Psalm 103:8-14
New English Translation
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient[a] and demonstrates great loyal love.[b]
9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry.[c]
10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;[d]
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.[e]
11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers[f] over his faithful followers.[g]
12 As far as the eastern horizon[h] is from the west,[i]
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions[j] from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,[k]
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.[l]
14 For he knows what we are made of;[m]
he realizes[n] we are made of clay.[o]
Footnotes
- Psalm 103:8 tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15).
- Psalm 103:8 tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).
- 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).
- Psalm 103:10 tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”
- Psalm 103:10 tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”
- Psalm 103:11 tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.
- Psalm 103:11 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
- Psalm 103:12 tn Heb “sunrise.”
- Psalm 103:12 tn Or “sunset.”
- Psalm 103:12 tn The Hebrew term פֶּשַׁע (peshaʿ, rebellious act”) is here used metonymically for the guilt such actions produce.
- Psalm 103:13 tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.
- Psalm 103:13 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
- Psalm 103:14 tn Heb “our form.”
- Psalm 103:14 tn Heb “remembers.”
- Psalm 103:14 tn Heb “we [are] clay.”
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