Psalms 9:7

9:7 But the Lord ¹  rules ²  forever;

he reigns in a just manner. ³ 

Psalms 9:11

9:11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules ⁴  in Zion!

Tell the nations what he has done! ⁵ 

Psalms 17:12

17:12 He ⁶  is like a lion ⁷  that wants to tear its prey to bits, ⁸ 

like a young lion crouching ⁹  in hidden places.

Psalms 29:10

29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the engulfing waters, ¹⁰ 

the Lord sits enthroned ¹¹  as the eternal king.

Psalms 69:25

69:25 May their camp become desolate,

their tents uninhabited! ¹² 

Psalms 74:21

74:21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame!

Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! ¹³ 

Psalms 99:1

Psalm 99 ¹⁴ 

99:1 The Lord reigns!

The nations tremble. ¹⁵ 

He sits enthroned above the winged angels; ¹⁶ 

the earth shakes. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 146:4

146:4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground;

on that day their plans die. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 147:18

147:18 He then orders it all to melt; ¹⁹ 

he breathes on it, ²⁰  and the water flows.

[9:7]  ¹ tn The construction vav (ו) + subject highlights the contrast between the exalted Lord and his defeated foes (see v. 6).

[9:7]  ² tn Heb “sits” (i.e., enthroned, see v. 4). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.

[9:7]  ³ tn Heb “he establishes for justice his throne.”

[9:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “sits” (i.e., enthroned, and therefore ruling – see v. 4). Another option is to translate as “lives” or “dwells.”

[9:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “declare among the nations his deeds.”

[17:12]  ⁷ tn Here the psalmist switches to the singular pronoun; he views his enemies collectively, or singles out a representative of the group, perhaps its leader.

[17:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “his likeness [is] like a lion.”

[17:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “[that] longs to tear.”

[17:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sitting.”

[29:10]  ¹⁰ tn The noun מַּבּוּל (mabbul, “flood”) appears only here and in Gen 6-11, where it refers to the Noahic flood. Some see a reference to that event here. The presence of the article (perhaps indicating uniqueness) and the switch to the perfect verbal form (which could be taken as describing a past situation) might support this. However, the immediate context indicates that the referent of מַּבּוּל is the “surging waters” mentioned in v. 3. The article indicates waters that are definite in the mind of the speaker and the perfect is probably descriptive in function, like “thunders” in v. 3. However, even though the historical flood is not the primary referent here, there may be a literary allusion involved. The psalmist views the threatening chaotic sea as a contemporary manifestation of the destructive waters of old.

[29:10]  ¹¹ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the descriptive function of the preceding perfect.

[69:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “in their tents may there not be one who dwells.”

[74:21]  ¹⁶ sn Let the oppressed and poor praise your name! The statement is metonymic. The point is this: May the oppressed be delivered from their enemies! Then they will have ample reason to praise God’s name.

[99:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 99. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s just rule and recalls how he revealed himself to Israel’s leaders.

[99:1]  ²⁰ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 1 are understood here as indicating the nations’ characteristic response to the reality of the Lord’s kingship. Another option is to take them as jussives: “let the nations tremble…let the earth shake!”

[99:1]  ²¹ sn Winged angels (Heb “cherubs”). Cherubs, as depicted in the OT, possess both human and animal (lion, ox, and eagle) characteristics (see Ezek 1:10; 10:14, 21; 41:18). They are pictured as winged creatures (Exod 25:20; 37:9; 1 Kgs 6:24-27; Ezek 10:8, 19) and serve as the very throne of God when the ark of the covenant is in view (Ps 99:1; see Num 7:89; 1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Kgs 19:15). The picture of the Lord seated on the cherubs suggests they might be used by him as a vehicle, a function they carry out in Ezek 1:22-28 (the “living creatures” mentioned here are identified as cherubs in Ezek 10:20). In Ps 18:10 the image of a cherub serves to personify the wind.

[99:1]  ²² tn The Hebrew verb נוּט (nut) occurs only here in the OT, but the meaning can be determined on the basis of the parallelism with רָגַז (ragaz, “tremble”) and evidence from the cognate languages (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 121).

[146:4]  ²² tn Heb “his spirit goes out, it returns to his ground; in that day his plans die.” The singular refers to the representative man mentioned in v. 3b.

[147:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he sends his word and melts them.”

[147:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he blows his breath.”