Psalm 24-26

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 24:1 sn Psalm 24. The psalmist affirms the universal kingship of the sovereign creator, reminds his people that only the morally pure are qualified to worship him, and celebrates his splendor as a mighty warrior king.
2. Psalm 24:2 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a preterite, referring to the creation of the world.
3. Psalm 24:2 sn He…established it upon the ocean currents. The description reflects ancient Israelite prescientific cosmology, which is based on outward appearances. The language also suggests that God’s creative work involved the subjugation of chaos, symbolized by the sea.
4. Psalm 24:3 tn The imperfects in v. 3 are modal, expressing potential or permission.
5. Psalm 24:3 sn In this context the Lord’s mountain probably refers to Zion/Jerusalem (see Isa 2:2-3).
6. Psalm 24:4 tn Heb “the innocent of hands and the pure of heart.” The “hands” allude to one’s actions, the “heart” to one’s thought life and motives.
7. Psalm 24:4 tn Heb “who does not lift up for emptiness my life.” The first person pronoun on נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my life”) makes little sense here; many medieval Hebrew mss support the ancient versions in reading a third person pronoun “his.” The idiom “lift the life” here means to “long for” or “desire strongly.” In this context (note the reference to an oath in the following line) “emptiness” probably refers to speech (see Ps 12:2).
8. Psalm 24:4 tn Heb “and does not swear an oath deceitfully.”
9. Psalm 24:5 tn Heb “he (the righteous individual described in v. 4) lifts up a blessing from the Lord.” The singular subject is representative here, as v. 6 makes clear. The referent (godly people like the individual in v. 4) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The imperfect verbal form is generalizing; such people are typically rewarded for their deeds.
10. Psalm 24:5 tn “and vindication from the God of his deliverance.”
11. Psalm 24:6 tn Heb “this [is the] generation of the ones seeking him, the ones seeking your face, Jacob.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 27:8; 105:4).sn This verse presents a somewhat idealized view of Jacob’s descendants as devoted worshipers of the Lord.
12. Psalm 24:7 tn Heb “lift up your heads.” The gates of the Lord’s dwelling place are here personified. The idiom “lift up the head” often means “be confident, bold” (see Judg 8:28; Job 10:15; Ps 83:2; Zech 1:21).
13. Psalm 24:7 tn Heb “lift yourselves up.”
14. Psalm 24:7 tn Or “king of glory.”
15. Psalm 24:7 tn Following the imperatives of the preceding lines, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
16. Psalm 24:8 sn Who is this majestic king? Perhaps the personified gates/doors ask this question, in response to the command given in v. 7.
17. Psalm 24:10 tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts,” a title which here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle.
18. Psalm 25:1 sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme.
19. Psalm 25:1 tn Heb “to you, O Lord, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. See Pss 86:4; 143:8.
20. Psalm 25:3 tn Heb “those who deal in treachery in vain.” The adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “in vain”) probably refers to the failure (or futility) of their efforts. Another option is to understand it as meaning “without cause” (cf. NIV “without excuse”; NRSV “wantonly treacherous”).
21. Psalm 25:4 sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.
22. Psalm 25:5 sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will.
23. Psalm 25:6 tn That is, “remember” with the intention of repeating.
24. Psalm 25:6 tn Heb “for from antiquity [are] they.”
25. Psalm 25:7 tn Heb “do not remember,” with the intention of punishing.
26. Psalm 25:7 sn That is, the sins characteristic of youths, who lack moral discretion and wisdom.
27. Psalm 25:7 tn Heb “according to your faithfulness, remember me, you, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”
28. Psalm 25:8 tn Heb “good and just.”
29. Psalm 25:8 tn Heb “teaches sinners in the way.”
30. Psalm 25:9 tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.
31. Psalm 25:9 tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (ʿanavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.
32. Psalm 25:9 tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).
33. Psalm 25:10 tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions.
34. Psalm 25:10 tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
35. Psalm 25:11 tn Heb “name.” By forgiving the sinful psalmist, the Lord’s reputation as a merciful God will be enhanced.
36. Psalm 25:11 sn Forgive my sin, because it is great. The psalmist readily admits his desperate need for forgiveness.
37. Psalm 25:12 tn Heb “Who is this man, the one who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” The singular (note “man”) is representative here (see v. 14, where the plural is used), and has thus been translated as a plural (“followers…they”).
38. Psalm 25:13 tn Heb “his life in goodness dwells.” The singular is representative (see v. 14).
39. Psalm 25:13 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
40. Psalm 25:13 tn Or “earth.”
41. Psalm 25:14 tn Heb “the advice of the Lord belongs to those who fear him.”
42. Psalm 25:14 tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.”
43. Psalm 25:15 tn Heb “my eyes continually [are] toward the Lord.”
44. Psalm 25:15 tn Heb “for he will bring out from a net my feet.” The hostility of the psalmist’s enemies is probably in view (see v. 19).
45. Psalm 25:16 tn That is, helpless and vulnerable.
46. Psalm 25:17 tc Heb “the distresses of my heart, they make wide.” The text makes little if any sense as it stands, unless this is an otherwise unattested intransitive use of the Hiphil of רָחַב (rakhav, “be wide”). It is preferable to emend the form הִרְחִיבוּ (hirkhivu; Hiphil perfect third plural “they make wide”) to הַרְחֵיב (harkhev; Hiphil imperative masculine singular “make wide”). (The final vav [ו] can be joined to the following word and taken as a conjunction.) In this case one can translate, “[in/from] the distresses of my heart, make wide [a place for me],” that is, “deliver me from the distress I am experiencing.” For the expression “make wide [a place for me],” see Ps 4:1.
47. Psalm 25:17 tn Heb “from my distresses lead me out.”
48. Psalm 25:18 tn Heb “lift up all my sins.”
49. Psalm 25:19 tn Heb “see my enemies for they are numerous, and [with] violent hatred they hate me.”
50. Psalm 25:20 tn Or “my life.”
51. Psalm 25:22 tn Or “redeem.”
52. Psalm 25:22 tn Heb “his distresses.”sn O God, rescue Israel from all their distress. It is possible that the psalmist speaks on behalf of the nation throughout this entire psalm. Another option is that v. 22 is a later addition to the psalm which applies an original individual lament to the covenant community. If so, it may reflect an exilic setting.
53. Psalm 26:1 sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.
54. Psalm 26:1 tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”
55. Psalm 26:2 tn Heb “evaluate my kidneys and my heart.” The kidneys and heart were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.
56. Psalm 26:3 tn Heb “for your faithfulness [is] before my eyes.”
57. Psalm 26:3 tn Heb “and I walk about in your loyalty.”sn The psalmist’s awareness of the Lord’s faithfulness and…loyalty toward him motivates him to remain loyal to the Lord and to maintain his moral purity.
58. Psalm 26:4 tn Heb “sit.”
59. Psalm 26:4 tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.
60. Psalm 26:4 tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”
61. Psalm 26:5 tn Heb “assembly, company.”
62. Psalm 26:5 tn Heb “sit.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.
63. Psalm 26:6 tn Heb “I wash my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The imperfect verbal emphasizes that this is his habit.
64. Psalm 26:6 tn Heb “so I can go around your altar” (probably in ritual procession). Following the imperfect of the preceding line, the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
65. Psalm 26:7 tn Heb “to cause to be heard the sound of thanksgiving.”
66. Psalm 26:7 tn The two infinitival forms (both with prefixed preposition ל, lamed) give the purpose for his appearance at the altar.
67. Psalm 26:8 tn Heb “the dwelling of your house.”
68. Psalm 26:8 tn Heb “the place of the abode of your splendor.”
69. Psalm 26:9 tn Heb “do not gather up my life with.”
70. Psalm 26:9 tn Heb “or with men of bloodshed my life.” The verb is supplied; it is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
71. Psalm 26:10 tn Heb “who [have] in their hands evil.”
72. Psalm 26:10 tn Heb “and their right hand is full of a bribe.”
73. Psalm 26:11 tn Heb “and I in my integrity walk.” The psalmist uses the imperfect verbal form to emphasize this is his practice. The construction at the beginning of the verse (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist and the sinners mentioned in vv. 9-10.
74. Psalm 26:11 tn Or “redeem me.”
75. Psalm 26:12 tn Heb “my foot stands in a level place.”