Psalms 116:12-19


12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?

13 I will celebrate my deliverance
tn Heb “a cup of deliverance I will lift up.” Perhaps this alludes to a drink offering the psalmist will present as he thanks the Lord for his deliverance. See v. 17.

and call on the name of the Lord.

14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.

15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.
tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.

16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.
tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) 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). It may 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.

You saved me from death.
tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).

17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.

18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,

19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
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