!

His right hand and his mighty arm

accomplish deliverance. ²³ 

[89:25]  ¹ tn Some identify “the sea” as the Mediterranean and “the rivers” as the Euphrates and its tributaries. However, it is more likely that “the sea” and “the rivers” are symbols for hostile powers that oppose God and the king (see v. 9, as well as Ps 93:3-4).

[78:54]  ² tn Heb “this mountain.” The whole land of Canaan seems to be referred to here. In Exod 15:17 the promised land is called the “mountain of your [i.e., God’s] inheritance.”

[78:54]  ³ tn The “right hand” here symbolizes God’s military strength (see v. 55).

[90:12]  ³ tn Heb “to number our days,” that is, to be aware of how few they really are.

[90:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and we will bring a heart of wisdom.” After the imperative of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates purpose/result. The Hebrew term “heart” here refers to the center of one’s thoughts, volition, and moral character.

[90:14]  ⁴ sn Morning is used metaphorically for a time of renewed joy after affliction (see Pss 30:5; 46:5; 49:14; 59:16; 143:8).

[90:14]  ⁵ tn After the imperative (see the preceding line) the cohortatives with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose/result.

[109:6]  ⁵ sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6-19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6-19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4-5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6-19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view – that vv. 6-19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist – see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 72-73.

[109:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”

[109:6]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).

[90:9]  ⁶ tn Or “for.”

[90:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “all our days pass by in your anger.”

[90:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “we finish our years like a sigh.” In Ezek 2:10 the word הֶגֶה (hegeh) elsewhere refers to a grumbling or moaning sound. Here a brief sigh or moan is probably in view. If so, the simile pictures one’s lifetime as transient. Another option is that the simile alludes to the weakness that characteristically overtakes a person at the end of one’s lifetime. In this case the phrase could be translated, “we end our lives with a painful moan.”

[20:6]  ⁷ tn Or “know.”

[20:6]  ⁸ tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the Lord typically delivers the king.

[20:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.

[20:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he will answer him.”

[20:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”

[20:6]  ¹² tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).

[98:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.

[98:1]  ⁹ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.

[98:1]  ¹⁰ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.

[98:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.