2 Tawarikh 14:11

14:11 Asa prayed ¹  to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. ²  Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. ³  O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!” ⁴ 

2 Tawarikh 20:6-12

20:6 He prayed: “O Lord God of our ancestors, ⁵  you are the God who lives in heaven ⁶  and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you. 20:7 Our God, you drove out ⁷  the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession ⁸  to the descendants of your friend ⁹  Abraham. 20:8 They settled down in it and built in it a temple ¹⁰  to honor you, ¹¹  saying, 20:9 ‘If disaster comes on us in the form of military attack, ¹²  judgment, plague, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple before you, for you are present in this temple. ¹³  We will cry out to you for help in our distress, so that you will ¹⁴  hear and deliver us.’ 20:10 Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming! ¹⁵  When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands. ¹⁶  They bypassed them and did not destroy them. 20:11 Look how they are repaying us! They come to drive us out of our allotted land which you assigned to us! 20:12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.” ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 50:15

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ¹⁸ 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 91:14-15

91:14 The Lord says, ²⁰ 

“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;

I will protect him ²¹  because he is loyal to me. ²² 

91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.

I will be with him when he is in trouble;

I will rescue him and bring him honor.

[14:11]  ¹ tn Heb “called out.”

[14:11]  ² tn Heb “there is not with you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.”

[14:11]  ³ tn Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.”

[14:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.”

[20:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 33).

[20:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “are you not God in heaven?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “yes,” resulting in the positive statement “you are the God who lives in heaven” employed in the translation.

[20:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “did you not drive out?” This is another rhetorical question which expects a positive response; see the note on the word “heaven” in the previous verse.

[20:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “permanently.”

[20:7]  ⁹ tn Or perhaps “your covenantal partner.” See Isa 41:8.

[20:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “sanctuary.”

[20:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for your name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor you”).

[20:9]  ¹² tn Heb “sword.”

[20:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “for your name is in this house.” The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name. In this case the temple is referred to as a “house” where the Lord himself can reside.

[20:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “so that you may.”

[20:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “now, look, the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir.”

[20:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “whom you did not allow Israel to enter when they came from the land of Egypt.”

[20:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for [or “indeed”] upon you are our eyes.”

[50:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ¹⁹ sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

[91:14]  ²⁰ tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the words which follow are the Lord’s oracle of assurance.

[91:14]  ²¹ tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).

[91:14]  ²² tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).