Psalms 89:1
ContextA well-written song 2 by Ethan the Ezrachite.
89:1 I will sing continually 3 about the Lord’s faithful deeds;
to future generations I will proclaim your faithfulness. 4
Psalms 56:1-13
ContextFor the music director; according to the yonath-elem-rechovim style; 6 a prayer 7 of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath. 8
56:1 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me! 9
All day long hostile enemies 10 are tormenting me. 11
56:2 Those who anticipate my defeat 12 attack me all day long.
Indeed, 13 many are fighting against me, O Exalted One. 14
I trust in you.
56:4 In God – I boast in his promise 16 –
in God I trust, I am not afraid.
What can mere men 17 do to me? 18
56:5 All day long they cause me trouble; 19
they make a habit of plotting my demise. 20
56:6 They stalk 21 and lurk; 22
they watch my every step, 23
as 24 they prepare to take my life. 25
56:7 Because they are bent on violence, do not let them escape! 26
In your anger 27 bring down the nations, 28 O God!
56:8 You keep track of my misery. 29
Put my tears in your leather container! 30
Are they not recorded in your scroll? 31
56:9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help; 32
I know that God is on my side. 33
56:10 In God – I boast in his promise 34 –
in the Lord – I boast in his promise 35 –
56:11 in God I trust, I am not afraid.
What can mere men 36 do to me? 37
56:12 I am obligated to fulfill the vows I made to you, O God; 38
I will give you the thank-offerings you deserve, 39
56:13 when you deliver 40 my life from death.
You keep my feet from stumbling, 41
so that I might serve 42 God as I enjoy life. 43
Psalms 98:1-9
ContextA psalm.
98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, 45
for he performs 46 amazing deeds!
His right hand and his mighty arm
accomplish deliverance. 47
98:2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver; 48
in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.
98:3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel. 49
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us. 50
98:4 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!
Break out in a joyful shout and sing!
98:5 Sing to the Lord accompanied by a harp,
accompanied by a harp and the sound of music!
98:6 With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,
shout out praises before the king, the Lord!
98:7 Let the sea and everything in it shout,
along with the world and those who live in it!
98:8 Let the rivers clap their hands!
Let the mountains sing in unison
98:9 before the Lord!
For he comes to judge the earth!
He judges the world fairly, 51
and the nations in a just manner.
[89:1] 1 sn Psalm 89. The psalmist praises God as the sovereign creator of the world. He recalls God’s covenant with David, but then laments that the promises of the covenant remain unrealized. The covenant promised the Davidic king military victories, but the king has now been subjected to humiliating defeat.
[89:1] 2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 88.
[89:1] 4 tn Heb “to a generation and a generation I will make known your faithfulness with my mouth.”
[56:1] 5 sn Psalm 56. Despite the threats of his enemies, the psalmist is confident the Lord will keep his promise to protect and deliver him.
[56:1] 6 tn The literal meaning of this phrase is “silent dove, distant ones.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a type of musical instrument.
[56:1] 7 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 57-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
[56:1] 8 sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm when the Philistines seized him and took him to King Achish of Gath (see 1 Sam 21:11-15).
[56:1] 9 tn According to BDB 983 s.v. II שָׁאַף, the verb is derived from שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to trample, crush”) rather than the homonymic verb “pant after.”
[56:1] 10 tn Heb “a fighter.” The singular is collective for his enemies (see vv. 5-6). The Qal of לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) also occurs in Ps 35:1.
[56:1] 11 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the continuing nature of the enemies’ attacks.
[56:2] 9 tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 54:5; 59:10.
[56:2] 11 tn Some take the Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “on high; above”) as an adverb modifying the preceding participle and translate, “proudly” (cf. NASB; NIV “in their pride”). The present translation assumes the term is a divine title here. The
[56:3] 13 tn Heb “[in] a day.”
[56:4] 17 tn Heb “in God I boast, his word.” The syntax in the Hebrew text is difficult. (1) The line could be translated, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” Such a translation assumes that the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and that “his word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. Another option (2) is to translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” is a song of praise. (In this view the pronominal suffix “his” must be omitted as in v. 10.) The present translation reflects yet another option (3): In this case “I praise his word” is a parenthetical statement, with “his word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in the next line, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.
[56:4] 18 tn Heb “flesh,” which refers by metonymy to human beings (see v. 11, where “man” is used in this same question), envisioned here as mortal and powerless before God.
[56:4] 19 tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.
[56:5] 21 tn Heb “my affairs they disturb.” For other instances of דָּבָר (davar) meaning “affairs, business,” see BDB 183 s.v.. The Piel of עָצַב (’atsav, “to hurt”) occurs only here and in Isa 63:10, where it is used of “grieving” (or “offending”) the Lord’s holy Spirit. Here in Ps 56:5, the verb seems to carry the nuance “disturb, upset,” in the sense of “cause trouble.”
[56:5] 22 tn Heb “against me [are] all their thoughts for harm.”
[56:6] 25 tn The verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 59:3.
[56:6] 28 tn Heb “according to,” in the sense of “inasmuch as; since,” or “when; while.”
[56:6] 29 tn Heb “they wait [for] my life.”
[56:7] 29 tc Heb “because of wickedness, deliverance to them.” As it stands, the MT makes no sense. The negative particle אַיִן (’ayin, “there is not,” which is due to dittography of the immediately preceding אָוֶן, ’aven, “wickedness”), should probably be added before “deliverance” (see BHS, note a). The presence of an imperative in the next line (note “bring down”) suggests that this line should be translated as a prayer as well, “may there not be deliverance to them.”
[56:7] 30 tn Heb “in anger.” The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[56:7] 31 tn Or perhaps “people” in a general sense.
[56:8] 33 tn Heb “my wandering you count, you.” The Hebrew term נֹד (nod, “wandering,” derived from the verbal root נוֹד, nod, “to wander”; cf. NASB) here refers to the psalmist’s “changeable circumstances of life” and may be translated “misery.” The verb סָפַר (safar, “count”) probably carries the nuance “assess” here. Cf. NIV “my lament”; NRSV “my tossings.”
[56:8] 34 tn Traditionally “your bottle.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word נֹאד (no’d, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20). If such a container is metaphorically in view here, then the psalmist seems to be asking God to store up his tears as a reminder of his suffering.
[56:8] 35 tn The word “recorded” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The rhetorical question assumes a positive response (see the first line of the verse).
[56:9] 37 tn Heb “then my enemies will turn back in the day I cry out.” The Hebrew particle אָז (’az, “then”) is probably used here to draw attention to the following statement.
[56:9] 38 tn Heb “this I know, that God is for me.”
[56:10] 41 tn Heb “in God I praise a word.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult. The statement is similar to that of v. 4, except that the third person pronominal suffix is omitted here, where the text has simply “a word” instead of “his word.” (1) One could translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” refers to a song of praise. (2) If one assumes that God’s word is in view, as in v. 4, then one option is to translate, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” In this case the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and “[his] word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. (3) The present translation reflects another option: In this case “I praise [his] word” is a parenthetical statement, with “[his] word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in v. 11, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.
[56:10] 42 tn The phrase “in the
[56:11] 45 tn The statement is similar to that of v. 4, except “flesh” is used there instead of “man.”
[56:11] 46 tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.
[56:12] 49 tn Heb “upon me, O God, [are] your vows.”
[56:12] 50 tn Heb “I will repay thank-offerings to you.”
[56:13] 53 tn The perfect verbal form is probably future perfect; the psalmist promises to make good on his vows once God has delivered him (see Pss 13:5; 52:9). (2) Another option is to understand the final two verses as being added later, after the
[56:13] 54 tn Heb “are not my feet [kept] from stumbling?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they are!” The question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarification of meaning.
[56:13] 55 tn Heb “walk before.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254; cf. the same idiom in 2 Kgs 20:3; Isa 38:3.
[56:13] 56 tn Heb “in the light of life.” The phrase is used here and in Job 33:30.
[98:1] 57 sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.
[98:1] 58 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] 59 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] 60 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.
[98:2] 61 tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”
[98:3] 65 tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”
[98:3] 66 tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).
[98:9] 69 tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).