Psalm 73

^I “Psalm” = mizmor. From zamar (making music; used specially of music to worship God; music with singing, singing praise, singing psalms); may be from zamar (to trim or prune). This is a melody or a psalm.
^II “Asaph” = asaph. From asaph (to gather, assemble, bring, take away, destroy, or remove). This is Asaph, meaning “gatherer” or “collector.” It is a personal name.

^III “truly” = ak. Related to aken (surely, truly, nevertheless); from kun (properly, in a perpendicular position; literally, to establish, fix, fasten, prepare; figuratively, it is certainty, to be firm, faithfulness, render sure or prosperous). This is a positive statement – surely, also, certainly, alone, only.
^IV “God” = Elohim. Related to “upright” in v1. See note VI below.
^V “good” = tob. From tob (to be pleasing, to be good). This is good, beautiful, pleasant, agreeable, bountiful, at ease. This word is used for goodness as a concept, a good thing, a good person. This can refer to prosperity and welfare as well as joy, kindness, sweetness, and graciousness. So, this is ethically good, but also enjoyably good.
^VI “upright” = Yisrael. Some manuscripts read “Israel.” From sarah (to persist, exert oneself, contend, persevere, wrestle, prevail) + el (God or god). This is Israel, meaning God strives or one who strives with God; new name for Jacob and for his offspring. This refers to the people and to the land.
^VII “pure” = bar. 7x in OT. From barar (to clarify, brighten, or polish; to examine, select, choose, purge, sharpen, or purify). This is pure, clean, or empty. It can also mean innocent or beloved.
^VIII “heart” = lebab. May be related to labab (to encourage; properly, to be encased as with fat; used in a good sense, this means to transport someone with love; used in a bad sense, it can mean to dull one’s senses). This is the heart, courage, one’s inner self, the mind, or the will. Heart is only used in a figurative sense in the Old and New Testaments.

^IX “feet” = regel. This is foot, endurance, or journey. It is a foot as the means of walking and so it implies a step or a greater journey. It can be used euphemistically for private parts.
^X “almost” = me’at. From ma’at (being or becoming small, decrease, diminish, pare off). This is a little or few, lightly little while, very small matter.
^XI “stumbled” = natah. This is to stretch or spread out, to extend, or bend. In can also imply moral deflection.
^XII “steps” = ashshur. 9x in OT– 2x in Job, 6x in Psalms, 1x in Proverbs. From ashar (to go straight, lead, guide; to be level and so to be right, blessed, honest, happy). This is step or going.
^XIII “slipped” = shaphak. This is to pour out, gust, or slip. It can be to pour as blood, a drink offering, or molten metal. It can also mean to create a mound. Figuratively, it can refer to killing, or spending money.

^XIV “was envious” = qanah. From qinah (zeal, jealousy). This is to be zealous or to provoke to jealousy.
^XV “arrogant” = halal. This is to be clear – it originally referred to a sound, then a color. It was to shine and then make a show or boast then to rave. In a causative sense it came to mean celebrate, give glory, sing praise, or be worth of praise. Because of the celebratory nature of the word, it could also mean to give in marriage. This is where Hallelujah comes from.
^XVI “saw” = raah. This is to see in a literal or figurative sense so stare, advise, think, view.
^XVII “prosperity” = shalom. From shalam (to be complete or sound; to have safety mentally, physically, or extending to one’s estate; so, if these things are safe and complete, the implication is that one would be friendly; and, if being friendly, one would make amends and that friendship would be reciprocated). This is completeness, soundness, welfare, favor, friend, good health. It is to be safe and figuratively well, happy, at peace, friendly. Abstractly, it includes the ideas of welfare and prosperity (not in excessive wealth, but in having enough).
^XVIII “wicked” = resha. From rasha (to be wicked, guilty, make trouble, do wrong; can also be condemn, guilty, inflict punishment; this verb implies disturbing or violating). This is wrong, particularly moral wrong. It can be wickedness, evil, wicked deeds, or something that is ill-gotten.

^XIX “pain” = chartsubbah. 2x in OT. This is a bond or, figuratively, a pain.
^XX “bodies” = mavet. From muth (to die in a literal or figurative sense). This can be death, deadliness, the dead, or the place where the dead go. It can be used figuratively for pestilence or ruin.
^XXI “sound” = bari. The word “pure” in v1 is lebare and “sound” in v4 is ubari. 14x in OT. From bara (to be fat); related to barah (to eat, choose, make clear). This is fat, firm, plenteous.
^XXII “sleek” = ul. 2x in OT. This is strength, body, or belly. It may come from a word meaning to twist.

^XXIII “trouble” = amal. From amal (to work – hard labor). This is trouble, toil, labor as well as misery, sorrow, or iniquity. It is work that wearies through effort so hence worry – can refer to body or mind.
^XXIV “others” = enosh. From anash (to be weak, sick, or frail). This is human, humankind, another. It is mortal.
^XXV “plagued” = naga. This is touch, reach, arrive, come near, strike. This is touching for any reason including sexual or violent.
^XXVI “people” = adam. Perhaps from adam (to be red, make ruddy); related to adamah (ground, dirt, earth). This is man, humankind, also Adam’s name. It refers to a human individual or humanity.

^XXVII “therefore” = ken. Related to “truly” in v1. Perhaps from kun (see note III above). This is to set upright. Generally used figuratively to mean thus, so, afterwards, rightly so.
^XXVIII “pride” = gaavah. 19x in OT. From gaah (to rise up, be exalted, triumph; figuratively, be majestic). This is majesty, excellency, pride, or arrogance. It can also mean ornament.
^XXIX “is…necklace” = anaq. 3x in OT. From anaq (necklace, ornament, chain). This is to encircle like a necklace or function as a necklace. Figuratively, it can be to furnish with supplies.

^XXX “violence” = chamas. From chamas (to violate, do violence, to wrong; implies mistreatment). This is violence, cruelty, damage, wrong, injustice, or unrighteous. Violence implies a wrong done. The term is also used to describe unjust gain.
^XXXI “covers” = ataph. 16x in OT. This is to turn, faint, hide, be overwhelmed, cover, fail.
^XXXII “garment” = shith. 2x in OT. From shith (to place, set, bring, appoint, consider, bring, array or look). This is attire or some kind of garment.

^XXXIII “eyes” = ayin. This is eye in a literal or figurative sense so eye, appearance, favor, or a fountain (the eye of the landscape).
^XXXIV “swell out” = yatsa. This is to go or come out, bring forth, appear. It is to go out in a literal or figurative sense.
^XXXV “fatness” = cheleb. This is fat, finest, marrow. It is fat in a literal or figurative sense. It refers to the richest or best part.
^XXXVI “overflow” = abar. This is to pass over or cross over. It is used for transitions, whether literal or figurative. It can also mean to escape, alienate, or fail. This is the root verb from which “Hebrew” is drawn.
^XXXVII “follies” = maskit. 6x in OT. From the same as sekvi (appearance, mind, heart). This is a figure, imagery, wish, imagination, a stone carved piece, setting.

^XXXVIII “scoff” = muq. 1x in OT. This is to mock or jeer at. It can also mean to blaspheme.
^XXXIX “speak” = dabar. This is generally to speak, answer, declare, or command. It might mean to arrange and so to speak in a figurative sense as arranging words.
^XL “malice” = ra’. From ra’a’ (to be evil, bad, afflict; properly, to spoil – to destroy by breaking into pieces; figuratively, to cause something to be worthless; this is bad in a physical, social, or moral sense; that which displeases, to do harm or mischief, to punish or vex). This is bad, disagreeable, that which causes pain, misery, something having little or no value, something that is ethically bad, wicked, injury, calamity. This refers to anything that is not what it ought to be – a natural disaster, a disfigurement, an injury, a sin.

^XLI “loftily” = marom. From rum (to be high, rise, exalted, become proud, display, offer, present, set apart, extol; to rise in a literal or figurative sense). This can be height, high place, or lofty. It can be either exalted or haughty/proud. It can refer to dignity or to heaven.
^XLII “threaten” = dabar. Same as “speak” in v8. See note XXXIX above.
^XLIII “oppression” = osheq. 15x in OT. From ashaq (to wrong, deceive, violate, or use oppression). This is oppression or extortion – it is acquiring something fraudulently, unjust gain.

^XLIV “set” = shathat. 2x in OT. This is to place, set, lie, array.
^XLV “mouths” = peh. This is mouth in a literal or figurative sense. So, more literally, it can be beak or jaws. More figuratively, it refers to speech, commands, or promises.
^XLVI “heaven” = shamayim. Root may mean being lofty. This is sky, the air, or heaven. It is in a dual noun form so this might refer to the part of the sky where the clouds move on the one hand and the part beyond that where the sun, moon, and stars are on the other hand.

^XLVII “tongues” = lashon. This is tongue, talker, language, or wedge. It can also be a tongue of flame or a water cove.
^XLVIII “range” = halak. This is go, come, walk. It is walk literally and figuratively and includes people and animals. It can be used figuratively for one’s moral life – how we walk according to God’s way or against it. It can also refer to the walk of life as in the course one’s life takes, the choices we make, etc.
^XLIX “earth” = erets. Root may mean to be firm. This is earth, ground, field land, or country.

^L “people” = am. From amam (to darken, hide, associate; creating shadows by huddling together). This is people or nation. It can be used specifically for a tribe, collectively of troops or armies, or figuratively to refer to a flock of animals.
^LI “turn” = shub. To turn back, return, turn away – literally or figuratively. Doesn’t necessarily imply going back to where you started from. This is also the root verb for the Hebrew word for repentance “teshubah.”
^LII “praise” = halom. 11x in OT. This is here or this place. Alternately, this phrase could be “his people return here.”
^LIII “find no fault” = mayim + male + matsah. Mayim is water, waters, or waterway in a general sense. Figuratively, it can also mean juice, urine, or semen. Male is fill, satisfy, replenish, accomplish, fulfill, confirm, or consecrate. It is fill in a literal or figurative sense. Matsah is 7x in OT. This is to drain, suck out, or wring out. Alternately, this phrase could be “abundant waters are drained by them.”

^LIV “God” = El. Related to “upright” and “God” in v1. See note VI above.
^LV “know” = yada. This is to know, acknowledge, advise, answer, be aware, be acquainted with. Properly, this is to figure something out by seeing. It includes ideas of observation, recognition, and care about something. It can be used causatively for instruction, designation, and punishment.
^LVI “knowledge” = deah. Related to “know” in v11. 6x in OT. From dea (knowledge, opinion); from yada (see note LV above). This is knowledge.
^LVII “Most High” = Elyon. From alah (to go up, ascend, be high, be a priority; to arise in a literal or figurative sense). This is most high, upper. It refers to elevation – so, lofty.

^LVIII {untranslated} = hinneh. From hen (lo! Behold! If, though; an expression of surprise). This is to draw attention, show suddenness or surprise, or to emphasize the importance of the coming statement. See! Lo! Behold!
^LIX “always” = olam. This is a long scope of time whether in the past (antiquity, ancient time) or in the future (eternal, everlasting).
^LX “ease” = shalev. 8x in OT. From shalah (to be quiet, safe, tranquil; can imply success or happiness; could also mean to deceive or be negligent). This is at ease, peaceful, or prosperous.
^LXI “increase” = sagah. 4x in OT. To enlarge, grow, grow up.
^LXII “riches” = chayil. From chul (to be firm, strong, prosperous; to endure). This is strength, wealth, ability, activity. It can refer to soldier or a company of soldiers as well as goods. It is a force of people, means, or goods. It can speak of valor, virtue, or strength.

^LXIII {untranslated} = ak. Same as “truly” in v1. See note III above.
^LXIV “vain” = riq. 12x n OT. From ruq (to pour out in a literal or figurative sense, hence, to be or make empty). This is to be empty or to make empty; also vanity, emptiness, something worthless, in vain.
^LXV “kept…clean” = zakah. 8x in OT. This is being clear or see through, so figuratively it means being innocent or blameless. It can also be clear, cleansed, justified, or pure.

^LXVI “washed” = rachats. This is to wash, wash away – it can be complete or partial.
^LXVII “hands” = kaph. From kaphaph (to bend – from a root meaning curve or bend down). This is palm of the hand or sole of the foot, footstep, grasp. Figuratively, it can also mean power.
^LXVIII “innocence” = niqqayon. 5x in OT. From naqah (to be empty, cleanse, acquit; to be clean in a literal or figurative sense). This is cleanness, clearness, or innocence.

^LXIX “day” = yom. Root may mean being hot. This is the day in a literal or figurative sense. It can also mean birth, age, daylight, continually or other references to time.
^LXX “been” = hayah. This is to be or become, to happen.
^LXXI “punished” = tokechah. From yakach (to decide, be right, argue, or convince; to decide, convict, reason together, or reprove). This is correction, rebuke, punishment. It can also be evidence used in court.
^LXXII “morning” = boqer. From baqar (to seek, plow, break forth, admire, care for). This refers to the break of day. So it is dawn, early, morning, or morrow.

^LXXIII “talk” = saphar. From sepher (writing, document, book, evidence). This is properly to tally or record something. It can be enumerate, recount, number, celebrate, or declare.
^LXXIV {untranslated} = hinneh. Same as {untranslated} in v12. See note LVIII above.
^LXXV “been untrue” = bagad. This is to cover or conceal. Figuratively, it is to act in a covert or treacherous way, to transgress or pillage.
^LXXVI “circle” = dor. From dur (to move in a circle, which implies living somewhere or remaining there; it can also be the sense of piling or heaping up). This is a revolution of time, which is to say, an age or generation. It can also be a dwelling or one’s posterity.
^LXXVII “children” = ben. From banah (to build or obtain children). This is son, age, child. It is son in a literal or figurative sense.

^LXXVIII “thought” = chashab. This is properly to braid or interpenetrate. Literally it is to create or to wear. Figuratively, it can mean plotting – generally in a negative sense. More broadly, this can also mean think, consider, or make account of.
^LXXIX “understand” = yada. Same as “know” in v11. See note LV above.
^LXXX “to me” = ayin. Literally, “for my eyes.” Same as “eyes” in v7. See note XXXIII above.
^LXXXI “wearisome task” = amal. Same as “trouble” in v5. See note XXIII above.

^LXXXII “went” = bo. This is to enter, come in, advance, fulfill, bring offerings, enter to worship, attack. It can also have a sexual connotation.
^LXXXIII “sanctuary” = miqdash. From the same as qodesh (set apart and so sacred; God is different from us and so God is holy/set apart; things we dedicate to God’s service are set apart for God and so they, too, are holy); related to qadash (set apart, consecrated, hallowed, sanctified; something or someone set apart for a holy purpose or use – ceremonially or morally clean). This is a sacred place, sanctuary, holy place. It is something or somewhere that is consecrated, whether to God or to another.
^LXXXIV “God” = El. Same as “God” in v11. See note LIV above.
^LXXXV “perceived” = bin. This is to discern, consider, attend to. It refers to distinguishing things in one’s mind or, more generally, to understand.
^LXXXVI “end” = acharit. From achar (to be behind, delay, be late, procrastinate, continue). This is the last, length, remnant, end, reward, future.

^LXXXVII “set” = shith. Related to “garment” in v6. See note XXXII above.
^LXXXVIII “slippery places” = chelqah. From cheleq (portion, catch, division, reward, share, smooth tongue, flattery, associate); from chalaq (to be smooth in a figurative sense; can refer to the stones that were part of casting lots – hence, apportion, share, distribute; figuratively, it can also mean to flatter). This is smoothness. Figuratively it can mean a tract of land or other allotment or flattery.
^LXXXIX “fall” = naphal. This is to fall, whether by accident, to fall prostrate, or to fall in violent death. Figuratively, it can refer to personal ruin or calamity, a city falling, an attack or a falling away. It can also be a deep sleep or wasting away.
^XC “ruin” = mashshuot. 2x in OT. From nasha (to deceive, lead astray, trick, or delude) OR related to meshoah (desolation, waste; the act of ruin or the ruins themselves); {from the same as sho (ruin, desolation, storm; from a root that means rushing over – hence a storm and hence devastation)}. This is ruins or desolation.

^XCI “destroyed” = shammah. From shamem (to be appalled, astonished; to stun or devastate, be destitute). This is desolation, horror, dismay, waste, astonishment.
^XCII “moment” = rega. From raga (to toss violently, break, or disturb; tossed about as on rough sea or the skin breaking out in skin disease; to shut the eyes and so to settle, east, rest, or quiet). This is an instant or moment – so suddenly. Properly, this is a wink of the eye, which is to say a brief moment.
^XCIII “swept away” = suph. 5x in OT. This is to cease, snatch away, consume, sweep away, remove.
^XCIV “utterly” = tamam. This is to finish or accomplish. It is to make perfect, demonstrate that you are upright, consume or cease. It is to complete in a literal or figurative sense, positive or negative.
^XCV “terrors” = ballahah. 10x in OT. From balah (to be afraid, to palpitate). This is alarm, terror, trouble, destruction.

^XCVI “dream” = chalom. From chalam (properly, to bind solidly and so to be plump; to be healthy or strong, to recover; figuratively, to dream). This is a dream or dreamer.
^XCVII “awakes” = quts. Related to qayits (fruit, harvest, dry season); from quts (summer, clip off). This is arise or watch. It is to awake in a literal or figurative sense.
^XCVIII {untranslated} = Adonai. From adon (lord, master, owner); root means to rule or be sovereign. This is the actual Hebrew word for Lord used (in a different form) of humans and (in the present form) of God. It means someone who is in control.
^XCIX “awaking” = ur. This is to arise, lift, exult, or stir. It is to wake in a literal or figurative sense.
^C “despise” = bazah. This is to despise, hold in contempt, disesteem, or a person who is vile.
^CI “phantoms” = tselem. 17x in OT. Root may mean to shade. This is a phantom, resemblance, illusion, image, or an idol.

^CII “soul” = lebab. Same as “heart” in v1. See note VIII above.
^CIII “embittered” = chamets. 6x in OT. This is to be or taste sour, fermented, harsh. It can also mean dyed or of a dazzling color. It can also refer to cruelty.
^CIV “pricked” = shanan. 9x in OT– including Deuteronomy 6:7 “recite them to your children.” This is to pierce, sharpen, or whet. It is often used for sharp arrows or being pricked in the heart. Figuratively, it can mean to teach diligently.
^CV “heart” = kilyah. Perhaps from keli (something that was prepared – any implement, utensil, article, vessel, weapon, or instrument; also includes jewels, weapons, bags, carriages, and furniture); from kalah (to end, be finished, complete, prepare, consume, spent, or completely destroyed). This is inward parts, such as kidney or heart. It can also be inmost being as feelings, mind, or within.

^CVI “stupid” = baar. 4x in OT. From baar (to be senseless, stupid, graze); from beir (animal, cattle); from baar (to consume, feed, kindle, be brutish). This is food as eaten, brutish, foolish.
^CVII “ignorant” = lo + yada. Literally “not know.” Yada is the same as “know” in v11. See note LV above.
^CVIII “brute beast” = behemah. This is animal or cattle. It is often used of large quadrupeds.

^CIX “continually” = tamid. May come from a word that means to stretch. This word means an indefinite period of time. So, it could be regular or daily. It could also be constantly, continually, always, or perpetually.
^CX “hold” = achaz. This is to grasp, catch, seize, take and hold in possession. It can also be to be afraid or hold back.
^CXI “right” = yamin. May be from yamam (to go or choose the right, use the right hand; to be physically fit or firm). This can mean right hand, right side, or south. Since most people are right-handed, the metaphorical usage of this word presumes that the right hand is stronger and more agile. Thus, it is the instrument of power and action.
^CXII “hand” = yad. This is hand, ability, power. Hand in a literal sense, but also what one can do or the means by which one does it.

^CXIII “guide” = nachah. This is lead, guide, or bring. It can be used for transporting into exile or coming in as colonists. This is the word used in Psalm 23 “he leads me in the paths of righteousness.”
^CXIV “counsel” = etsah. From yaats (to counsel, advise, determine). This is advice, purpose, plan, prudence, or counselor.
^CXV “receive” = laqach. This is to take, accept, carry away, receive. It can also have the sense of take a wife or take in marriage.
^CXVI “honor” = kabod. From kabad (to be heavy, weighty, burdensome). This is weighty. Figuratively, glorious, abundant, riches, honor, splendor – a reference to one’s reputation or character. This word is often used to describe God and God’s presence.
^CXVII “desire” = chaphets. Properly, this means inclined towards or bending to. Figuratively, it means to desire, delight in, or be pleased with.

^CXVIII “flesh” = sheer. 16x in OT. Perhaps from sha’ar (properly, swelling up i.e. being left over; a remnant, remaining, being redundant). This is flesh, body, meat, kin, self.
^CXIX “heart” = lebab. Same as “heart” in v1. See note VIII above.
^CXX “fail” = kalah. Related to “heart” in v21. See note CV above.

^CXXI “God” = Elohim. Same as “God” in v1. See note IV above.
^CXXII “strength” = tsur. Perhaps from tsur (to confine, cramp, or bind in a literal or figurative sense; to besiege, assault, or distress). This is rock, stone, cliff, boulder, rocky. It can also be a refuge, a way to refer to God.
^CXXIII “heart” = lebab. Same as “heart” in v1. See note VIII above.
^CXXIV “portion” = cheleq. Related to “slippery places” in v18. See note LXXXVIII above.
^CXXV “forever” = olam. Same as “always” in v12. See note LIX above.

^CXXVI “indeed” = hinneh. Same as {untranslated} in v12. See note LVIII above.
^CXXVII “far” = racheq. 1x in OT. From rachaq (to widen, become distant, cast, or remove in a literal or figurative sense). This is far or remote.
^CXXVIII “perish” = abad. To wander off, lose self. This implies to perish, destroy, die, vanish, or be broken or corrupt.
^CXXIX “put an end” = tsamat. 15x in OT. This is to destroy, cut off, silence, or vanish. It is to put an end to in a literal or figurative sense.
^CXXX “are false” = zanah. This is being or playing a prostitute. Figuratively, it can also mean fornicating.

^CXXXI “be near” = qirbah. 2x in OT. From qarab (to come near, offer, make ready). This is an approach or nearness.
^CXXXII “God” = Elohim. Same as “God” in v1. See note IV above.
^CXXXIII “made” = shith. Same as “set” in v18. See note LXXXVII above.
^CXXXIV “Lord” = Adonai. Same as {untranslated} in v20. See note XCVIII above.
^CXXXV “God” = YHVH. Related to “been” in v14. From havah (to be, become) or hayah (see note LXX above). This is the name of the God of Israel, the self-existent and eternal one, the tetragrammaton. This pronunciation has been lost to time so “Lord” is generally used in its place.
^CXXXVI “refuge” = machaseh. From chasah (to take refuge or flee for protection; figuratively, to hope or trust in someone or something). This is a shelter in a literal or figurative sense. It is refuge or place of refuge. It could also be hope or trust.
^CXXXVII “tell” = saphar. Same as “talk” in v15. See note LXXXIII above.
^CXXXVIII “works” = melakah. From the same as malak (messenger, an angel, or a deputy; human messengers literally or for prophets, priests, or teachers as messengers of God; also supernatural messengers i.e. angels). Properly, this is a deputyship or some kind of work. It can also be the product that comes from labor.