Beginning

Footnotes

1. Psalm 90:1 sn Psalm 90. In this communal lament the worship leader affirms that the eternal God and creator of the world has always been Israel’s protector. But God also causes men, who are as transient as grass, to die, and in his fierce anger he decimates his covenant community, whose brief lives are filled with suffering and end in weakness. The community asks for wisdom, the restoration of God’s favor, a fresh revelation of his power, and his blessing upon their labors.
2. Psalm 90:1 tn Or “place of safety.” See Ps 71:3.
3. Psalm 90:2 tn Heb “were born.”
4. Psalm 90:2 tn Heb “and you gave birth to the earth and world.” The Polel verbal form in the Hebrew text pictures God giving birth to the world. The LXX and some other ancient textual witnesses assume a Polal (passive) verbal form here. In this case the earth becomes the subject of the verb and the verb is understood as third feminine singular rather than second masculine singular.
5. Psalm 90:2 tn Heb “and from everlasting to everlasting you [are] God.” Instead of אֵל (ʾel, “God”) the LXX reads אַל (ʾal, “not”) and joins the negative particle to the following verse, making the verb תָּשֵׁב (tashev) a jussive. In this case v. 3a reads as a prayer, “do not turn man back to a low place.” However, taking תָּשֵׁב as a jussive is problematic in light of the following wayyiqtol form וַתֹּאמֶר (vatoʾmer, “and you said/say”), unless one reads the form as a simple vav plus imperfect as indicated by Aquila and Jerome.
6. Psalm 90:3 tn In this context the shortened prefix form does not function as a preterite, but indicates what is typical of the world.
7. Psalm 90:3 tn The Hebrew term דַּכָּא (dakaʾ) carries the basic sense of “crushed.” Elsewhere it refers to those who are “crushed” in spirit or contrite of heart (see Ps 34:18; Isa 57:15). If one understands this nuance here, then v. 3 is observing that God leads mankind to repentance (the term שׁוּב, shuv, “return,” which appears twice in this verse, is sometimes used of repentance.) However, the following context laments mankind’s mortality and the brevity of life, so it is doubtful if v. 3 should be understood so positively. It is more likely that דַּכָּא here refers to “crushed matter,” that is, the dust that fills the grave (see HALOT 221 s.v. s.v. I דַּכָּא; BDB 194 s.v. דַּכָּא). In this case one may hear an echo of Gen 3:19.
8. Psalm 90:4 tn Or “for.”
9. Psalm 90:4 sn The divisions of the nighttime. The ancient Israelites divided the night into distinct periods, or “watches.”
10. Psalm 90:5 tn Heb “you bring them to an end [with] sleep.” The Hebrew verb זָרַם (zaram) has traditionally been taken to mean “flood” or “overwhelm” (note the Polel form of a root זרם in Ps 77:17, where the verb is used of the clouds pouring down rain). However, the verb form here is Qal, not Polel, and is better understood as a homonym meaning “to make an end [of life].” The term שֵׁנָה (shenah, “sleep”) can be taken as an adverbial accusative; it is a euphemism here for death (see Ps 76:5-6).
11. Psalm 90:6 tn Or “flourishes.” The verb is used of a crown shining in Ps 132:18. Perhaps here in Ps 90:6 it refers to the glistening of the grass in the morning dew.
12. Psalm 90:6 tn The Polel form of this verb occurs only here. Perhaps the form should be emended to a Qal (which necessitates eliminating the final ל [lamed] as dittographic). See Ps 37:2.
13. Psalm 90:7 tn Or “for.”
14. Psalm 90:8 tn Heb “you set our sins in front of you.”
15. Psalm 90:8 tn Heb “what we have hidden to the light of your face.” God’s face is compared to a light or lamp that exposes the darkness around it.
16. Psalm 90:9 tn Or “for.”
17. Psalm 90:9 tn Heb “all our days pass by in your anger.”
18. Psalm 90:9 tn Heb “we finish our years like a sigh.” In Ezek 2:10 the word הֶגֶה (hegeh) elsewhere refers to a grumbling or moaning sound. Here a brief sigh or moan is probably in view. If so, the simile pictures one’s lifetime as transient. Another option is that the simile alludes to the weakness that characteristically overtakes a person at the end of one’s lifetime. In this case the phrase could be translated, “we end our lives with a painful moan.”
19. Psalm 90:10 tn Heb “the days of our years, in them [are] seventy years.”
20. Psalm 90:10 tn Heb “or if [there is] strength, eighty years.”
21. Psalm 90:10 tn Heb “and their pride [is] destruction and wickedness.” The Hebrew noun רֹהַב (rohav) occurs only here. BDB 923 s.v. assigns the meaning “pride,” deriving the noun from the verbal root רָהַב (rahav, “to act stormily [boisterously, arrogantly]”). Here the “pride” of one’s days (see v. 9) probably refers to one’s most productive years in the prime of life. The words translated “destruction and wickedness” are also paired in Ps 10:7. They also appear in proximity in Pss 7:14 and 55:10. The oppressive and abusive actions of evil men are probably in view (see Job 4:8; 5:6; 15:35; Isa 10:1; 59:4).
22. Psalm 90:10 tn or “for.”
23. Psalm 90:10 tn Heb “it passes quickly.” The subject of the verb is probably “their pride” (see the preceding line). The verb גּוּז (guz) means “to pass” here; it occurs only here and in Num 11:31.
24. Psalm 90:10 sn We fly away. The psalmist compares life to a bird that quickly flies off (see Job 20:8).
25. Psalm 90:11 tn Heb “Who knows the strength of your anger?”
26. Psalm 90:11 tc Heb “and like your fear [is] your raging fury.” Perhaps one should emend וּכְיִרְאָתְךָ (ukh^eyirʾat^ekha, “and like your fear”) to יִרְאָתְךְ (yirʾat^ekha, “your fear”), removing the כ (kaf) as dittography of the kaf ending the previous word. In this case the psalmist asserts “your fear [is] your raging fury,” that is, your raging fury is what causes others to fear you. The suffix on “fear” is understood as objective.
27. Psalm 90:12 tn Heb “to number our days,” that is, to be aware of how few they really are.
28. Psalm 90:12 tn Heb “and we will bring a heart of wisdom.” After the imperative of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates purpose/result. The Hebrew term “heart” here refers to the center of one’s thoughts, volition, and moral character.
29. Psalm 90:13 tn Heb “Return, O Lord. How long?”
30. Psalm 90:13 tn Elsewhere the Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) + the preposition עַל (ʿal) + a personal object has the nuance “be comforted concerning [the personal object’s death]” (see 2 Sam 13:39; Jer 31:15). However, here the context seems to demand “feel sorrow for,” “have pity on.” In Deut 32:36 and Ps 135:14, where “servants” is also the object of the preposition, this idea is expressed with the Hitpael form of the verb.
31. Psalm 90:14 sn Morning is used metaphorically for a time of renewed joy after affliction (see Pss 30:5; 46:5; 49:14; 59:16; 143:8).
32. Psalm 90:14 tn After the imperative (see the preceding line) the cohortatives with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose/result.
33. Psalm 90:15 tn Heb “have seen.”
34. Psalm 90:16 tn Heb “may your work be revealed to your servants.” In this context (note v. 17) the verb form יֵרָאֶה (yeraʾeh) is best understood as an unshortened jussive (see Gen 1:9; Isa 47:3).
35. Psalm 90:16 tn Heb “and your majesty to their sons.” The verb “be revealed” is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
36. Psalm 90:17 tn Heb “and may the delight of the Master, our God, be on us.” The Hebrew term נֹעַם (noʿam, “delight”) is used in Ps 27:4 of the Lord’s “beauty,” but here it seems to refer to his favor (see BDB 653 s.v.) or kindness (HALOT 706 s.v.).
37. Psalm 90:17 tn Heb “and the work of our hands establish over us, and the work of our hands, establish it.”
38. Psalm 91:1 sn Psalm 91. In this psalm an individual (perhaps a priest) addresses one who has sought shelter in the Lord and assures him that God will protect him from danger (vv. 1-13). In vv. 14-16 God himself promises to keep his loyal follower safe.
39. Psalm 91:1 tn Heb “[O] one who lives.”
40. Psalm 91:1 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
41. Psalm 91:1 sn The Lord is compared here to a bird who protects its young under the shadow of its wings (see v. 4).
42. Psalm 91:1 sn The divine name used here is “Shaddai” (שַׁדַּי, shadday; see also Ps 68:14). Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is the Sovereign God of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness.
43. Psalm 91:3 tn The word refers specifically to a fowler (or hunter of birds).
44. Psalm 91:4 tn Heb “put a cover over you” (see Ps 5:11).
45. Psalm 91:4 tc The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural should be read. The final י (yod) of the suffix, which indicates the plural, has dropped off by haplography (note the yod at the beginning of the next word).
46. Psalm 91:4 tn Traditionally the Hebrew term סֹחֵרָה (sokherah), which occurs only here in the OT, has been understood to refer to a buckler or small shield (see BDB 695 s.v.). But HALOT 750 s.v., on the basis of evidence from the cognate languages, proposes the meaning “wall.”
47. Psalm 91:5 tn This probably alludes to a sneak attack by enemies in the darkness of night (see Song 3:8).
48. Psalm 91:6 sn As in Deut 32:23-24, vv. 5-6 closely associate military attack and deadly disease. Perhaps the latter alludes to one of the effects of siege warfare on the population of an entrapped city, which was especially vulnerable to the outbreak of epidemics.
49. Psalm 91:7 tn Apparently the deadly disease mentioned in v. 6b is the understood subject here.
50. Psalm 91:8 tn Heb “retribution on the wicked.”
51. Psalm 91:10 tn Or “confront.”
52. Psalm 91:10 tn For this sense of the Hebrew term נגע see Ps 38:11.
53. Psalm 91:10 tn Heb “your tent.”
54. Psalm 91:11 tn Heb “for his angels he will command concerning you.”
55. Psalm 91:11 tn Heb “in all your ways.”
56. Psalm 91:12 tn Heb “so your foot will not strike a stone.”
57. Psalm 91:13 tn Heb “walk upon.”
58. Psalm 91:13 tn Or perhaps “cobra” (see Ps 58:4).
59. Psalm 91:14 tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the words which follow are the Lord’s oracle of assurance.
60. Psalm 91:14 tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).
61. Psalm 91:14 tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).
62. Psalm 91:16 tn Heb “length of days.”
63. Psalm 92:1 sn Psalm 92. The psalmist praises God because he defeats the wicked and vindicates his loyal followers.
64. Psalm 92:1 tn Or “good.”
65. Psalm 92:1 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
66. Psalm 92:2 tn The words “it is fitting” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Verses 1-3 are actually one long sentence in the Hebrew text, but this has been divided up into two shorter sentences in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.
67. Psalm 92:4 tn Heb “the works of your hands.”
68. Psalm 92:5 tn Heb “very deep [are] your thoughts.” God’s “thoughts” refer here to his moral design of the world, as outlined in vv. 6-15.
69. Psalm 92:6 tn Heb “the brutish man does not know, and the fool does not understand this.” The adjective בַּעַר (baʿar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 49:10; 73:22; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).
70. Psalm 92:7 tn Or “flourish.”
71. Psalm 92:7 tn Heb “in order that they might be destroyed permanently.”sn God allows the wicked to prosper temporarily so that he might reveal his justice. When the wicked are annihilated, God demonstrates that wickedness does not pay off.
72. Psalm 92:8 tn Heb “[are elevated] on high.”
73. Psalm 92:9 tn Or “for.”
74. Psalm 92:9 tn Or “for.”
75. Psalm 92:10 sn The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “to exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; Lam 2:17).
76. Psalm 92:10 tn The Hebrew verb בָּלַל (balal) usually has the nuance “to mix.” Here it seems to mean “to smear” or “to anoint.” Some emend the form to בַּלֹּתַנִי (ballotani; a second person form of the verb with a first person suffix) and read, “you anoint me.”
77. Psalm 92:11 tn Heb “my eye gazes upon my walls.” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2. The form שׁוּרָי shuray, “my walls”) should be emended to שׁוֹרְרָי (shor^eray, “my foes” or perhaps “those who rebel against me” or “those who malign me”). See HALOT 1454 s.v. שׁוֹרֵר and also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.
78. Psalm 92:11 tn Heb “those who rise up against me, evil [foes], my ears hear.”
79. Psalm 92:12 tn The singular is used in a representative sense, with the typical godly person being in view.
80. Psalm 92:12 sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size.
81. Psalm 92:14 tn Heb “they are juicy and fresh.”
82. Psalm 92:15 tn Heb “so that [they] proclaim that upright [is] the Lord, my rocky summit, and there is no injustice in him.”
83. Psalm 93:1 sn Psalm 93. The psalmist affirms that the Lord is the king of the universe who preserves order and suppresses the destructive forces in the world.
84. Psalm 93:1 sn Strength is compared here to a belt that one wears for support. The Lord’s power undergirds his rule.
85. Psalm 93:2 tn Heb “from antiquity [are] you.” As the context suggests, this refers specifically to God’s royal position, not his personal existence.
86. Psalm 93:3 tn The Hebrew noun translated “waves” often refers to rivers or streams, but here it appears to refer to the surging waves of the sea (see v. 4, Ps 24:2).
87. Psalm 93:3 tn Heb “the waves lift up, O Lord, the waves lift up their voice, the waves lift up their crashing.”
88. Psalm 93:4 tn Heb “mighty waters.”sn The surging waters here symbolizes the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy the order he has established in the world (see Pss 18:17; 29:3; 32:6; 77:20; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). But the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over these raging waters.
89. Psalm 93:4 tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”
90. Psalm 93:5 tn Traditionally “your testimonies.” The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (ʿedut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law. See Ps 19:7.
91. Psalm 93:5 sn The rules you set down. God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.
92. Psalm 93:5 sn Holiness refers here to God’s royal transcendence (see vv. 1-4), as well as his moral authority and perfection (see v. 5a).
93. Psalm 93:5 tn Heb “for your house holiness is fitting, O Lord, for length of days.”
94. Psalm 94:1 sn Psalm 94. The psalmist asks God to judge the wicked and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.
95. Psalm 94:1 tn Heb “shine forth” (see Pss 50:2; 80:1).
96. Psalm 94:3 tn Or “exult.”
97. Psalm 94:4 tn Heb “they gush forth [words].”
98. Psalm 94:4 tn The Hitpael of אָמַר (ʾamar) occurs only here (and perhaps in Isa 61:6).
99. Psalm 94:5 tn Or “your inheritance.”
100. Psalm 94:6 tn The Hebrew noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9). Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 10:14; 68:5; 82:3; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).
101. Psalm 94:7 tn Heb “does not understand.”
102. Psalm 94:8 tn Heb “understand.” The verb used in v. 7 is repeated here for rhetorical effect. The people referred to here claim God is ignorant of their actions, but the psalmist corrects their faulty viewpoint.
103. Psalm 94:8 tn Heb “[you] brutish among the people.”
104. Psalm 94:9 tn Heb “The one who plants an ear, does he not hear? The one who forms an eye, does he not see?”
105. Psalm 94:11 tn Heb “the Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are emptiness.” The psalmist thinks specifically of the “thoughts” expressed in v. 7.
106. Psalm 94:12 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in v. 2.
107. Psalm 94:13 tn Heb “to give him rest from the days of trouble.”
108. Psalm 94:13 tn Heb “until a pit is dug for the wicked.”
109. Psalm 94:14 tn Or “for.”
110. Psalm 94:14 tn Or “his inheritance.”
111. Psalm 94:15 tn Heb “for judgment will return to justice.”
112. Psalm 94:15 tn Heb “all the pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 97:11).
113. Psalm 94:15 tn Heb “and after it [are] the pure of heart.”
114. Psalm 94:16 tn Heb “for me.”
115. Psalm 94:16 sn Who will stand up for me…? The questions anticipate the answer, “No one except God” (see v. 17).
116. Psalm 94:17 tn Heb “If the Lord [were] not my help, quickly my life would have dwelt in silence.” The psalmist, perhaps speaking as the nation’s representative, recalls God’s past intervention. For other examples of conditional sentences with the term לוּלֵי (lule, “if not”) in the protasis and a perfect verbal form in the apodosis, see Pss 119:92 and 124:2-5.
117. Psalm 94:19 tn Heb “when my worries are many within me.”
118. Psalm 94:19 tn Heb “your comforts cause my soul to delight.”
119. Psalm 94:20 tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.
120. Psalm 94:20 tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.
121. Psalm 94:21 tn Or “attack.”
122. Psalm 94:21 tn Heb “the life of the blameless.”
123. Psalm 94:21 tn Heb “and the blood of the innocent they declare guilty.”
124. Psalm 94:22 tn Heb “and the Lord has become my elevated place.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive is used in a rhetorical sense, describing an anticipated development as if it were already reality.
125. Psalm 94:22 tn Heb “and my God [has become] a rocky summit of my safety.”
126. Psalm 94:23 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive is used in a rhetorical sense, describing an anticipated development as if it were already reality.
127. Psalm 94:23 tn Or “in.”
128. Psalm 95:1 sn Psalm 95. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God as the creator of the world and the nation’s protector, but he also reminds the people not to rebel against God.
129. Psalm 95:1 tn Heb “to the rocky summit of our deliverance.”
130. Psalm 95:2 tn Heb “meet his face.”
131. Psalm 95:2 tn Heb “with songs of joy.”
132. Psalm 95:3 tn Heb “above.”
133. Psalm 95:4 tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.
134. Psalm 95:6 tn Heb “kneel down.”
135. Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “of his hand.”
136. Psalm 95:7 tn Heb “if only you would listen to his voice.” The Hebrew particle אִם (ʾim, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (cf. Ps 81:8). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.
137. Psalm 95:8 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the following words are spoken by the Lord (see vv. 9-11).
138. Psalm 95:8 sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13, see also Pss 81:7; 106:32). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.
139. Psalm 95:8 sn The name Massah means “testing.” This was another name (along with Meribah) given to the place where Israel complained following the Red Sea Crossing (see Exod 17:1-7, as well as Deut 6:16; 9:22; 33:8).
140. Psalm 95:8 tn Heb “do not harden your heart[s] as [at] Meribah, as [in] the day of Massah in the wilderness.”
141. Psalm 95:9 tn Heb “where your fathers tested me.”
142. Psalm 95:10 tn The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite or an imperfect. If the latter, it emphasizes the ongoing nature of the condition in the past. The translation reflects this interpretation of the verbal form.
143. Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “a people, wanderers of heart [are] they.”
144. Psalm 95:10 tn Heb “and they do not know my ways.” In this context the Lord’s “ways” are his commands, viewed as a pathway from which his people, likened to wayward sheep (see v. 7), wander.
145. Psalm 95:11 tn Heb “my resting place.” The promised land of Canaan is here viewed metaphorically as a place of rest for God’s people, who are compared to sheep (see v. 7).