Mazmur 3:7
KonteksDeliver me, my God!
Yes, 2 you will strike 3 all my enemies on the jaw;
you will break the teeth 4 of the wicked. 5
Mazmur 4:1
KonteksFor the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.
4:1 When I call out, answer me,
O God who vindicates me! 7
Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place. 8
Have mercy on me 9 and respond to 10 my prayer!
Mazmur 7:1
KonteksA musical composition 12 by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning 13 a Benjaminite named Cush. 14
7:1 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. 15
Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!
Mazmur 18:6
Konteks18:6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God. 16
From his heavenly temple 17 he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help. 18
Mazmur 27:9
KonteksDo not push your servant away in anger!
You are my deliverer! 20
Do not forsake or abandon me,
O God who vindicates me!
Mazmur 40:5
Konteks40:5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;
you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. 21
No one can thwart you! 22
I want to declare them and talk about them,
but they are too numerous to recount! 23
Mazmur 40:17
Konteks40:17 I am oppressed and needy! 24
May the Lord pay attention to me! 25
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O my God, do not delay!
Mazmur 42:6
Konteksso I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, 27
from Hermon, 28 from Mount Mizar. 29
Mazmur 47:9
Konteks47:9 The nobles of the nations assemble,
along with the people of the God of Abraham, 30
for God has authority over the rulers 31 of the earth.
He is highly exalted! 32
Mazmur 59:1
KonteksFor the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; 34 a prayer 35 of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. 36
59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!
Protect me 37 from those who attack me! 38
Mazmur 59:5
Konteks59:5 You, O Lord God, the invincible warrior, 39 the God of Israel,
rouse yourself and punish 40 all the nations!
Have no mercy on any treacherous evildoers! (Selah)
Mazmur 68:8
Konteks68:8 the earth shakes,
yes, the heavens pour down rain
before God, the God of Sinai, 41
before God, the God of Israel. 42
Mazmur 69:6
Konteks69:6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,
O sovereign Lord and king! 43
Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,
O God of Israel!
Mazmur 79:9
Konteks79:9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation, 44 rescue us!
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation! 45
Mazmur 84:10
Konteks84:10 Certainly 46 spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere. 47
I would rather stand at the entrance 48 to the temple of my God
than live 49 in the tents of the wicked.
Mazmur 88:1
KonteksA song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; 51 a well-written song 52 by Heman the Ezrachite.
88:1 O Lord God who delivers me! 53
By day I cry out
and at night I pray before you. 54
Mazmur 106:48
Konteks106:48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise, 55
in the future and forevermore. 56
[3:7] 1 tn In v. 2 the psalmist describes his enemies as those who “confront” him (קָמִים [qamim], literally, “rise up against him”). Now, using the same verbal root (קוּם, qum) he asks the
[3:7] 2 tn Elsewhere in the psalms the particle כִּי (ki), when collocated with a perfect verbal form and subordinated to a preceding imperative directed to God, almost always has an explanatory or causal force (“for, because”) and introduces a motivating argument for why God should respond positively to the request (see Pss 5:10; 6:2; 12:1; 16:1; 41:4; 55:9; 56:1; 57:1; 60:2; 69:1; 74:20; 119:94; 123:3; 142:6; 143:8). (On three occasions the כִּי is recitative after a verb of perception [“see/know that,” see Pss 4:3; 25:19; 119:159]). If כִּי is taken as explanatory here, then the psalmist is arguing that God should deliver him now because that is what God characteristically does. However, such a motivating argument is not used in the passages cited above. The motivating argument usually focuses on the nature of the psalmist’s dilemma or the fact that he trusts in the Lord. For this reason it is unlikely that כִּי has its normal force here. Most scholars understand the particle כִּי as having an asseverative (emphasizing) function here (“indeed, yes”; NEB leaves the particle untranslated).
[3:7] 3 tn If the particle כִּי (ki) is taken as explanatory, then the perfect verbal forms in v. 7b would describe God’s characteristic behavior. However, as pointed out in the preceding note on the word “yes,” the particle probably has an asseverative force here. If so, the perfects may be taken as indicating rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s assault on his enemies as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm, as expressed before (vv. 3-6) and after this (v. 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“Strike all my enemies on the jaw, break the teeth of the wicked”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
[3:7] 4 sn The expression break the teeth may envision violent hand-to hand combat, though it is possible that the enemies are pictured here as a dangerous animal (see Job 29:17).
[3:7] 5 tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.
[4:1] 6 sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.
[4:1] 7 tn Heb “God of my righteousness.”
[4:1] 8 tn Heb “in distress (or “a narrow place”) you make (a place) large for me.” The function of the Hebrew perfect verbal form here is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the psalmist is expressing his certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm (vv. 3, 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“lead me”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
[4:1] 9 tn Or “show me favor.”
[7:1] 11 sn Psalm 7. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from his enemies. He protests his innocence and declares his confidence in God’s justice.
[7:1] 12 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שִׁגָּיוֹן (shiggayon; translated here “musical composition”) is uncertain. Some derive the noun from the verbal root שָׁגָה (shagah, “swerve, reel”) and understand it as referring to a “wild, passionate song, with rapid changes of rhythm” (see BDB 993 s.v. שִׁגָּיוֹן). But this proposal is purely speculative. The only other appearance of the noun is in Hab 3:1, where it occurs in the plural.
[7:1] 13 tn Or “on account of.”
[7:1] 14 sn Apparently this individual named Cush was one of David’s enemies.
[7:1] 15 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.
[18:6] 16 tn In this poetic narrative context the four prefixed verbal forms in v. 6 are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.
[18:6] 17 tn Heb “from his temple.” Verse 10, which pictures God descending from the sky, indicates that the heavenly temple is in view, not the earthly one.
[18:6] 18 tc Heb “and my cry for help before him came into his ears.” 2 Sam 22:7 has a shorter reading, “my cry for help, in his ears.” It is likely that Ps 18:6 MT as it now stands represents a conflation of two readings: (1) “my cry for help came before him,” (2) “my cry for help came into his ears.” See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry (SBLDS), 144, n. 13.
[27:9] 19 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
[27:9] 20 tn Or “[source of] help.”
[40:5] 21 tn Heb “many things you have done, you, O
[40:5] 22 tn Heb “there is none arrayed against you.” The precise meaning of the text is unclear, but the collocation עָרַךְ אֶל (’arakh ’el, “array against”) is used elsewhere of military (Judg 20:30; 1 Chr 19:17) or verbal opposition (Job 32:14).
[40:5] 23 tn Heb “I will declare and I will speak, they are too numerous to recount.” The present translation assumes that the cohortatives are used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “Should I try to declare [them] and speak [of them]…” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortatives are part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.) Another option is to take the cohortatives as a declaration of the psalmist’s resolve to announce the truth expressed in the next line. In this case one might translate: “I will declare and speak [the truth]: They are too numerous to recount.”
[40:17] 24 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.
[40:17] 25 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The
[42:6] 26 tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.
[42:6] 27 tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.
[42:6] 28 tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.
[42:6] 29 tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.
[47:9] 30 tc The words “along with” do not appear in the MT. However, the LXX has “with,” suggesting that the original text may have read עִם עַם (’im ’am, “along with the people”). In this case the MT is haplographic (the consonantal sequence ayin-mem [עם] being written once instead of twice). Another option is that the LXX is simply and correctly interpreting “people” as an adverbial accusative and supplying the appropriate preposition.
[47:9] 31 tn Heb “for to God [belong] the shields of the earth.” Perhaps the rulers are called “shields” because they are responsible for protecting their people. See Ps 84:9, where the Davidic king is called “our shield,” and perhaps also Hos 4:18.
[47:9] 32 tn The verb עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”) appears once more (see v. 5), though now in the Niphal stem.
[59:1] 33 sn Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.
[59:1] 34 tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57-58, 75.
[59:1] 35 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-58, 60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
[59:1] 36 tn Heb “when Saul sent and they watched his house in order to kill him.”
[59:1] sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when Saul sent assassins to surround David’s house and kill him in the morning (see 1 Sam 19:11). However, the psalm itself mentions foreign enemies (vv. 5, 8). Perhaps these references reflect a later adaptation of an original Davidic psalm.
[59:1] 37 tn Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”
[59:1] 38 tn Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”
[59:5] 39 tn Heb “
[59:5] 40 tn Heb “wake up to punish” (see Pss 35:23; 44:23).
[68:8] 41 tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the
[68:8] 42 sn The language of vv. 7-8 is reminiscent of Judg 5:4-5, which tells how the God of Sinai came in the storm and annihilated the Canaanite forces led by Sisera. The presence of allusion does not mean, however, that this is a purely historical reference. The psalmist is describing God’s typical appearance as a warrior in terms of his prior self-revelation as ancient events are reactualized in the psalmist’s experience. (For a similar literary technique, see Hab 3.)
[69:6] 43 tn Heb “O Master,
[79:9] 44 tn Heb “the glory of your name.” Here and in the following line “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
[84:10] 47 tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”
[84:10] 48 tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).
[84:10] 49 tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.
[88:1] 50 sn Psalm 88. The psalmist cries out in pain to the Lord, begging him for relief from his intense and constant suffering. The psalmist regards God as the ultimate cause of his distress, but nevertheless clings to God in hope.
[88:1] 51 tn The Hebrew phrase מָחֲלַת לְעַנּוֹת (makhalat lÿ’annot) may mean “illness to afflict.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term מָחֲלַת also appears in the superscription of Ps 53.
[88:1] 52 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
[88:1] 53 tn Heb “O
[88:1] 54 tn Heb “[by] day I cry out, in the night before you.”
[106:48] 55 tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.
[106:48] 56 tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.”
[106:48] 57 tn Heb “surely” (אָמֵן, ’amen), traditionally transliterated “amen.”
[106:48] 58 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).
