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 16:9

16:9 So my heart rejoices

and I am happy; ⁴ 

My life is safe. ⁵ 

Psalms 17:3

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ⁶ 

you have examined me during the night. ⁷ 

You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ⁸ 

Psalms 19:14

19:14 May my words and my thoughts

be acceptable in your sight, ⁹ 

O Lord, my sheltering rock ¹⁰  and my redeemer. ¹¹ 

Psalms 22:14

22:14 My strength drains away like water; ¹² 

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart ¹³  is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

Psalms 27:8

27:8 My heart tells me to pray to you, ¹⁴ 

and I do pray to you, O Lord. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 38:10

38:10 My heart beats quickly;

my strength leaves me;

I can hardly see. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 39:3

39:3 my anxiety intensified. ¹⁷ 

As I thought about it, I became impatient. ¹⁸ 

Finally I spoke these words: ¹⁹ 

Psalms 61:2

61:2 From the most remote place on earth ²⁰ 

I call out to you in my despair. ²¹ 

Lead me ²²  up to an inaccessible rocky summit! ²³ 

Psalms 69:20

69:20 Their insults are painful ²⁴  and make me lose heart; ²⁵ 

I look ²⁶  for sympathy, but receive none, ²⁷ 

for comforters, but find none.

Psalms 102:4

102:4 My heart is parched ²⁸  and withered like grass,

for I am unable ²⁹  to eat food. ³⁰ 

Psalms 108:1

Psalm 108 ³¹ 

A song, a psalm of David.

108:1 I am determined, ³²  O God!

I will sing and praise you with my whole heart. ³³ 

[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.

[16:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “my glory is happy.” Some view the Hebrew term כְּבוֹדִי (kÿvodiy, “my glory”) as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 30:12; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”

[16:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “yes, my flesh dwells securely.” The psalmist’s “flesh” stands by metonymy for his body and, by extension, his physical life.

[17:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ⁹ tc Heb “you tested me, you do not find, I plan, my mouth will not cross over.” The Hebrew verbal form זַמֹּתִי (zammotiy) is a Qal perfect, first person singular from the root זָמַם (zamam, “plan, plan evil”). Some emend the form to a suffixed form of the noun, זִמָּתִי (zimmatiy, “my plan/evil plan”), and take it as the object of the preceding verb “find.” However, the suffix seems odd, since the psalmist is denying that he has any wrong thoughts. If one takes the form with what precedes, it might make better sense to read זִמּוֹת (zimmot, “evil plans”). However, this emendation leaves an unclear connection with the next line. The present translation maintains the verbal form found in the MT and understands it in a neutral sense, “I have decided” (see Jer 4:28). The words “my mouth will not cross over” (i.e., “transgress, sin”) can then be taken as a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb.

[19:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “may the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart be acceptable before you.” The prefixed verbal form at the beginning of the verse is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate the form as an imperfect continuing the thought of v. 14b: “[Then] the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart will be acceptable before you.”

[19:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”

[19:14]  ¹² tn Heb “and the one who redeems me.” The metaphor casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis.

[22:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”

[22:14]  ¹⁴ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.

[27:8]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “concerning you my heart says, ‘Seek my face.’” The verb form “seek” is plural, but this makes no sense here, for the psalmist is addressed. The verb should be emended to a singular form. The first person pronominal suffix on “face” also makes little sense, unless it is the voice of the Lord he hears. His “heart” is viewed as speaking, however, so it is better to emend the form to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”).

[27:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your face, O Lord, I seek.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 24:6; 105:4).

[38:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).

[39:3]  ²² tn Heb “my heart was hot within me.”

[39:3]  ²³ tn Heb “In my reflection fire burned.” The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite (past tense) or an imperfect being used in a past progressive or customary sense (“fire was burning”).

[39:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I spoke with my tongue.” The phrase “these words” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[61:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from the end of the earth.” This may indicate (1) the psalmist is exiled in a distant land, or (2) it may be hyperbolic (the psalmist feels alienated from God’s presence, as if he were in a distant land).

[61:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “while my heart faints.”

[61:2]  ²⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.

[61:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”

[69:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.

[69:20]  ²⁹ tn The verb form appears to be a Qal preterite from an otherwise unattested root נוּשׁ (nush), which some consider an alternate form of אָנַשׁ (’anash, “be weak; be sick”; see BDB 60 s.v. I אָנַשׁ). Perhaps the form should be emended to a Niphal, וָאֵאָנְשָׁה (va’e’onshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.

[69:20]  ³⁰ tn Heb “wait.”

[69:20]  ³¹ tn Heb “and I wait for sympathy, but there is none.” The form נוּד (nud) is an infinitive functioning as a verbal noun:, “sympathizing.” Some suggest emending the form to a participle נָד (nad, “one who shows sympathy”). The verb נוּד (nud) also has the nuance “show sympathy” in Job 2:11; 42:11 and Isa 51:19.

[102:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “struck, attacked.”

[102:4]  ³² tn Heb “I forget.”

[102:4]  ³³ sn I am unable to eat food. During his time of mourning, the psalmist refrained from eating. In the following verse he describes metaphorically the physical effects of fasting.

[108:1]  ³⁴ sn Psalm 108. With some minor variations, this psalm is a composite of Ps 57:7-11 (see vv. 1-5) and Ps 60:5-12 (see vv. 6-13).

[108:1]  ³⁵ tn Or perhaps “confident”; Heb “my heart is steadfast.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and/or emotions.

[108:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “also my glory,” but this makes little sense in the context. Some view the term כָּבוֹד (“glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvodiy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 30:12; 57:9; as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 3:93. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.”