Psalms 9:14

9:14 Then I will ¹  tell about all your praiseworthy acts; ² 

in the gates of Daughter Zion ³  I will rejoice because of your deliverance.” ⁴ 

Psalms 45:10

45:10 Listen, O princess! ⁵ 

Observe and pay attention! ⁶ 

Forget your homeland ⁷  and your family! ⁸ 

Psalms 45:13

45:13 The princess ⁹  looks absolutely magnificent, ¹⁰ 

decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold. ¹¹ 

Psalms 137:8

137:8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated! ¹² 

How blessed will be the one who repays you

for what you dished out to us! ¹³ 

[9:14]  ¹ tn Or “so that I might.”

[9:14]  ² tn Heb “all your praise.” “Praise” stands by metonymy for the mighty acts that prompt it.

[9:14]  ³ sn Daughter Zion is an idiomatic title for Jerusalem. It appears frequently in the prophets, but only here in the psalms.

[9:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “in your deliverance.”

[45:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “daughter.” The Hebrew noun בת (“daughter”) can sometimes refer to a young woman in a general sense (see H. Haag, TDOT 2:334).

[45:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “see and turn your ear.” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “see”) is used here of mental observation.

[45:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “your people.” This reference to the “people” of the princess suggests she was a foreigner. Perhaps the marriage was arranged as part of a political alliance between Israel (or Judah) and a neighboring state. The translation “your homeland” reflects such a situation.

[45:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the house of your father.”

[45:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “[the] daughter of a king.”

[45:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[is] completely glorious.”

[45:13]  ¹¹ tc Heb “within, from settings of gold, her clothing.” The Hebrew term פְּנִימָה (pÿnimah, “within”), if retained, would go with the preceding line and perhaps refer to the bride being “within” the palace or her bridal chamber (cf. NIV, NRSV). Since the next two lines refer to her attire (see also v. 9b), it is preferable to emend the form to פְּנִינִיהָּ (“her pearls”) or to פְּנִינִים (“pearls”). The mem (מ) prefixed to “settings” is probably dittographic.

[137:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.

[137:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”