Psalm 85-87

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 85:1 sn Psalm 85. God’s people recall how he forgave their sins in the past, pray that he might now restore them to his favor, and anticipate renewed blessings.
2. Psalm 85:1 tn Heb “you turned with a turning [toward] Jacob.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (sh^evut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv). See Pss 14:7; 53:6.
3. Psalm 85:2 tn Heb “lifted up.”
4. Psalm 85:2 tn Heb “covered over.”
5. Psalm 85:3 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. See Pss 69:24; 78:49.
6. Psalm 85:4 tn Heb “break your displeasure with us.” Some prefer to emend הָפֵר (hafer, “break”) to הָסֵר (haser, “turn aside”).
7. Psalm 85:5 tn Heb “Will your anger stretch to a generation and a generation?”
8. Psalm 85:8 sn I will listen. Having asked for the Lord’s favor, the psalmist (who here represents the nation) anticipates a divine word of assurance.
9. Psalm 85:8 tn Heb “speak.” The idiom “speak peace” refers to establishing or maintaining peaceful relations with someone (see Gen 37:4; Zech 9:10; cf. Ps 122:8).
10. Psalm 85:8 tn Heb “to his people and to his faithful followers.” The translation assumes that “his people” and “his faithful followers” are viewed as identical here.
11. Psalm 85:8 tn Or “yet let them not.” After the negative particle אֵל (ʾel), the prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating the speaker’s desire or wish.
12. Psalm 85:9 tn Heb “certainly his deliverance [is] near to those who fear him.”
13. Psalm 85:9 tn Heb “to dwell, glory, in our land.” “Glory” is the subject of the infinitive. The infinitive with ל (lamed), “to dwell,” probably indicates result here (“then”). When God delivers his people and renews his relationship with them, he will once more reveal his royal splendor in the land.
14. Psalm 85:10 tn The psalmist probably uses the perfect verbal forms in v. 10 in a dramatic or rhetorical manner, describing what he anticipates as if it were already occurring or had already occurred.
15. Psalm 85:10 sn Deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss. The psalmist personifies these abstract qualities to emphasize that God’s loyal love and faithfulness will yield deliverance and peace for his people.
16. Psalm 85:11 sn The psalmist already sees undeniable signs of God’s faithfulness and expects deliverance to arrive soon.
17. Psalm 85:12 tn Heb “what is good.”
18. Psalm 85:12 tn Both “bestow” and “yield” translate the same Hebrew verb (נָתַן, natan). The repetition of the word emphasizes that agricultural prosperity is the direct result of divine blessing.
19. Psalm 85:13 tn Or “will go.”
20. Psalm 85:13 tn Or “will prepare.”
21. Psalm 85:13 tn Heb “and it prepares for a way his footsteps.” Some suggest emending וְיָשֵׂם (v^eyasem, “and prepares”) to וְשָׁלוֹם (v^eshalom, “and peace”) since “deliverance” and “peace” are closely related earlier in v. 13. This could be translated, “and peace [goes ahead, making] a pathway for his footsteps” (cf. NEB).
22. Psalm 86:1 sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.
23. Psalm 86:1 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
24. Psalm 86:2 tn Heb “my life.”
25. Psalm 86:3 tn Or “show me favor.”
26. Psalm 86:4 tn Heb “the soul of your servant.”
27. Psalm 86:4 tn Heb “I lift up my soul.”
28. Psalm 86:5 tn Or “for.”
29. Psalm 86:5 tn Heb “good.”
30. Psalm 86:8 tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”
31. Psalm 86:9 tn Or “bow down before you.”
32. Psalm 86:11 tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles he expects the psalmist to follow. See Pss 25:4; 27:11.
33. Psalm 86:11 tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The Lord’s commandments are referred to as “truth” here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will. See Ps 25:5.
34. Psalm 86:11 tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).
35. Psalm 86:12 tn Or “forever.”
36. Psalm 86:13 tn Heb “for your loyal love [is] great over me.”
37. Psalm 86:13 tn Or “for he will have delivered my life.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here.
38. Psalm 86:13 tn Or “lower Sheol.”
39. Psalm 86:14 tn Heb “rise up against me.”
40. Psalm 86:14 tn Or “assembly.”
41. Psalm 86:14 tn Heb “seek my life and do not set you before them.” See Ps 54:3.
42. Psalm 86:15 tn Heb “slow to anger.”
43. Psalm 86:15 tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”sn The psalmist’s confession of faith in this verse echoes Exod 34:6.
44. Psalm 86:16 tn Heb “the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 116:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The phrase may be used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant. Or it may be a reference to the psalmist’s own mother who also was a servant of the Lord.
45. Psalm 86:17 tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.
46. Psalm 86:17 tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.
47. Psalm 86:17 tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).
48. Psalm 87:1 sn Psalm 87. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s presence in Zion and the special status of its citizens.
49. Psalm 87:1 tn Heb “his foundation [is] in the hills of holiness.” The expression “his foundation” refers here by metonymy to the Lord’s dwelling place in Zion. The “hills” are the ones surrounding Zion (see Pss 125:2; 133:3).
50. Psalm 87:3 tn Heb “glorious things are spoken about you.” The translation assumes this is a general reference to compliments paid to Zion by those who live within her walls and by those who live in the surrounding areas and lands. Another option is that this refers to a prophetic oracle about the city’s glorious future. In this case one could translate, “wonderful things are announced concerning you.”
51. Psalm 87:4 sn “Rahab,” which means “proud one,” is used here as a title for Egypt (see Isa 30:7).
52. Psalm 87:4 tn Heb “to those who know me” (see Ps 36:10). Apparently the Lord speaks here. The verbal construction (the Hiphil of זָכַר, zakhar, “remember” followed by the preposition ל [lamed] with a substantive) is rare, but the prepositional phrase is best understood as indicating the recipient of the announcement (see Jer 4:16). Some take the preposition in the sense of “among” and translate, “among those who know me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). In this case these foreigners are viewed as the Lord’s people and the psalm is interpreted as anticipating a time when all nations will worship the Lord (see Ps 86:9) and be considered citizens of Zion.
53. Psalm 87:4 tn Heb “Look.”
54. Psalm 87:4 tn Heb “Cush.”
55. Psalm 87:4 tn Heb “and this one was born there.” The words “It is said of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification and stylistic purposes (see v. 5). Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand “there” as referring to Zion, but it seems more likely that the adverb refers to the nations just mentioned. The foreigners are identified by their native lands.
56. Psalm 87:5 tn Heb “and of Zion it is said.” Another option is to translate, “and to Zion it is said.” In collocation with the Niphal of אָמַר (ʾamar), the preposition ל (lamed) can introduce the recipient of the statement (see Josh 2:2; Jer 4:11; Hos 1:10; Zeph 3:16), carry the nuance “concerning, of” (see Num 23:23), or mean “be named” (see Isa 4:3; 62:4).
57. Psalm 87:5 tn Heb “a man and a man.” The idiom also appears in Esth 1:8. The translation assumes that the phrase refers to each of Zion’s residents, in contrast to the foreigners mentioned in v. 4. Those advocating the universalistic interpretation understand this as a reference to each of the nations, including those mentioned in v. 4.
58. Psalm 87:5 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.
59. Psalm 87:6 tn Heb “the Lord records in the writing of the nations.”
60. Psalm 87:6 tn As noted in v. 4, the translation assumes a contrast between “there” (the various foreign lands) and “in her” (Zion). In contrast to foreigners, the citizens of Zion have special status because of their birthplace (v. 5). In this case vv. 4 and 6 form a structural frame around v. 5.
61. Psalm 87:7 tc Heb “and singers, like pipers, all my springs [are] in you.” The participial form חֹלְלִים (khol^elim) appears to be from a denominative verb meaning “play the pipe,” though some derive the form from חוּל (khul, “dance”). In this case the duplicated ל (lamed) requires an emendation to מְחֹלְלִים (m^ekhol^elim, “a Polel form). The words are addressed to Zion. As it stands, the Hebrew text makes little, if any, sense. “Springs” are often taken here as a symbol of divine blessing and life”), but this reading does not relate to the preceding line in any apparent way. The present translation assumes an emendation of כָּל־מַעְיָנַי (kol maʿyanay, “all my springs”) to כֻּלָּם עָנוּ (kullam ʿanu, “all of them sing,” with the form עָנוּ being derived from עָנָה, ʿanah, “sing”).