Historical

Footnotes

1. Psalm 66:1 sn Psalm 66. The psalmist praises God because he has delivered his people from a crisis.
2. Psalm 66:2 tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
3. Psalm 66:2 tn Heb “make honorable his praise.”
4. 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).
5. 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”).
6. Psalm 66:5 tn Or “see.”
7. Psalm 66:5 tn Or “acts” (see Ps 46:8).
8. 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.”
9. Psalm 66:6 sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).
10. 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).
11. 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.).
12. Psalm 66:7 tn Heb “[the] one who rules.”
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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).
16. Psalm 66:8 tn Heb “cause the voice of his praise to be heard.”
17. Psalm 66:9 tn Heb “the one who places our soul in life.”
18. Psalm 66:10 tn Or “indeed.”
19. 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.
20. Psalm 66:11 tn Heb “you placed suffering on our hips.” The noun מוּעָקָה (muʿaqah, “suffering”) occurs only here in the OT.
21. Psalm 66:12 tc The MT reads רְוָיָה (r^evayah, “saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (r^evakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).
22. Psalm 66:13 sn Here the psalmist switches to the singular; he speaks as the representative of the nation.
23. Psalm 66:16 tn Heb “all of the fearers of God.”
24. Psalm 66:17 tn Heb “to him [with] my mouth I called.”
25. 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.
26. Psalm 66:18 tn Heb “sin if I had seen in my heart.”
27. Psalm 66:20 tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”
28. 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.
29. Psalm 66:20 tn Heb “did not turn aside my prayer, or his loyal love from with me.”
30. 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.
31. Psalm 67:1 tn Or “have mercy on us.”
32. 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.
33. Psalm 67:1 tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. Psalm 67:4 tn Or “peoples.”
37. 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”).
38. 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.
39. Psalm 67:7 tn The prefixed verb forms in vv. 6b-7a are understood as jussives.
40. 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.”
41. Psalm 68:1 sn Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.
42. Psalm 68:1 tn Or “rises up.” The verb form is an imperfect, not a jussive. The psalmist is describing God’s appearance in battle in a dramatic fashion.
43. Psalm 68:1 tn Heb “those who hate him.”
44. Psalm 68:1 sn The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action, Lord. Then your enemies will be scattered and your adversaries will run from you.”
45. Psalm 68:2 tn Heb “as smoke is scattered, you scatter [them].”
46. Psalm 68:3 tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).
47. Psalm 68:3 tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)
48. Psalm 68:4 tn Traditionally the Hebrew term עֲרָבוֹת (ʿaravot) is taken as “steppe-lands” (often rendered “deserts”), but here the form is probably a homonym meaning “clouds.” Verse 33, which depicts God as the one who “rides on the sky” strongly favors this (see as well Deut 33:26), as does the reference in v. 9 to God as the source of rain. The term עֲרָבָה (ʿaravah, “cloud”) is cognate with Akkadian urpatu/erpetu and with Ugaritic ʿrpt. The phrase rkb ʿrpt (“one who rides on the clouds”) appears in Ugaritic mythological texts as an epithet of the storm god Baal. The nonphonemic interchange of the bilabial consonants b and p is attested elsewhere in roots common to Hebrew and Ugaritic, though the phenomenon is relatively rare.
49. Psalm 68:4 tc Heb “in the Lord his name.” If the MT is retained, the preposition ב (bet) is introducing the predicate (the so-called bet of identity), “the Lord is his name.” However, some prefer to emend the text to כִּי יָהּ שְׁמוֹ (ki yah sh^emo, “for Yah is his name”). This emendation, reflected in the present translation, assumes a confusion of ב (bet) and כ (kaf) and haplography of י (yod).
50. Psalm 68:5 sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.
51. Psalm 68:5 tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.
52. Psalm 68:6 tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
53. Psalm 68:6 tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
54. Psalm 68:6 tn Or “in a parched [land].”sn God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.
55. Psalm 68:7 tn Heb “when you go out before your people.” The Hebrew idiom “go out before” is used here in a militaristic sense of leading troops into battle (see Judg 4:14; 9:39; 2 Sam 5:24).
56. Psalm 68:7 sn When you march through the wastelands. Some interpreters think that v. 7 alludes to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its subsequent travels in the wilderness. Another option is that v. 7, like v. 8, echoes Judg 5:4, which describes how the God of Sinai marched across the plains of Edom to do battle with Sisera and his Canaanite army.
57. Psalm 68:8 tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.
58. Psalm 68:8 sn The language of vv. 7-8 is reminiscent of Judg 5:4-5, which tells how the God of Sinai came in the storm and annihilated the Canaanite forces led by Sisera. The presence of allusion does not mean, however, that this is a purely historical reference. The psalmist is describing God’s typical appearance as a warrior in terms of his prior self-revelation as ancient events are reactualized in the psalmist’s experience. (For a similar literary technique, see Hab 3.)
59. Psalm 68:9 tn The verb נוּף (nuf, “cause rain to fall”) is a homonym of the more common נוּף (“brandish”).
60. Psalm 68:9 tn Heb “[on] your inheritance.” This refers to Israel as God’s specially chosen people (see Pss 28:9; 33:12; 74:2; 78:62, 71; 79:1; 94:5, 14; 106:40). Some take “your inheritance” with what follows, but the vav (ו) prefixed to the following word (note וְנִלְאָה, v^enilʾah) makes this syntactically unlikely.
61. Psalm 68:9 tn Heb “it [is],” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
62. Psalm 68:9 tn Heb “it,” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
63. Psalm 68:10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear; it appears to read, “your animals, they live in it,” but this makes little, if any, sense in this context. Some suggest that חָיָּה (khayah) is a rare homonym here, meaning “community” (BDB 312 s.v.) or “dwelling place” (HALOT 310 s.v. III *הַיָּה). In this case one may take “your community/dwelling place” as appositional to the third feminine singular pronominal suffix at the end of v. 9, the antecedent of which is “your inheritance.” The phrase יָשְׁבוּ־בָהּ (yash^evu vah, “they live in it”) may then be understood as an asyndetic relative clause modifying “your community/dwelling place.” A literal translation of vv. 9b-10a would be, “when it [your inheritance] is tired, you sustain it, your community/dwelling place in [which] they live.”
64. Psalm 68:11 tn Heb “gives a word.” Perhaps this refers to a divine royal decree or battle cry.
65. Psalm 68:11 tn Heb “the ones spreading the good news [are] a large army.” The participle translated “the ones spreading the good news” is a feminine plural form. Apparently the good news here is the announcement that enemy kings have been defeated (see v. 12).
66. Psalm 68:12 tn The verbal repetition draws attention to the statement.
67. Psalm 68:12 tn The Hebrew form appears to be the construct of נוּה (nuh, “pasture”) but the phrase “pasture of the house” makes no sense here. The translation assumes that the form is an alternative or textual variation of נאוה (“beautiful woman”). A reference to a woman would be appropriate in light of v. 11b.
68. Psalm 68:13 tn Or “if.”
69. Psalm 68:13 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “sheepfolds” is uncertain. There may be an echo of Judg 5:16 here.
70. Psalm 68:13 tn Heb “and her pinions with the yellow of gold.”sn The point of the imagery of v. 13 is not certain, though the reference to silver and gold appears to be positive. Both would be part of the loot carried away from battle (see v. 12b).
71. Psalm 68:14 tn The divine name used here is שַׁדַּי (“Shaddai”). Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king/judge of the world who grants life, blesses and kills, and judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses (protects) and takes away life and/or happiness.
72. Psalm 68:14 tn The Hebrew text adds “in it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix may refer back to God’s community/dwelling place (v. 10).
73. Psalm 68:14 tn The verb form appears to be a Hiphil jussive from שָׁלַג (shalag), which is usually understood as a denominative verb from שֶׁלֶג (sheleg, “snow”) with an indefinite subject. The form could be taken as a preterite, in which case one might translate, “when the sovereign judge scattered kings, it snowed on Zalmon” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The point of the image is unclear. Perhaps “snow” suggests fertility and blessing (see v. 9 and Isa 55:10), or the image of a snow-capped mountain suggests grandeur.sn Zalmon was apparently a mountain in the region, perhaps the one mentioned in Judg 9:46 as being in the vicinity of Shechem.
74. Psalm 68:15 sn The mountain of Bashan probably refers to Mount Hermon.
75. Psalm 68:15 tn Heb “a mountain of God.” The divine name is probably used here in a superlative sense to depict a very high mountain (“a mountain fit for God,” as it were). Cf. NIV “are majestic mountains”; NRSV “O mighty mountain.”
76. Psalm 68:15 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term, which appears only here in the OT, is uncertain. HALOT 174 s.v. גַּבְנוֹן suggests “many-peaked,” while BDB 148 s.v. גַּבְנִן suggests “rounded summit.”
77. Psalm 68:16 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb רָצַד (ratsad), translated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow 1492 s.v. רְצַד).
78. Psalm 68:16 tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a singular with enclitic mem (ם; later misinterpreted as a plural ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.
79. Psalm 68:16 tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.
80. Psalm 68:16 tn The Hebrew particle אַף (ʾaf) has an emphasizing function here.
81. Psalm 68:16 tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
82. Psalm 68:17 tn Heb “thousands of [?].” The meaning of the word שִׁנְאָן (shinʾan), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Perhaps the form should be emended to שַׁאֲנָן (shaʾanan, “at ease”) and be translated here “held in reserve.”
83. Psalm 68:17 tc The MT reads, “the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in holiness,” which is syntactically difficult. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֲדֹנָי בָּא מִסִּינַי (ʾadonay baʾ missinay; see BHS note b-b and Deut 33:2).
84. Psalm 68:18 tn Heb “to the elevated place”; or “on high.” This probably refers to the Lord’s throne on Mount Zion.
85. Psalm 68:18 tn Heb “you have taken captives captive.”
86. Psalm 68:18 tn Or “gifts.”
87. Psalm 68:18 tn Or “among.”
88. Psalm 68:18 tn Heb “so that the Lord God might live [there].” Many take the infinitive construct with ל (lamed) as indicating purpose here, but it is unclear how the offering of tribute enables the Lord to live in Zion. This may be an occurrence of the relatively rare emphatic lamed (see HALOT 510-11 s.v. II לְ, though this text is not listed as an example there). If so, the statement corresponds nicely to the final line of v. 16, which also affirms emphatically that the Lord lives in Zion.
89. Psalm 68:19 tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”
90. Psalm 68:19 tn It is possible to take this phrase with what precedes (“The Lord deserves praise day after day”) rather than with what follows.
91. Psalm 68:20 tn Heb “and to the Lord, the Lord, to death, goings out.”
92. Psalm 68:21 tn Heb “the hairy forehead of the one who walks about in his guilt.” The singular is representative.
93. Psalm 68:22 tn That is, the enemies mentioned in v. 21. Even if they retreat to distant regions, God will retrieve them and make them taste his judgment.
94. Psalm 68:23 tc Some (e.g. NRSV) prefer to emend מָחַץ (makhats, “smash; stomp”; see v. 21) to רָחַץ (rakhats, “bathe”; see Ps 58:10).
95. Psalm 68:23 tn Heb “[and] the tongue of your dogs from [the] enemies [may eat] its portion.”
96. Psalm 68:24 tn The subject is probably indefinite, referring to bystanders in general who witness the procession.
97. Psalm 68:24 tn The Hebrew text has simply “in holiness.” The words “who marches along” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
98. Psalm 68:25 tn Heb “after [are] the stringed instrument players.”
99. Psalm 68:25 sn To celebrate a military victory, women would play tambourines (see Exod 15:20; Judg 11:34; 1 Sam 18:6).
100. Psalm 68:26 tn Heb “from the fountain of Israel,” which makes little, if any, sense here. The translation assumes an emendation to בְּמִקְרָאֵי (b^emiqraʾe, “in the assemblies of [Israel]”).
101. Psalm 68:27 sn Little Benjamin, their ruler. This may allude to the fact that Israel’s first king, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin.
102. Psalm 68:27 tc The MT reads רִגְמָתָם (rigmatam), which many derive from רָגַם (ragam, “to kill by stoning”) and translates, “[in] their heaps,” that is, in large numbers. One Hebrew ms and Jerome’s iuxta Hebraeos (“in purpura sua”) support “robes.”
103. Psalm 68:28 tn Heb “God has commanded your strength.” The statement is apparently addressed to Israel (see v. 26).
104. Psalm 68:29 tn Heb “Be strong, O God, [you] who have acted for us, from your temple in Jerusalem.”
105. Psalm 68:30 tn The Hebrew verb גָּעַר (gaʿar) is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts such as Ps 68 this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Ps 106:9 and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
106. Psalm 68:30 sn The wild beast of the reeds probably refers to a hippopotamus, which in turn symbolizes the nation of Egypt.
107. Psalm 68:30 tn Heb “an assembly of bulls, with calves of the nations.”
108. Psalm 68:30 tn Heb “humbling himself.” The verb form is a Hitpael participle from the root רָפַס (rafas, “to trample”). The Hitpael of this verb appears only here and in Prov 6:3, where it seems to mean, “humble oneself,” a nuance that fits nicely in this context. The apparent subject is “wild beast” or “assembly,” though both of these nouns are grammatically feminine, while the participle is a masculine form. Perhaps one should emend the participial form to a masculine plural (מִתְרַפִּם, mitrappim) and understand “bulls” or “calves” as the subject.
109. Psalm 68:30 tc Heb “with pieces [?] of silver.” The meaning of the Hebrew term רַצֵּי (ratse) is unclear. It is probably best to emend the text to בֶּצֶר וְכָסֶף (betser v^ekhasef, “[with] gold and silver”).
110. Psalm 68:30 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
111. Psalm 68:30 tn The verb בָּזַר (bazar) is an alternative form of פָּזַר (pazar, “scatter”).
112. Psalm 68:31 tn This noun, which occurs only here in the OT, apparently means “red cloth” or “bronze articles” (see HALOT 362 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NEB “tribute”). Traditionally the word has been taken to refer to “nobles” (see BDB 365 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NIV “envoys”). Another option would be to emend the text to הַשְׁמַנִּים (hashmannim, “the robust ones,” i.e., leaders).
113. Psalm 68:31 tn Heb “Cush.”
114. Psalm 68:31 tn Heb “causes its hands to run,” which must mean “quickly stretches out its hands” (to present tribute).
115. Psalm 68:33 tc Heb “to the one who rides through the skies of skies of ancient times.” If the MT is retained, one might translate, “to the one who rides through the ancient skies.” (שְׁמֵי [sh^eme, “skies of”] may be accidentally repeated.) The present translation assumes an emendation to בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִקֶּדֶם (bashamayim miqqedem, “[to the one who rides] through the sky from ancient times”), that is, God has been revealing his power through the storm since ancient times.
116. Psalm 68:33 tn Heb “he gives his voice, a strong voice.” In this context God’s “voice” is the thunder that accompanies the rain (see vv. 8-9, as well as Deut 33:26).
117. Psalm 68:34 tn Heb “give strength to God.”
118. Psalm 68:34 sn The language of v. 34 echoes that of Deut 33:26.
119. Psalm 68:35 tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).
120. Psalm 68:35 tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”
121. Psalm 68:35 tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”
122. Psalm 69:1 sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.
123. Psalm 69:1 tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.
124. 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.
125. Psalm 69:2 tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”
126. Psalm 69:2 tn Heb “have entered.”
127. Psalm 69:3 tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; inflamed.”
128. 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.
129. 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).
130. 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”).
131. 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.
132. Psalm 69:5 tn Heb “you know my foolishness.”
133. 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.
134. Psalm 69:6 tn Heb “O Lord Yahweh of hosts.” Both titles draw attention to God’s sovereign position.
135. Psalm 69:7 tn Heb “carry, bear.”
136. Psalm 69:7 tn Heb “on account of you.”
137. Psalm 69:7 tn Heb “and shame covers my face.”
138. Psalm 69:8 tn Heb “and I am estranged to my brothers, and a foreigner to the sons of my mother.”
139. Psalm 69:9 tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.
140. Psalm 69:9 tn Or “devotion to.”
141. Psalm 69:9 sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.
142. 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.
143. 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.
144. Psalm 69:10 tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”
145. Psalm 69:11 tn Heb “and I am an object of ridicule to them.”
146. Psalm 69:12 tn Heb “the mocking songs of the drinkers of beer.”
147. Psalm 69:13 tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O Lord, [in] a time of favor.”
148. Psalm 69:13 tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”
149. Psalm 69:14 tn Heb “let me be delivered.”
150. Psalm 69:15 tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).
151. Psalm 69:15 tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”
152. Psalm 69:16 tn Or “pleasant”; or “desirable.”
153. 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).
154. Psalm 69:17 tn Or “quickly.”
155. 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).
156. Psalm 69:19 tn Heb “before you [are] all my enemies.”
157. Psalm 69:20 tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.
158. 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 (vaʾeʾan^eshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.
159. Psalm 69:20 tn Heb “wait.”
160. 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.
161. Psalm 69:21 tn According to BDB 912 s.v. II רֹאשׁ the term can mean “a bitter and poisonous plant.”
162. 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.
163. 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 (ul^eshillumim, “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).
164. Psalm 69:23 tn Heb “may their eyes be darkened from seeing.”
165. Psalm 69:23 tn Heb “make their hips shake continually.”
166. Psalm 69:24 tn Heb “anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger.
167. 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.
168. 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.
169. Psalm 69:26 tn Or “persecute”; Heb “chase.”
170. Psalm 69:26 tn Heb “for you, the one whom you strike, they chase.”
171. 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.
172. Psalm 69:27 tn Heb “place sin upon their sin.”
173. Psalm 69:27 tn Heb “let them not come into your vindication.”
174. 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.
175. 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.
176. Psalm 69:29 tn Heb “your deliverance, O God, may it protect me.”
177. Psalm 69:30 tn Heb “I will praise the name of God with a song.”
178. Psalm 69:30 tn Heb “I will magnify him with thanks.”
179. 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).
180. Psalm 69:32 tn Heb “may your heart[s] live.” See Ps 22:26.
181. Psalm 69:33 tn Heb “his prisoners he does not despise.”
182. Psalm 69:35 tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
183. 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.
184. 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.
185. 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.