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21 The Lord deserves praise[a]
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.[b]
22 I jumped to conclusions and said,[c]
“I am cut off from your presence!”[d]
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers[e] of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.[f]

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 31:21 tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”
  2. Psalm 31:21 tn Heb “for he caused his faithfulness to be amazing to me in a besieged city.” The psalmist probably speaks figuratively here. He compares his crisis to being trapped in a besieged city, but the Lord answered his prayer for help. Verses 19-24 were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18.
  3. Psalm 31:22 tn Heb “and I, I said in my haste.”
  4. Psalm 31:22 tn Heb “from before your eyes.”
  5. Psalm 31:23 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
  6. Psalm 31:23 tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.