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Psalm 65-67
New English Translation

Psalm 65[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David, a song.

65 Praise awaits you,[b] O God, in Zion.
Vows made to you are fulfilled.
2 You hear prayers;[c]
all people approach you.[d]
3 Our record of sins overwhelms me,[e]
but you forgive[f] our acts of rebellion.
4 How blessed[g] is the one whom you choose,
and allow to live in your palace courts.[h]
May we be satisfied with the good things of your house—
your holy palace.[i]
5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,
O God, our savior.[j]
All the ends of the earth trust in you,[k]
as well as those living across the wide seas.[l]
6 You created the mountains by your power,[m]
and demonstrated your strength.[n]
7 You calmed the raging seas[o]
and their roaring waves,
as well as the commotion made by the nations.[p]
8 Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts;[q]
you cause those living in the east and west to praise you.[r]
9 You visit the earth and give it rain;[s]
you make it rich and fertile.[t]
God’s streams are full of water;[u]
you provide grain for the people of the earth,[v]
for you have prepared the earth in this way.[w]
10 You saturate[x] its furrows,
and soak[y] its plowed ground.[z]
With rain showers you soften its soil,[aa]
and make its crops grow.[ab]
11 You crown the year with your good blessings,[ac]
and you leave abundance in your wake.[ad]
12 The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture,[ae]
and the hills are clothed with joy.[af]
13 The meadows are clothed with sheep,
and the valleys are covered with grain.
They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.

Psalm 66[ag]

For the music director, a song, a psalm.

66 Shout out praise to God, all the earth!
2 Sing praises about the majesty of his reputation.[ah]
Give him the honor he deserves![ai]
3 Say to God:
“How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear[aj] before you.
4 All the earth worships[ak] you
and sings praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” (Selah)
5 Come and witness[al] God’s exploits![am]
His acts on behalf of people are awesome.[an]
6 He turned the sea into dry land;[ao]
they passed through the river on foot.[ap]
Let us rejoice in him there.[aq]
7 He rules[ar] by his power forever;
he watches[as] the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt[at] themselves. (Selah)
8 Praise[au] our God, you nations.
Loudly proclaim his praise.[av]
9 He preserves our lives[aw]
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For[ax] you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
11 You led us into a trap;[ay]
you caused us to suffer.[az]
12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place.[ba]
13 I will enter[bb] your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
14 which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God.[bc]
I will declare what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him for help[bd]
and praised him with my tongue.[be]
18 If I had harbored sin in my heart,[bf]
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
20 God deserves praise,[bg]
for[bh] he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me.[bi]

Psalm 67[bj]

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.

67 May God show us his favor[bk] and bless us.[bl]
May he smile on us.[bm] (Selah)
2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;
all nations will know how you deliver your people.[bn]
3 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[bo]
4 Let foreigners[bp] rejoice and celebrate.
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth.[bq] (Selah)
5 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[br]
6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us.
7 May God bless us.[bs]
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves.[bt]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 65:1 sn Psalm 65. The psalmist praises God because he forgives sin and blesses his people with an abundant harvest.
  2. Psalm 65:1 tn Heb “for you, silence, praise.” Many prefer to emend the noun דֻּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”) to a participle דּוֹמִיָּה (domiyyah), from the root דָּמָה (damah, “be silent”), understood here in the sense of “wait.”
  3. Psalm 65:2 tn Heb “O one who hears prayer.”
  4. Psalm 65:2 tn Heb “to you all flesh comes.”
  5. Psalm 65:3 tn Heb “the records of sins are too strong for me.”
  6. Psalm 65:3 tn Or “make atonement for.”
  7. Psalm 65:4 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
  8. Psalm 65:4 tn Heb “[whom] you bring near [so that] he might live [in] your courts.”
  9. Psalm 65:4 tn Or “temple.”
  10. Psalm 65:5 tn Heb “[with] awesome acts in deliverance you answer us, O God of our salvation.”
  11. Psalm 65:5 tn Heb “a source of confidence [for] all the ends of the earth.”sn All the ends of the earth trust in you. This idealistic portrayal of universal worship is typical hymnic hyperbole, though it does anticipate eschatological reality.
  12. Psalm 65:5 tc Heb “and [the] distant sea.” The plural adjective is problematic after the singular form “sea.” One could emend יָם (yam, “sea”) to יָמִים (yamim, “seas”), or emend the plural form רְחֹקִים (rekhoqim, “far”) to the singular רָחֹק (rakhoq). In this case the final mem (ם) could be treated as dittographic; note the mem on the beginning of the first word in v. 6.
  13. Psalm 65:6 tn Heb “[the] one who establishes [the] mountains by his power.”
  14. Psalm 65:6 tn Heb “one [who] is girded with strength”; or “one [who] girds himself with strength.”
  15. Psalm 65:7 tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”
  16. Psalm 65:7 sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).
  17. Psalm 65:8 tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the ends fear because of your signs.” God’s “signs” are the “awesome acts” (see v. 5) he performs in the earth.
  18. Psalm 65:8 tn Heb “the goings out of the morning and the evening you cause to shout for joy.” The phrase “goings out of the morning and evening” refers to the sunrise and sunset, that is, the east and the west.
  19. Psalm 65:9 tn The verb form is a Polel from שׁוּק (shuq, “be abundant”), a verb which appears only here and in Joel 2:24 and 3:13, where it is used in the Hiphil stem and means “overflow.”
  20. Psalm 65:9 tn Heb “you greatly enrich it.”
  21. Psalm 65:9 tn Heb “[with] a channel of God full of water.” The divine name is probably may be used here in a superlative sense to depict a very deep stream (“a stream fit for God,” as it were).
  22. Psalm 65:9 tn The pronoun apparently refers to the people of the earth, mentioned in v. 8.
  23. Psalm 65:9 tn Heb “for thus [referring to the provision of rain described in the first half of the verse] you prepare it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix attached to the verb “prepare” refers back to the “earth,” which is a feminine noun with regard to grammatical form.
  24. Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “saturating” [the form is an infinitive absolute].
  25. Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “flatten, cause to sink.”
  26. Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “trenches,” or “furrows.”
  27. Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “soften it,” that is, the earth.
  28. Psalm 65:10 tn Heb “its vegetation you bless.” Divine “blessing” often involves endowing an object with special power or capacity.
  29. Psalm 65:11 tn Heb “your good,” which refers here to agricultural blessings.
  30. Psalm 65:11 tn Heb “and your paths drip with abundance.”
  31. Psalm 65:12 tn Heb “drip.”
  32. Psalm 65:12 tn That is, with rich vegetation that brings joy to those who see it.
  33. Psalm 66:1 sn Psalm 66. The psalmist praises God because he has delivered his people from a crisis.
  34. Psalm 66:2 tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
  35. Psalm 66:2 tn Heb “make honorable his praise.”
  36. Psalm 66:3 tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).
  37. Psalm 66:4 tn Or “bows down to.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are taken (1) as imperfects expressing what is typical. Another option (2) is to interpret them as anticipatory (“all the earth will worship you”) or (3) take them as jussives, expressing a prayer or wish (“may all the earth worship you”).
  38. Psalm 66:5 tn Or “see.”
  39. Psalm 66:5 tn Or “acts” (see Ps 46:8).
  40. Psalm 66:5 tn Heb “awesome [is] an act toward the sons of man.” It is unclear how the prepositional phrase relates to what precedes. If collocated with “act,” it may mean “on behalf of” or “toward.” If taken with “awesome” (see 1 Chr 16:25; Pss 89:7; 96:4; Zeph 2:11), one might translate “his awesome acts are beyond human comprehension” or “his awesome acts are superior to anything men can do.”
  41. Psalm 66:6 sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).
  42. Psalm 66:6 tn Because of the reference to “the river,” some understand this as an allusion to Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. However, the Hebrew term נָהָר (nahad) does not always refer to a “river” in the technical sense; it can be used of sea currents (see Jonah 2:4). So this line may also refer to the Red Sea crossing (cf. NEB).
  43. Psalm 66:6 tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).
  44. Psalm 66:7 tn Heb “[the] one who rules.”
  45. Psalm 66:7 tn Heb “his eyes watch.” “Eyes” are an anthropomorphism, attributed to God here to emphasize his awareness of all that happens on earth.
  46. Psalm 66:7 tn The verb form is jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ʾal). The Kethib (consonantal text) has a Hiphil form of the verb, apparently to be understood in an exhibitive sense (“demonstrate stubborn rebellion”; see BDB 927 s.v. רוּם Hiph), while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Qal form, to be understood in an intransitive sense. The preposition ל (lamed) with pronominal suffix should be understood in a reflexive sense (“for themselves”) and indicates that the action is performed with the interest of the subject in mind.
  47. Psalm 66:8 tn Heb “bless,” in the sense of declaring “God to be the source of…special power” (see HALOT 160 s.v. II ברך pi).
  48. Psalm 66:8 tn Heb “cause the voice of his praise to be heard.”
  49. Psalm 66:9 tn Heb “the one who places our soul in life.”
  50. Psalm 66:10 tn Or “indeed.”
  51. Psalm 66:11 tn Heb “you brought us into a net.” This rare word for “net” also occurs in Ezek 12:13; 13:21; 17:20.
  52. Psalm 66:11 tn Heb “you placed suffering on our hips.” The noun מוּעָקָה (muʿaqah, “suffering”) occurs only here in the OT.
  53. Psalm 66:12 tc The MT reads רְוָיָה (revayah, “saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (revakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).
  54. Psalm 66:13 sn Here the psalmist switches to the singular; he speaks as the representative of the nation.
  55. Psalm 66:16 tn Heb “all of the fearers of God.”
  56. Psalm 66:17 tn Heb “to him [with] my mouth I called.”
  57. Psalm 66:17 tn Heb “and he was extolled under my tongue.” The form רוֹמַם (romam) appears to be a Polal (passive) participle from רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), but many prefer to read רוֹמָם, “high praise [was under my tongue]” (cf. NEB). See BDB 928 s.v. רוֹמָם.
  58. Psalm 66:18 tn Heb “sin if I had seen in my heart.”
  59. Psalm 66:20 tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”
  60. Psalm 66:20 tn Or “who.” In a blessing formula after בָּרוּךְ (barukh, “blessed be”) the form אֲשֶׁר (ʾasher), whether taken as a relative pronoun or causal particle, introduces the basis for the blessing/praise.
  61. Psalm 66:20 tn Heb “did not turn aside my prayer, or his loyal love from with me.”
  62. Psalm 67:1 sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.
  63. Psalm 67:1 tn Or “have mercy on us.”
  64. Psalm 67:1 tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (yaʾer) in the next line.
  65. Psalm 67:1 tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”
  66. Psalm 67:2 tn Heb “to know in the earth your way, among all nations your deliverance.” The infinitive with ל (lamed) expresses purpose/result. When God demonstrates his favor to his people, all nations will recognize his character as a God who delivers. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) refers here to God’s characteristic behavior, more specifically, to the way he typically saves his people.
  67. Psalm 67:3 tn Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in vv. 3-4a are understood as jussives in this call to praise.
  68. Psalm 67:4 tn Or “peoples.”
  69. Psalm 67:4 tn Heb “for you judge nations fairly, and [as for the] peoples in the earth, you lead them.” The imperfects are translated with the present tense because the statement is understood as a generalization about God’s providential control of the world. Another option is to understand the statement as anticipating God’s future rule (“for you will rule…and govern”).
  70. Psalm 67:5 tn Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 5 are understood as jussives in this call to praise.
  71. Psalm 67:7 tn The prefixed verb forms in vv. 6b-7a are understood as jussives.
  72. Psalm 67:7 tn Heb “will fear him.” After the jussive of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive is understood as indicating purpose/result. (Note how v. 3 anticipates the universal impact of God showing his people blessing.) Another option is to take the verb as a jussive and translate, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him.”
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Psalm 64
Psalm 68
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Psalm 69-70
New English Translation

Psalm 69[a]

For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”;[b] by David.

69 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck.[c]
2 I sink into the deep mire
where there is no solid ground;[d]
I am in[e] deep water,
and the current overpowers me.
3 I am exhausted from shouting for help.
My throat is sore;[f]
my eyes grow tired from looking for my God.[g]
4 Those who hate me without cause
are more numerous than the hairs of my head.
Those who want to destroy me,
my enemies for no reason,[h]
outnumber me.[i]
They make me repay what I did not steal.[j]
5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins;[k]
my guilt is not hidden from you.[l]
6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,
O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[m]
Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,
O God of Israel.
7 For I suffer[n] humiliation for your sake[o]
and am thoroughly disgraced.[p]
8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;
they act as if I were a foreigner.[q]
9 Certainly[r] zeal for[s] your house[t] consumes me;
I endure the insults of those who insult you.[u]
10 I weep and refrain from eating food,[v]
which causes others to insult me.[w]
11 I wear sackcloth
and they ridicule me.[x]
12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;
drunkards mock me in their songs.[y]
13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me.[z]
O God, because of your great loyal love,
answer me with your faithful deliverance.[aa]
14 Rescue me from the mud. Don’t let me sink.
Deliver me[ab] from those who hate me,
from the deep water.
15 Don’t let the current overpower me.
Don’t let the deep swallow me up.
Don’t let the Pit[ac] devour me.[ad]
16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good.[ae]
Because of your great compassion, turn toward me.
17 Do not ignore[af] your servant,
for I am in trouble. Answer me right away.[ag]
18 Come near me and redeem me.[ah]
Because of my enemies, rescue me.
19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated, and disgraced;
you can see all my enemies.[ai]
20 Their insults are painful[aj] and make me lose heart;[ak]
I look[al] for sympathy, but receive none,[am]
for comforters, but find none.
21 They put bitter poison[an] into my food,
and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.[ao]
22 May their dining table become a trap before them.
May it be a snare for that group of friends.[ap]
23 May their eyes be blinded.[aq]
Make them shake violently.[ar]
24 Pour out your judgment[as] on them.
May your raging anger[at] overtake them.
25 May their camp become desolate,
their tents uninhabited.[au]
26 For they harass[av] the one whom you discipline;[aw]
they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish.[ax]
27 Hold them accountable for all their sins.[ay]
Do not vindicate them.[az]
28 May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living.[ba]
Do not let their names be listed with the godly.[bb]
29 I am oppressed and suffering.
O God, deliver and protect me.[bc]
30 I will sing praises to God’s name.[bd]
I will magnify him as I give him thanks.[be]
31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull
with horns and hooves.
32 The oppressed look on—let them rejoice.
You who seek God,[bf] may you be encouraged.[bg]
33 For the Lord listens to the needy;
he does not despise his captive people.[bh]
34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
along with the seas and everything that swims in them.
35 For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his people[bi] will again live in them and possess Zion.[bj]
36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who are loyal to him[bk] will live in it.[bl]

Psalm 70[bm]

For the music director, by David; written to get God’s attention.[bn]

70 O God, please be willing to rescue me.[bo]
O Lord, hurry and help me.[bp]
2 May those who are trying to take my life
be embarrassed and ashamed.[bq]
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.[br]
3 May those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
be driven back[bs] and disgraced.[bt]
4 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you.
May those who love to experience[bu] your deliverance say continually,[bv]
“May God[bw] be praised!”[bx]
5 I am oppressed and needy.[by]
O God, hurry to me.[bz]
You are my helper and my deliverer.
O Lord,[ca] do not delay.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 69:1 sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.
  2. Psalm 69:1 tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.
  3. Psalm 69:1 tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.
  4. Psalm 69:2 tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”
  5. Psalm 69:2 tn Heb “have entered.”
  6. Psalm 69:3 tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; inflamed.”
  7. Psalm 69:3 tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.
  8. Psalm 69:4 tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).
  9. Psalm 69:4 tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (ʿatsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).
  10. Psalm 69:4 tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (ʾaz, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows.sn They make me repay what I did not steal. The psalmist’s enemies falsely accuse him and hold him accountable for alleged crimes he did not even commit.
  11. Psalm 69:5 tn Heb “you know my foolishness.”
  12. Psalm 69:5 sn The psalmist is the first to admit that he is not perfect. But even so, he is innocent of the allegations which his enemies bring against him (v. 5b). God, who is aware of his foolish sins and guilt, can testify to the truth of his claim.
  13. Psalm 69:6 tn Heb “O Lord Yahweh of hosts.” Both titles draw attention to God’s sovereign position.
  14. Psalm 69:7 tn Heb “carry, bear.”
  15. Psalm 69:7 tn Heb “on account of you.”
  16. Psalm 69:7 tn Heb “and shame covers my face.”
  17. Psalm 69:8 tn Heb “and I am estranged to my brothers, and a foreigner to the sons of my mother.”
  18. Psalm 69:9 tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.
  19. Psalm 69:9 tn Or “devotion to.”
  20. Psalm 69:9 sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.
  21. Psalm 69:9 tn Heb “the insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”sn Jn 2:17 applies the first half of this verse to Jesus’ ministry in the context of John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple.
  22. Psalm 69:10 sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.
  23. Psalm 69:10 tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”
  24. Psalm 69:11 tn Heb “and I am an object of ridicule to them.”
  25. Psalm 69:12 tn Heb “the mocking songs of the drinkers of beer.”
  26. Psalm 69:13 tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O Lord, [in] a time of favor.”
  27. Psalm 69:13 tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”
  28. Psalm 69:14 tn Heb “let me be delivered.”
  29. Psalm 69:15 tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).
  30. Psalm 69:15 tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”
  31. Psalm 69:16 tn Or “pleasant”; or “desirable.”
  32. Psalm 69:17 tn Heb “do not hide your face from.” The Hebrew idiom “hide the face” can (1) mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
  33. Psalm 69:17 tn Or “quickly.”
  34. Psalm 69:18 tn Heb “come near my life and redeem it.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).
  35. Psalm 69:19 tn Heb “before you [are] all my enemies.”
  36. Psalm 69:20 tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.
  37. Psalm 69:20 tn The verb form appears to be a Qal preterite from an otherwise unattested root נוּשׁ (nush), which some consider an alternate form of אָנַשׁ (ʾanash, “be weak; be sick”; see BDB 60 s.v. I אָנַשׁ). Perhaps the form should be emended to a Niphal, וָאֵאָנְשָׁה (vaʾeʾaneshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.
  38. Psalm 69:20 tn Heb “wait.”
  39. Psalm 69:20 tn Heb “and I wait for sympathy, but there is none.” The form נוּד (nud) is an infinitive functioning as a verbal noun:, “sympathizing.” Some suggest emending the form to a participle נָד (nad, “one who shows sympathy”). The verb נוּד (nud) also has the nuance “show sympathy” in Job 2:11; 42:11 and Isa 51:19.
  40. Psalm 69:21 tn According to BDB 912 s.v. II רֹאשׁ the term can mean “a bitter and poisonous plant.”
  41. Psalm 69:21 sn John 19:28-30 appears to understand Jesus’ experience on the cross as a fulfillment of this passage (or Ps 22:15). See the study note on the word “thirsty” in John 19:28.
  42. Psalm 69:22 tc Heb “and to the friends for a snare.” The plural of שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is used in Ps 55:20 of one’s “friends.” If the reading of the MT is retained here, the term depicts the psalmist’s enemies as a close-knit group of friends who are bound together by their hatred for the psalmist. Some prefer to revocalize the text as וּלְשִׁלּוּמִים (uleshillumim, “and for retribution”). In this case the noun stands parallel to פַּח (pakh, “trap”) and מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), and one might translate, “may their dining table become a trap before them, [a means of] retribution and a snare” (cf. NIV).
  43. Psalm 69:23 tn Heb “may their eyes be darkened from seeing.”
  44. Psalm 69:23 tn Heb “make their hips shake continually.”
  45. Psalm 69:24 tn Heb “anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger.
  46. Psalm 69:24 tn Heb “the rage of your anger.” The phrase “rage of your anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971), 17-81.
  47. Psalm 69:25 tn Heb “in their tents may there not be one who dwells.”sn In Acts 1:20 Peter applies the language of this verse to Judas’ experience. By changing the pronouns from plural to singular, he is able to apply the ancient curse, pronounced against the psalmist’s enemies, to Judas in particular.
  48. Psalm 69:26 tn Or “persecute”; Heb “chase.”
  49. Psalm 69:26 tn Heb “for you, the one whom you strike, they chase.”
  50. Psalm 69:26 tn Heb “they announce the pain of your wounded ones” (i.e., “the ones whom you wounded,” as the parallel line makes clear).sn The psalmist is innocent of the false charges made by his enemies (v. 4), but he is also aware of his sinfulness (v. 5) and admits that he experiences divine discipline (v. 26) despite his devotion to God (v. 9). Here he laments that his enemies take advantage of such divine discipline by harassing and slandering him. They “kick him while he’s down,” as the expression goes.
  51. Psalm 69:27 tn Heb “place sin upon their sin.”
  52. Psalm 69:27 tn Heb “let them not come into your vindication.”
  53. Psalm 69:28 tn Heb “let them be wiped out of the scroll of the living.”sn The phrase the scroll of the living occurs only here in the OT. It pictures a scroll or census list containing the names of the citizens of a community. When an individual died, that person’s name was removed from the list. So this curse is a very vivid way of asking that the enemies die.
  54. Psalm 69:28 tn Heb “and with the godly let them not be written.”sn Do not let their names be listed with the godly. This curse pictures a scroll in which God records the names of his loyal followers. The psalmist makes the point that his enemies have no right to be included in this list of the godly.
  55. Psalm 69:29 tn Heb “your deliverance, O God, may it protect me.”
  56. Psalm 69:30 tn Heb “I will praise the name of God with a song.”
  57. Psalm 69:30 tn Heb “I will magnify him with thanks.”
  58. Psalm 69:32 sn You who seek God refers to those who seek to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him (see Ps 53:2).
  59. Psalm 69:32 tn Heb “may your heart[s] live.” See Ps 22:26.
  60. Psalm 69:33 tn Heb “his prisoners he does not despise.”
  61. Psalm 69:35 tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  62. Psalm 69:35 tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to “Zion” (see Pss 48:12; 102:14); thus the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  63. Psalm 69:36 tn Heb “the lovers of his name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to God (cf. v. 35). See Pss 5:11; 119:132; Isa 56:6.
  64. Psalm 69:36 sn Verses 35-36 appear to be an addition to the psalm from the time of the exile. The earlier lament reflects an individual’s situation, while these verses seem to reflect a communal application of it.
  65. Psalm 70:1 sn Psalm 70. This psalm is almost identical to Ps 40:13-17. The psalmist asks for God’s help and for divine retribution against his enemies.
  66. Psalm 70:1 tn Heb “to cause to remember.” The same form, a Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the superscription of Ps 38. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).
  67. Psalm 70:1 tn Heb “O God, to rescue me.” A main verb is obviously missing. The verb רָצָה (ratsah, “be willing”) should be supplied (see Ps 40:13). Ps 40:13 uses the divine name “Lord” rather than “God.”
  68. Psalm 70:1 tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.
  69. Psalm 70:2 tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed, the ones seeking my life.” Ps 40:14 has “together” after “ashamed,” and “to snatch it away” after “my life.”
  70. Psalm 70:2 tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.sn See Ps 35:4 for a similar prayer.
  71. Psalm 70:3 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive in this imprecation.
  72. Psalm 70:3 tn Heb “May they be turned back according to their shame, those who say, ‘Aha! Aha!’” Ps 40:15 has the verb “humiliated” instead of “turned back” and adds “to me” after “say.”
  73. Psalm 70:4 tn Heb “those who love,” which stands metonymically for its cause, the experience of being delivered by God.
  74. Psalm 70:4 tn The three prefixed verbal forms prior to the quotation are understood as jussives. The psalmist balances out his imprecation against his enemies with a prayer of blessing on the godly.
  75. Psalm 70:4 tn Ps 40:16 uses the divine name “Lord” here instead of “God.”
  76. Psalm 70:4 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great.” See Ps 35:27.
  77. Psalm 70:5 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.
  78. Psalm 70:5 tn Ps 40:17 has “may the Lord pay attention to me.”
  79. Psalm 70:5 tn Ps 40:17 has “my God” instead of “Lord.”
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