Psalms 9:2

9:2 I will be happy and rejoice in you!

I will sing praises to you, O sovereign One! ¹ 

Psalms 68:3

68:3 But the godly ²  are happy;

they rejoice before God

and are overcome with joy. ³ 

Psalms 25:2

25:2 My God, I trust in you.

Please do not let me be humiliated;

do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!

Psalms 5:11

5:11 But may all who take shelter ⁴  in you be happy! ⁵ 

May they continually ⁶  shout for joy! ⁷ 

Shelter them ⁸  so that those who are loyal to you ⁹  may rejoice! ¹⁰ 

[9:2]  ¹ tn Heb “[to] your name, O Most High.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyo/) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[68:3]  ² tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).

[68:3]  ³ tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)

[5:11]  ³ sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[5:11]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer. The psalmist calls on God to reward his faithful followers.

[5:11]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps more hyperbolically, “forever.”

[5:11]  ⁶ tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form is a jussive of wish or prayer.

[5:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “put a cover over them.” The verb form is a Hiphil imperfect from סָכַךְ (sakhakh, “cover, shut off”). The imperfect expresses the psalmist’s wish or request.

[5:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “the lovers of your name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to the Lord. See Pss 69:36; 119:132; Isa 56:6.

[5:11]  ⁹ tn The vav (ו) with prefixed verbal form following the volitional “shelter them” indicates purpose or result (“so that those…may rejoice).