Footnotes

1. Psalm 103:1 sn Psalm 103. The psalmist praises God for his mercy and willingness to forgive his people.
2. Psalm 103:1 tn The verb “praise” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).
3. Psalm 103:2 tn Or “his benefits” (see 2 Chr 32:25, where the noun is also used of kind deeds performed by the Lord).
4. Psalm 103:3 tn This relatively rare noun refers to deadly diseases (see Deut 29:22; Jer 14:18; 16:4; 2 Chr 21:19).
5. Psalm 103:4 tn Or “redeems.”
6. Psalm 103:4 tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24 HT [55:23 ET]).
7. Psalm 103:5 tc Heb “who satisfies with the good of your ornaments.” The text as it stands makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes an emendation of עֶדְיֵךְ (ʿedyekh, “your ornaments”) to עֹדֵכִי (ʿodekhi, “your duration; your continuance”), that is, “your life” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 18).
8. Psalm 103:5 sn The expression your youth is renewed like an eagle’s may allude to the phenomenon of molting, whereby the eagle grows new feathers.
9. Psalm 103:6 tn Heb “the Lord does fairness, and [acts of] justice for all the oppressed.”
10. Psalm 103:7 tn Heb “made known his ways.” God’s “ways” in this context are his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 18:30; 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 138:5; 145:17).
11. Psalm 103:8 tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15).
12. Psalm 103:8 tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).
13. Psalm 103:9 tn The Hebrew verb נָטַר (natar) is usually taken to mean “to keep; to guard,” with “anger” being understood by ellipsis. The idiom “to guard anger” is then understood to mean “to remain angry” (see Lev 19:18; Jer 3:5, 12; Nah 1:2). However, it is possible that this is a homonymic root meaning “to be angry” (see HALOT 695 s.v. נטר).
14. Psalm 103:10 tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”
15. Psalm 103:10 tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”
16. Psalm 103:11 tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.
17. Psalm 103:11 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
18. Psalm 103:12 tn Heb “sunrise.”
19. Psalm 103:12 tn Or “sunset.”
20. Psalm 103:12 tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (peshaʿ, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.
21. Psalm 103:13 tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.
22. Psalm 103:13 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
23. Psalm 103:14 tn Heb “our form.”
24. Psalm 103:14 tn Heb “remembers.”
25. Psalm 103:14 tn Heb “we [are] clay.”
26. Psalm 103:15 tn Heb “[as for] mankind, like grass [are] his days.” The Hebrew noun אֱנוֹשׁ (ʾenosh) is used here generically of human beings. What is said is true of all mankind.
27. Psalm 103:16 tn Heb “[the] wind.” The word “hot” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
28. Psalm 103:17 tn Heb “but the loyal love of the Lord [is] from everlasting to everlasting over those who fear him.”
29. Psalm 103:17 tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”
30. Psalm 103:18 tn Heb “to those who remember his precepts to do them.”
31. Psalm 103:19 tn Heb “his kingdom rules over all.”
32. Psalm 103:20 tn Heb “[you] mighty ones of strength, doers of his word, by listening to the voice of his word.”
33. Psalm 103:21 tn Heb “all his hosts.”
34. Psalm 103:21 tn Heb “his attendants, doers of his desire.”
35. Psalm 103:22 tn Heb “all his works,” which includes mankind.
36. Psalm 103:22 tn Heb “places.”
37. Psalm 104:1 sn Psalm 104. The psalmist praises God as the ruler of the world who sustains all life.
38. Psalm 104:1 tn Heb “very great.”
39. Psalm 104:3 tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.
40. Psalm 104:3 sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.
41. Psalm 104:4 tc Heb “and his attendants a flaming fire.” The lack of agreement between the singular “fire” and plural “attendants” has prompted various emendations. Some read “fire and flame.” The present translation assumes an emendation from מְשָׁרְתָיו (m^eshar^etayv, “his attendants”) to מְשָׁרְתוֹ (m^eshar^eto, “his attendant”), a reading supported by one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q⁹³.sn In Ugaritic mythology Yam’s messengers appear as flaming fire before the assembly of the gods. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 42.
42. Psalm 104:6 tc Heb “you covered it.” The masculine suffix is problematic if the grammatically feminine noun “earth” is the antecedent. For this reason some emend the form from כִּסִּיתוֹ (kissito) to a feminine verb with feminine suffix, כִּסַּתָּה (kissattah, “[the watery deep] covered it [i.e., the earth]”), a reading assumed by the present translation.
43. Psalm 104:6 tn Heb “stood.”
44. Psalm 104:6 sn Verse 6 refers to the condition described in Gen 1:2 (note the use of the Hebrew term תְּהוֹם [t^ehom, “watery deep”] in both texts).
45. Psalm 104:8 tn Heb “from your shout they fled, from the sound of your thunder they hurried off.”sn Verses 7-8 poetically depict Gen 1:9-10.
46. Psalm 104:9 tn Heb “a boundary you set up, they will not cross, they will not return to cover the earth.”
47. Psalm 104:10 tn Heb “[the] one who sends springs into streams.” Another option is to translate, “he sends streams [i.e., streams that originate from springs] into the valleys” (cf. NIV).
48. Psalm 104:12 tn Heb “among the thick foliage they give a sound.”
49. Psalm 104:13 tn Heb “from his upper rooms.”
50. Psalm 104:13 tn Heb “from the fruit of your works the earth is full.” The translation assumes that “fruit” is literal here. If “fruit” is understood more abstractly as “product; result,” then one could translate, “the earth flourishes as a result of your deeds” (cf. NIV, NRSV, REB).
51. Psalm 104:14 tn Heb “causes the grass to sprout up.”
52. Psalm 104:14 tn Heb “for the service of man” (see Gen 2:5).
53. Psalm 104:14 tn Heb “to cause food to come out from the earth.”
54. Psalm 104:15 tn Heb “and wine [that] makes the heart of man happy.”
55. Psalm 104:15 tn Heb “to make [the] face shine from oil.” The Hebrew verb צָהַל (tsahal, “to shine”) occurs only here in the OT. It appears to be an alternate form of צָהַר (tsahar), a derivative from צָהָרִים (tsaharim, “noon”).
56. Psalm 104:15 tn Heb “and food [that] sustains the heart of man.”
57. Psalm 104:16 sn The trees of the Lord are the cedars of Lebanon (see the next line), which are viewed as special because of their great size and grandeur. The Lebanon forest was viewed elsewhere in the OT as the “garden of God” (see Ezek 31:8).
58. Psalm 104:16 tn Heb “are satisfied,” which means here that they receive abundant rain (see v. 13).
59. Psalm 104:17 tn Heb “[the] heron [in the] evergreens [is] its home.”sn The cedars and evergreens of the Lebanon forest are frequently associated (see, for example, 2 Chr 2:8; Isa 14:8; 37:24; Ezek 31:8).
60. Psalm 104:18 tn Heb “the high mountains [are] for the goats.”
61. Psalm 104:19 tn Heb “he made [the] moon for appointed times.” The phrase “appointed times” probably refers to the months of the Hebrew lunar calendar.
62. Psalm 104:19 tn Heb more metaphorically, “knows its setting.”
63. Psalm 104:20 tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”
64. Psalm 104:21 sn The lions’ roaring is viewed as a request for food from God.
65. Psalm 104:22 tn Heb “lie down.”
66. Psalm 104:23 tn Heb “man goes out to his work, and to his labor until evening.”
67. Psalm 104:24 tn Heb “How many [are] your works, O Lord.” In this case the Lord’s “works” are the creatures he has made, as the preceding and following contexts make clear.
68. Psalm 104:24 tn Heb “all of them with wisdom you have made.”
69. Psalm 104:25 tn Heb “this [is] the sea, great and broad of hands [i.e., “sides” or “shores”].”
70. Psalm 104:25 tn Heb “where [there are] swimming things, and without number.”
71. Psalm 104:26 tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.
72. Psalm 104:27 tn Heb “All of them.” The pronoun “them” refers not just to the sea creatures mentioned in vv. 25-26, but to all living things (see v. 24). This has been specified in the translation as “all of your creatures” for clarity.
73. Psalm 104:27 tn Heb “to give their food in its time.”
74. Psalm 104:28 tn Heb “they are satisfied [with] good.”
75. Psalm 104:29 tn Heb “you hide your face, they are terrified.”
76. Psalm 104:31 tn Heb “be forever.”
77. Psalm 104:31 tn Or “rejoice in his works.”
78. Psalm 104:33 tn Heb “in my duration.”
79. Psalm 104:34 tn That is, the psalmist’s thoughts as expressed in his songs of praise.
80. Psalm 104:35 tn Or “be destroyed.”
81. Psalm 105:1 sn Psalm 105. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God because he delivered his people from Egypt in fulfillment of his covenantal promises to Abraham. A parallel version of vv. 1-15 appears in 1 Chr 16:8-22.
82. Psalm 105:5 tn Heb “and the judgments of his mouth.”
83. Psalm 105:6 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
84. Psalm 105:6 tc Some mss have “Israel,” which appears in the parallel version of this psalm in 1 Chr 16:13.
85. Psalm 105:6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
86. Psalm 105:6 tn Heb “sons.”
87. Psalm 105:6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
88. Psalm 105:7 tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”
89. Psalm 105:8 tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.
90. Psalm 105:9 tn Heb “which.”
91. Psalm 105:10 tn Or “eternal covenant.”
92. Psalm 105:13 tn Heb “and from a kingdom to another nation.”
93. Psalm 105:15 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
94. Psalm 105:15 tn Heb “anointed.”
95. Psalm 105:16 tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).
96. Psalm 105:17 tn After the reference to the famine in v. 16, v. 17 flashes back to events that preceded the famine (see Gen 37).
97. Psalm 105:18 tn Heb “they afflicted his feet with shackles.”
98. Psalm 105:18 tn Heb “his neck came [into] iron.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with the suffix could mean simply “he” or “his life.” But the nuance “neck” makes good sense here (note the reference to his “feet” in the preceding line). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 38.
99. Psalm 105:19 tn Heb “word,” probably referring to Joseph’s prediction about the fate of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (see Gen 41:9-14).
100. Psalm 105:19 tn This line may refer to Joseph’s prediction of the famine in response to Pharaoh’s dream. Joseph emphasized to Pharaoh that the interpretation of the dream came from God (see Gen 41:16, 25, 28, 32, 39).
101. Psalm 105:19 tn Heb “refined him.”
102. Psalm 105:20 tn Heb “[the] king sent and set him free.”
103. Psalm 105:21 tn Heb “he made him master of his house.”
104. Psalm 105:22 tn Heb “to bind his officials by his will.”
105. Psalm 105:22 tn Heb “and his elders he taught wisdom.”
106. Psalm 105:23 tn Heb “entered.”
107. Psalm 105:23 tn Heb “lived as a resident foreigner.”
108. Psalm 105:24 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
109. Psalm 105:24 tn Heb “him,” referring to “his people.”
110. Psalm 105:24 tn Heb “his,” referring to “his people.”
111. Psalm 105:25 tn Heb “their heart.”
112. Psalm 105:25 tn Or “to deal deceptively.” The Hitpael of נָכַל (nakhal) occurs only here and in Gen 37:18, where it is used of Joseph’s brothers “plotting” to kill him.
113. Psalm 105:27 tn Apparently the pronoun refers to “his servants” (i.e., the Israelites, see v. 25).
114. Psalm 105:28 tn Heb “he sent darkness and made it dark.”sn He made it dark. The psalmist begins with the ninth plague (see Exod 10:21-29).
115. Psalm 105:28 tn Heb “they did not rebel against his words.” Apparently this refers to Moses and Aaron, who obediently carried out God’s orders.
116. Psalm 105:31 tn Heb “he spoke and flies came.”
117. Psalm 105:32 tn Heb “he gave their rains hail.”
118. Psalm 105:32 tn Heb “fire of flames [was] in their land.”
119. Psalm 105:34 tn Heb “he spoke and locusts came.”
120. Psalm 105:35 tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”
121. Psalm 105:36 tn Heb “the beginning of all their strength,” that is, reproductive power (see Ps 78:51).sn Verses 28-36 recall the plagues in a different order than the one presented in Exodus: v. 28 (plague 9), v. 29 (plague 1), v. 30 (plague 2), v. 31a (plague 4), v. 31b (plague 3), vv. 32-33 (plague 7), vv. 34-35 (plague 8), v. 36 (plague 10). No reference is made in Ps 105 to plagues 5 and 6.
122. Psalm 105:37 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Lord’s people) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
123. Psalm 105:37 tn The word “enriched” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
124. Psalm 105:38 tn Heb “for fear of them had fallen upon them.”
125. Psalm 105:39 tn Or “curtain.”
126. Psalm 105:40 tn Heb “he [i.e., his people] asked.” The singular form should probably be emended to a plural שָׁאֲלוּ (shaʾalu, “they asked”), the ו (vav) having fallen off by haplography (note the vav at the beginning of the following form).
127. Psalm 105:40 tn Or “bread of heaven.” The reference is to manna (see Exod 16:4, 13-15).
128. Psalm 105:42 tn Or “for.”
129. Psalm 105:42 tn Heb “his holy word.”
130. Psalm 105:43 tn Heb “and he led his people out with joy, with a ringing cry, his chosen ones.”
131. Psalm 105:44 tn Heb “and the [product of the] work of peoples they possessed.”
132. Psalm 105:45 tn Heb “guard.”
133. Psalm 106:1 sn Psalm 106. The psalmist recalls Israel’s long history of rebellion against God, despite his mighty saving deeds on their behalf.
134. Psalm 106:1 tn Heb “for forever [is] his loyal love.”
135. Psalm 106:2 tn Heb “[or] cause to be heard all his praise.”
136. Psalm 106:5 tn Heb “good.”
137. Psalm 106:5 tn Heb “in order that [I may] rejoice with the rejoicing of your nation.”
138. Psalm 106:5 tn Heb “with your inheritance.”
139. Psalm 106:6 tn Heb “with.”
140. Psalm 106:6 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 7).
141. Psalm 106:7 tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in vv. 9, 22). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.sn They rebelled. The psalmist recalls the people’s complaint recorded in Exod 14:12.
142. Psalm 106:8 tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
143. Psalm 106:9 tn Or “rebuked.”
144. Psalm 106:10 tn Heb “hand.”
145. Psalm 106:10 tn Or “redeemed.”
146. Psalm 106:10 tn Heb “hand.”
147. Psalm 106:11 tn Heb “remained.”
148. Psalm 106:12 tn Heb “his words.”
149. Psalm 106:13 tn Heb “his works.”
150. Psalm 106:13 tn Heb “his counsel.”
151. Psalm 106:14 sn They had an insatiable craving. This is described in Num 11:4-35.
152. Psalm 106:14 tn Heb “they craved [with] a craving.”
153. Psalm 106:14 tn Heb “they tested God.”
154. Psalm 106:15 tn Heb “and he sent leanness into their being.”sn Disease. See Num 11:33-34, where this plague is described.
155. Psalm 106:16 tn Or “envied.”
156. Psalm 106:16 tn Heb “the holy one of the Lord.”
157. Psalm 106:17 tn Or “covered.”
158. Psalm 106:17 tn Or “the assembly of Abiram.”
159. Psalm 106:18 sn Verses 16-18 describe the events of Num 16:1-40.
160. Psalm 106:20 tn Heb “their glory.” According to an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition, the text originally read “his glory” or “my glory.” In Jer 2:11 the Lord states that his people (Israel) exchanged “their glory” (a reference to the Lord) for worthless idols.
161. Psalm 106:21 tn Heb “forgot.”
162. Psalm 106:22 tn Or “awe-inspiring acts.”
163. Psalm 106:23 tn Heb “and he said.”
164. Psalm 106:23 tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”
165. Psalm 106:23 tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”
166. Psalm 106:23 tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”sn Verses 19-23 describe the events of Exod 32:1-35.
167. Psalm 106:24 tn Heb “a land of delight” (see also Jer 3:19; Zech 7:14).
168. Psalm 106:24 tn Heb “his word.”
169. Psalm 106:25 sn They grumbled in their tents. See Deut 1:27.
170. Psalm 106:25 tn Heb “did not listen to the voice of.”
171. Psalm 106:26 tn Heb “and he lifted his hand to [or “concerning”] them.” The idiom “to lift a hand” here refers to swearing an oath. One would sometimes solemnly lift one’s hand when making such a vow (see Ezek 20:5-6, 15).
172. Psalm 106:26 tn Heb “to cause them to fall.”
173. Psalm 106:27 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
174. Psalm 106:27 tn Heb “and to cause their offspring to fall.” Some emend the verb to “scatter” to form tighter parallelism with the following line (cf. NRSV “disperse”).
175. Psalm 106:27 tn Heb “among the lands.” The word “foreign” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
176. Psalm 106:28 tn Heb “joined themselves to.”sn They worshiped Baal of Peor. See Num 25:3, 5. Baal of Peor was a local manifestation of the Canaanite deity Baal located at Peor.
177. Psalm 106:28 tn Here “the dead” may refer to deceased ancestors (see Deut 26:14). Another option is to understand the term as a derogatory reference to the various deities which the Israelites worshiped at Peor along with Baal (see Num 25:2 and L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 49).
178. Psalm 106:29 tn Heb “They made angry [him].” The pronominal suffix is omitted here, but does appear in a few medieval Hebrew mss. Perhaps it was accidentally left off, an original וַיַּכְעִיסוּהוּ (vayyakhʿisuhu) being misread as וַיַּכְעִיסוּ (vayyakhʿisu). In the translation the referent of the pronominal suffix (the Lord) has been specified for clarity to avoid confusion with Baal of Peor (mentioned in the previous verse).
179. Psalm 106:30 sn The intervention of Phinehas is recounted in Num 25:7-8.
180. Psalm 106:31 tn Heb “and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to a generation and a generation forever.” The verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to reckon”) is collocated with צְדָקָה (ts^edaqah, “righteousness”) only in Ps 106:31 and Gen 15:6, where God credits Abram’s faith as righteousness.
181. Psalm 106:32 tn Heb “there was harm to Moses.”
182. Psalm 106:33 tn The Hebrew text vocalizes the form as הִמְרוּ (himru), a Hiphil from מָרָה (marah, “to behave rebelliously”), but the verb fits better with the object (“his spirit”) if it is revocalized as הֵמֵרוּ (hemeru), a Hiphil from מָרַר (marar, “to be bitter”). The Israelites “embittered” Moses’ “spirit” in the sense that they aroused his temper with their complaints.
183. Psalm 106:33 tn Heb “his spirit.”
184. Psalm 106:33 tn The Hebrew text adds “with his lips,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.sn Verses 32-33 allude to the events of Num 20:1-13.
185. Psalm 106:34 tn That is, the nations of Canaan.
186. Psalm 106:35 tn Heb “their deeds.”
187. Psalm 106:36 tn Or “served.”
188. Psalm 106:36 sn Became a snare. See Exod 23:33; Judg 2:3.
189. Psalm 106:37 tn The Hebrew term שֵׁדִים (shedim, “demons”) occurs only here and in Deut 32:17. Some type of lesser deity is probably in view.
190. Psalm 106:38 sn Num 35:33-34 explains that bloodshed defiles a land.
191. Psalm 106:39 tn Heb “and they committed adultery in their actions.” This means that they were unfaithful to the Lord (see Ps 73:27).
192. Psalm 106:40 tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against his people.”
193. Psalm 106:40 tn Heb “his inheritance.”
194. Psalm 106:41 tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”
195. Psalm 106:42 tn Heb “they were subdued under their hand.”
196. Psalm 106:43 tn The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“he would deliver”).
197. Psalm 106:43 tn Heb “but they rebelled in their counsel.” The prefixed verbal form is either preterite or imperfect, in which case it is customary, describing repeated action in past time (“they would have a rebellious attitude”).
198. Psalm 106:43 tn Heb “they sank down.” The Hebrew verb מָכַךְ (makhakh, “to lower; to sink”) occurs only here in the Qal.
199. Psalm 106:45 tn The Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) refers here to God relenting from a punishment already underway.
200. Psalm 106:46 tn Or “captors.”
201. Psalm 106:47 tn Heb “to give thanks.” The infinitive construct indicates result after the imperative.
202. Psalm 106:47 tn Heb “to boast in your praise.”
203. Psalm 106:48 tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.
204. Psalm 106:48 tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.”
205. Psalm 106:48 tn Heb “surely” (אָמֵן,ʾamen), traditionally transliterated “amen.”
206. Psalm 106:48 sn The final verse (v. 48) is a conclusion to this fourth “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the first, second and third “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 41:13; 72:18-19; 89:52, respectively).
207. Psalm 107:1 sn Psalm 107. The psalmist praises God for his kindness to his exiled people.
208. Psalm 107:1 tn Heb “for forever [is] his loyal love.”
209. Psalm 107:2 tn Or “let the redeemed of the Lord say [so].”
210. Psalm 107:2 tn Or “redeemed.”
211. Psalm 107:2 tn Heb “hand.”
212. Psalm 107:3 tn Heb “from lands.” The word “foreign” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
213. Psalm 107:4 tc The MT divides the verse so the line ends “on a wasteland of a road.” The LXX divides the line before “road” as in the translation.
214. Psalm 107:5 tn Heb “and their soul in them fainted.”
215. Psalm 107:7 sn A level road. See Jer 31:9.
216. Psalm 107:8 tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.”
217. Psalm 107:9 tn Heb “[the] longing throat.” The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), which frequently refers to one’s very being or soul, here probably refers to one’s parched “throat” (note the parallelism with נֶפֶשׁ רְעֵבָה, nefesh r^eʿevah, “hungry throat”).
218. Psalm 107:9 tn Heb “and [the] hungry throat he has filled [with] good.”
219. Psalm 107:10 tn Heb “those who sat in darkness and deep darkness.” Synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of “darkness” experienced by the exiles. The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet, “deep darkness”) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל + מָוֶת [tsel + mavet]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת; cf. NASB). Other authorities prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צלם) meaning “darkness.” An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. In Ps 107:10 the word refers metonymically to a dungeon, which in turn metaphorically depicts the place of Israel’s exile (see vv. 2-3).
220. Psalm 107:10 tn Heb “those bound in suffering and iron.” “Suffering and iron” is a hendiadys (like English “good and angry”), where both words contribute to one idea. In this case the first word characterizes the second; the iron (chains) contribute to the prisoners’ pain and suffering.
221. Psalm 107:11 tn Heb “the words of God.”
222. Psalm 107:11 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.
223. Psalm 107:12 tn Heb “and he subdued with suffering their heart.”
224. Psalm 107:14 tn Heb “darkness and deep darkness.” See the note on the word “darkness” in v. 10.
225. Psalm 107:15 tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.
226. Psalm 107:16 sn The language of v. 16 recalls Isa 45:2.
227. Psalm 107:17 tn Heb “fools [they were] because of the way of their rebellion.”
228. Psalm 107:18 tn Heb “all food their appetite loathed.”
229. Psalm 107:20 tn Heb “he sent his word.” This probably refers to an oracle of assurance which announced his intention to intervene (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 59).
230. Psalm 107:20 tn Heb “he rescued from their traps.” The Hebrew word שְׁחִית (sh^ekhit, “trap”) occurs only here and in Lam 4:20, where it refers to a trap or pit in which one is captured. Because of the rarity of the term and the absence of an object with the verb “rescued,” some prefer to emend the text of Ps 107:20, reading מִשַּׁחַת חַיָּתָם (mishakhat khayyatam, “[he rescued] their lives from the pit”). Note also NIV “from the grave,” which interprets the “pit” as Sheol or the grave.
231. Psalm 107:21 tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.
232. Psalm 107:22 tn Heb “and let them proclaim his works with a ringing cry.”
233. Psalm 107:23 sn Verses 23-30, which depict the Lord rescuing sailors from a storm at sea, do not seem to describe the exiles’ situation, unless the word picture is metaphorical. Perhaps the psalmist here broadens his scope and offers an example of God’s kindness to the needy beyond the covenant community.
234. Psalm 107:23 tn Heb “those going down [into].”
235. Psalm 107:23 tn Heb “doers of work on the mighty waters.”
236. Psalm 107:25 tn Heb “he spoke and caused to stand a stormy wind.”
237. Psalm 107:25 tn Heb “and it stirred up its [i.e., the sea’s, see v. 23] waves.”
238. Psalm 107:26 tn That is, the waves (see v. 25).
239. Psalm 107:26 tn Heb “their being”; traditionally “their soul” (referring to that of the sailors). This is sometimes translated “courage” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
240. Psalm 107:26 tn Or “melted.”
241. Psalm 107:26 tn Heb “from danger.”
242. Psalm 107:27 tn Only here does the Hebrew verb חָגַג (khagag; normally meaning “to celebrate”) carry the nuance “to sway.”
243. Psalm 107:27 tn The Hitpael of בָּלַע (balaʿ) occurs only here in the OT. Traditionally the form is derived from the verbal root בלע (“to swallow”), but HALOT 135 s.v. III בלע understands a homonym here with the meaning “to be confused.”
244. Psalm 107:29 tn Heb “he raised [the] storm to calm.”
245. Psalm 107:29 tn Heb “their waves.” The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not readily apparent, unless it refers back to “waters” in v. 23.
246. Psalm 107:30 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the sailors) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
247. Psalm 107:30 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the waves) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
248. Psalm 107:30 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT.
249. Psalm 107:31 tn Heb “and [for] his amazing deeds for the sons of man.” See v. 8.
250. Psalm 107:32 tn Heb “in the seat of the elders.”
251. Psalm 107:33 tn The verbal form appears to be a preterite, which is most naturally taken as narrational. (The use of prefixed forms with vav [ו] consecutive in vv. 36-37 favor this.) The psalmist may return to the theme of God’s intervention for the exiles (see vv. 4-22, especially vv. 4-9). However, many regard vv. 33-41 as a hymnic description which generalizes about God’s activities among men. In this case it would be preferable to use the English present tense throughout (cf. NEB, NRSV).
252. Psalm 107:34 tn Heb “a salty land.”
253. Psalm 107:35 tn The words “As for his people” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. The psalmist contrasts God’s judgment on his enemies with his blessing of his people. See the note on the word “enemies” in v. 39 for further discussion.
254. Psalm 107:35 tn The verbal form appears to be a preterite, which is most naturally taken as narrational. See the note on the word “turned” in v. 33.
255. Psalm 107:37 tn Heb “sowed seed in.”
256. Psalm 107:37 tn Heb “fruit [as] produce.”
257. Psalm 107:38 tn “Bless” here carries the nuance “endue with sexual potency, make fertile.” See Gen 1:28, where the statement “he blessed them” directly precedes the command “be fruitful and populate the earth” (see also 1:22). The verb “bless” carries this same nuance in Gen 17:16 (where God’s blessing of Sarai imparts to her the capacity to bear a child); 48:16 (where God’s blessing of Joseph’s sons is closely associated with their having numerous descendants); and Deut 7:13 (where God’s blessing is associated with fertility in general, including numerous descendants). See also Gen 49:25 (where Jacob uses the noun derivative in referring to “blessings of the breast and womb,” an obvious reference to fertility) and Gen 27:27 (where the verb is used of a field to which God has given the capacity to produce vegetation).
258. Psalm 107:38 tn The verbal form in this line appears to be an imperfect, which may be taken as customary (drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame) or as generalizing (in which case one should use the English present tense, understanding a move from narrative to present reality).
259. Psalm 107:39 tn The words “As for their enemies” are not included in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Without such clarification, one might think that v. 39 refers to those just mentioned in v. 38 as objects of divine blessing, which would contradict the point just emphasized by the psalmist. The structure of vv. 33-42 is paneled (A-B-A-B). In vv. 33-34 the psalmist describes God’s judgment upon his enemies (perhaps those who had enslaved his people). In vv. 35-38 he contrasts this judgment with the divine blessing poured out on God’s people. (See the note on the word “people” in v. 35.) In vv. 39-40 he contrasts this blessing with the judgment experienced by enemies, before returning in vv. 41-42 to the blessing experienced by God’s people.
260. Psalm 107:39 tn Heb “from the oppression of calamity.”
261. Psalm 107:40 tn The active participle is understood as past durative here, drawing attention to typical action in a past time frame. However, it could be taken as generalizing (in which case one should translate using the English present tense), in which case the psalmist moves from narrative to present reality. Perhaps the participial form appears because the statement is lifted from Job 12:21.
262. Psalm 107:41 tn Heb “set on high.”
263. Psalm 107:42 tn Heb “all evil,” which stands metonymically for those who do evil.