Psalms 9:1

Psalm 9 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the alumoth-labben style; ²  a psalm of David.

9:1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!

I will tell about all your amazing deeds! ³ 

Psalms 10:5

10:5 He is secure at all times. ⁴ 

He has no regard for your commands; ⁵ 

he disdains all his enemies. ⁶ 

Psalms 33:8

33:8 Let the whole earth fear ⁷  the Lord!

Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!

Psalms 49:1

Psalm 49 ⁸ 

For the music director, a psalm by the Korahites.

49:1 Listen to this, all you nations!

Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world! ⁹ 

Psalms 56:5

56:5 All day long they cause me trouble; ¹⁰ 

they make a habit of plotting my demise. ¹¹ 

Psalms 96:12

96:12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!

Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy

Psalms 97:7

97:7 All who worship idols are ashamed,

those who boast about worthless idols.

All the gods bow down before him. ¹² 

Psalms 97:9

97:9 For you, O Lord, are the sovereign king ¹³  over the whole earth;

you are elevated high above all gods.

Psalms 101:8

101:8 Each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land,

and remove all evildoers from the city of the Lord.

Psalms 103:22

103:22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made, ¹⁴ 

in all the regions ¹⁵  of his kingdom!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Psalms 135:6

135:6 He does whatever he pleases

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and all the ocean depths.

Psalms 145:20

145:20 The Lord protects those who love him,

but he destroys all the wicked.

[9:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 9. The psalmist, probably speaking on behalf of Israel or Judah, praises God for delivering him from hostile nations. He celebrates God’s sovereignty and justice, and calls on others to join him in boasting of God’s greatness. Many Hebrew mss and the ancient Greek version (LXX) combine Psalms 9 and 10 into a single psalm.

[9:1]  ² tc The meaning of the Hebrew term עַלְמוּת (’almut) is uncertain. Some mss divide the form into עַל מוּת (’al mut, “according to the death [of the son]”), while the LXX assumes a reading עֲלֻמוֹת עַל (’al ’alumot, “according to alumoth”). The phrase probably refers to a particular tune or musical style.

[9:1]  ³ tn The cohortative forms in vv. 1-2 express the psalmist’s resolve to praise God publicly.

[10:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “they are firm, his ways, at every time.” The verb חַיִל (khayil, “be firm, be strong”) occurs only here and in Job 20:21, where it has the sense “endure.”

[10:5]  ⁵ tc Heb “[on a] height, your judgments from before him.” If the MT is retained, then the idea may be that God’s “judgments” are high above (i.e., not recognized) by the wicked man. However, the syntax is awkward. The translation assumes an emendation of מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) to סָרוּ (saru, “[your judgments] are turned aside”), the final mem (ם) being dittographic (note the initial mem on the immediately following word [מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, mishÿfatekha, “your judgments”). “Judgments” probably refers here to God’s laws or commands, rather than his judicial decisions or acts of judgment.

[10:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “all his enemies, he snorts against them.” This may picture the wicked man defiantly challenging his enemies because he is confident of success. Another option is to take יָפִיחַ (yafiakh) from the root יָפַח (yafakh, “to testify”) and translate “he testifies against all his enemies,” implying that he gets the upper hand over them in legal battles. The noun יָפֵחַ (yafeakh, “witness”) is attested in biblical Hebrew (see Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3). The verb, however, is not clearly attested.

[33:8]  ⁷ tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.”

[49:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 49. In this so-called wisdom psalm (see v. 3) the psalmist states that he will not fear the rich enemies who threaten him, for despite their wealth, they are mere men who will die like everyone else. The psalmist is confident the Lord will vindicate the godly and protect them from the attacks of their oppressors.

[49:1]  ¹¹ tn The rare noun חָלֶד (kheled, “world”) occurs in Ps 17:14 and perhaps also in Isa 38:11 (see the note on “world” there).

[56:5]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “against me [are] all their thoughts for harm.”

[97:7]  ¹⁶ tn The translation assumes that the prefixed verbal form in the first line is an imperfect (“are ashamed”) and that the ambiguous form in the third line is a perfect (“bow down”) because the psalmist appears to be describing the effect of the Lord’s mighty theophany on those who witness it (see vv. 5, 8). Another option is to take the prefixed form in the first line as a jussive (“let all who worship idols be ashamed”) and the ambiguous form in the third line as an imperative (“All you gods, bow down before him!”; cf. NIV).

[97:9]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally “Most High.”

[103:22]  ²² tn Heb “all his works,” which includes mankind.

[103:22]  ²³ tn Heb “places.”