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 86:12-13

86:12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart!

I will honor your name continually! ⁴ 

86:13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me, ⁵ 

and will deliver my life ⁶  from the depths of Sheol. ⁷ 

Psalms 103:1-2

Psalm 103 ⁸ 

By David.

103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

With all that is within me, praise ⁹  his holy name!

103:2 Praise the Lord, O my soul!

Do not forget all his kind deeds! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 111:1

Psalm 111 ¹¹ 

111:1 Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.

Psalms 111:1

Psalm 111 ¹² 

111:1 Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the assembly of the godly and the congregation.

Colossians 1:15

The Supremacy of Christ

1:15 ¹³ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn ¹⁴  over all creation, ¹⁵ 

Ephesians 5:19

5:19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music ¹⁶  in ¹⁷  your hearts to the Lord,

[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.

[86:12]  ⁴ tn Or “forever.”

[86:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”

[86:13]  ⁶ tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.

[86:13]  ⁷ tn Or “lower Sheol.”

[103:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.

[103:1]  ⁹ tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).

[103:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).

[111:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 111. The psalmist praises God for his marvelous deeds, especially the way in which he provides for and delivers his people. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[111:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 111. The psalmist praises God for his marvelous deeds, especially the way in which he provides for and delivers his people. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[1:15]  ¹³ sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[1:15]  ¹⁴ tn The Greek term πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos) could refer either to first in order of time, such as a first born child, or it could refer to one who is preeminent in rank. M. J. Harris, Colossians and Philemon (EGGNT), 43, expresses the meaning of the word well: “The ‘firstborn’ was either the eldest child in a family or a person of preeminent rank. The use of this term to describe the Davidic king in Ps 88:28 LXX (=Ps 89:27 EVV), ‘I will also appoint him my firstborn (πρωτότοκον), the most exalted of the kings of the earth,’ indicates that it can denote supremacy in rank as well as priority in time. But whether the πρωτό- element in the word denotes time, rank, or both, the significance of the -τοκος element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω, give birth to) has been virtually lost except in ref. to lit. birth.” In Col 1:15 the emphasis is on the priority of Jesus’ rank as over and above creation (cf. 1:16 and the “for” clause referring to Jesus as Creator).

[1:15]  ¹⁵ tn The genitive construction πάσης κτίσεως (pash" ktisew") is a genitive of subordination and is therefore translated as “over all creation.” See ExSyn 103-4.

[5:19]  ¹⁶ tn See BDAG 1096 s.v. ψάλλω.

[5:19]  ¹⁷ tn Or “with.”