Psalms 96:13

96:13 before the Lord, for he comes!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly, ¹ 

and the nations in accordance with his justice. ² 

Psalms 105:19

105:19 until the time when his prediction ³  came true.

The Lord’s word ⁴  proved him right. ⁵ 

Psalms 98:9

98:9 before the Lord!

For he comes to judge the earth!

He judges the world fairly, ⁶ 

and the nations in a just manner.

Psalms 102:13

102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. ⁷ 

For it is time to have mercy on her,

for the appointed time has come.

Psalms 126:6

126:6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag ⁸  of seed,

will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain. ⁹ 

Psalms 41:6

41:6 When someone comes to visit, ¹⁰  he pretends to be friendly; ¹¹ 

he thinks of ways to defame me, ¹² 

and when he leaves he slanders me. ¹³ 

Psalms 51:1

Psalm 51 ¹⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba. ¹⁵ 

51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of ¹⁶  your loyal love!

Because of ¹⁷  your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! ¹⁸ 

Psalms 52:1

Psalm 52 ¹⁹ 

For the music director; a well-written song ²⁰  by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.” ²¹ 

52:1 Why do you boast about your evil plans, ²²  O powerful man?

God’s loyal love protects me all day long! ²³ 

[96:13]  ¹ tn The verbal forms in v. 13 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions, in which case they could be translated “will judge the world.”

[96:13]  ² tn Heb “and the nations with his integrity.”

[105:19]  ³ tn Heb “word,” probably referring to Joseph’s prediction about the fate of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (see Gen 41:9-14).

[105:19]  ⁴ tn This line may refer to Joseph’s prediction of the famine in response to Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph emphasized to Pharaoh that the interpretation of the dream came from God (see Gen 41:16, 25, 28, 32, 39).

[105:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “refined him.”

[98:9]  ⁵ tn The verbal forms in v. 9 probably describe God’s typical, characteristic behavior, though they may depict in dramatic fashion the outworking of divine judgment or anticipate a future judgment of worldwide proportions (“will judge…”).

[102:13]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”

[126:6]  ⁹ tn The noun occurs only here and in Job 28:18 in the OT. See HALOT 646 s.v. I מֶשֶׁךְ which gives “leather pouch” as the meaning.

[126:6]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew noun אֲלֻמָּה (’alummah, “sheaf”) occurs only here and in Gen 37:7 in the OT.

[41:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to see.”

[41:6]  ¹² tn Heb “he speaks deceitfully.”

[41:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “his heart gathers sin to itself.”

[41:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he goes outside and speaks.”

[51:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 51. The psalmist confesses his sinfulness to God and begs for forgiveness and a transformation of his inner character. According to the psalm superscription, David offered this prayer when Nathan confronted him with his sin following the king’s affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11-12). However, the final two verses of the psalm hardly fit this situation, for they assume the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and that the sacrificial system has been temporarily suspended. These verses are probably an addition to the psalm made during the period of exile following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. The exiles could relate to David’s experience, for they, like him, and had been forced to confront their sin. They appropriated David’s ancient prayer and applied it to their own circumstances.

[51:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”

[51:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “according to.”

[51:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “according to.”

[51:1]  ¹⁷ tn Traditionally “blot out my transgressions.” Because of the reference to washing and cleansing in the following verse, it is likely that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to wiping an object clean (note the use of the verb מָחָה (makhah) in the sense of “wipe clean; dry” in 2 Kgs 21:13; Prov 30:20; Isa 25:8). Another option is that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to erasing or blotting out names from a register (see Exod 32:32-33). In this case one might translate, “erase all record of my rebellious acts.”

[52:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 52. The psalmist confidently confronts his enemy and affirms that God will destroy evildoers and vindicate the godly.

[52:1]  ¹⁶ 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.

[52:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’”

[52:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Why do you boast in evil?”

[52:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the loyal love of God [is] all the day.” In this context, where the psalmist is threatened by his enemy, the point seems to be that the psalmist is protected by God’s loyal love at all times.