Psalms 9:6

9:6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins; ¹ 

you destroyed their cities; ² 

all memory of the enemies has perished. ³ 

Psalms 9:18

9:18 for the needy are not permanently ignored, ⁴ 

the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed. ⁵ 

Psalms 10:11

10:11 He says to himself, ⁶ 

“God overlooks it;

he does not pay attention;

he never notices.” ⁷ 

Psalms 16:11

16:11 You lead me in ⁸  the path of life; ⁹ 

I experience absolute joy in your presence; ¹⁰ 

you always give me sheer delight. ¹¹ 

Psalms 44:23

44:23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?

Wake up! ¹²  Do not reject us forever!

Psalms 49:19

49:19 But he will join his ancestors; ¹³ 

they will never again see the light of day. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 52:5

52:5 Yet ¹⁵  God will make you a permanent heap of ruins. ¹⁶ 

He will scoop you up ¹⁷  and remove you from your home; ¹⁸ 

he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)

Psalms 74:1

Psalm 74 ¹⁹ 

A well-written song ²⁰  by Asaph.

74:1 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us? ²¹ 

Why does your anger burn ²²  against the sheep of your pasture?

Psalms 74:10

74:10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?

Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

Psalms 74:19

74:19 Do not hand the life of your dove ²³  over to a wild animal!

Do not continue to disregard ²⁴  the lives of your oppressed people!

Psalms 79:5

79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? ²⁵ 

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ²⁶  burn like fire?

Psalms 89:46

89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever? ²⁷ 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

[9:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the enemy – they have come to an end [in] ruins permanently.” The singular form אוֹיֵב (’oyev, “enemy”) is collective. It is placed at the beginning of the verse to heighten the contrast with יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) in v. 7.

[9:6]  ² tn Heb “you uprooted cities.”

[9:6]  ³ tn Heb “it has perished, their remembrance, they.” The independent pronoun at the end of the line is in apposition to the preceding pronominal suffix and lends emphasis (see IBHS 299 §16.3.4). The referent of the masculine pronoun is the nations/enemies (cf. v. 5), not the cities (the Hebrew noun עָרִים [’arim, “cities”] is grammatically feminine). This has been specified in the present translation for clarity; many modern translations retain the pronoun “them,” resulting in ambiguity (cf. NRSV “their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished”).

[9:18]  ⁴ tn Or “forgotten.”

[9:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “the hope of the afflicted does [not] perish forever.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the preceding line. The imperfect verbal forms express what typically happens.

[10:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “he says in his heart.” See v. 6.

[10:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “God forgets, he hides his face, he never sees.”

[16:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cause me to know”; or “cause me to experience.”

[16:11]  ¹¹ tn This is a metaphorical way of saying, “you preserve my life.” The phrase “path of life” stands in contrast to death/Sheol in Prov 2:18-19; 5:5-6; 15:24.

[16:11]  ¹² tn Heb “abundance of joy [is] with your face.” The plural form of the noun שִׂמְחָה (simkhah, “joy”) occurs only here and in Ps 45:15. It may emphasize the degree of joy experienced.

[16:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “delight [is] in your right hand forever.” The plural form of the adjective נָעִים (na’im, “pleasant, delightful”) may here emphasize the degree of delight experienced (see Job 36:11).

[44:23]  ¹³ sn Wake up! See Ps 35:23.

[49:19]  ¹⁶ tn Verses 18-19a are one long sentence in the Hebrew text, which reads: “Though he blesses his soul in his life, [saying], ‘And let them praise you, for you do well for yourself,’ it [that is, his soul] will go to the generation of his fathers.” This has been divided into two sentences in the translation for clarity, in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences.

[49:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “light.” The words “of day” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[52:5]  ¹⁹ tn The adverb גַּם (gam, “also; even”) is translated here in an adversative sense (“yet”). It highlights the contrastive correspondence between the evildoer’s behavior and God’s response.

[52:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will tear you down forever.”

[52:5]  ²¹ tn This rare verb (חָתָה, khatah) occurs only here and in Prov 6:27; 25:22; Isa 30:14.

[52:5]  ²² tn Heb “from [your] tent.”

[74:1]  ²² sn Psalm 74. The psalmist, who has just experienced the devastation of the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., asks God to consider Israel’s sufferings and intervene on behalf of his people. He describes the ruined temple, recalls God’s mighty deeds in the past, begs for mercy, and calls for judgment upon God’s enemies.

[74:1]  ²³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[74:1]  ²⁴ sn The psalmist does not really believe God has permanently rejected his people or he would not pray as he does in this psalm. But this initial question reflects his emotional response to what he sees and is overstated for the sake of emphasis. The severity of divine judgment gives the appearance that God has permanently abandoned his people.

[74:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “smoke.” The picture is that of a fire that continues to smolder.

[74:19]  ²⁵ sn Your dove. The psalmist compares weak and vulnerable Israel to a helpless dove.

[74:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “do not forget forever.”

[79:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ²⁹ tn Or “jealous anger.”

[89:46]  ³¹ tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”