2 Samuel 22:49

22:49 He delivers me from my enemies; ¹ 

you snatch me away ²  from those who attack me; ³ 

you rescue me from violent men.

Mazmur 3:4

3:4 To the Lord I cried out, ⁴ 

and he answered me from his holy hill. ⁵  (Selah)

[22:49]  ¹ tn Heb “and [the one who] brings me out from my enemies.”

[22:49]  ² tn Heb “you lift me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רוּם (rum) probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt; elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given him victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority.

[22:49]  ³ tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”

[3:4]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form could be an imperfect, yielding the translation “I cry out,” but the verb form in the next line (a vav [ו] consecutive with the preterite) suggests this is a brief narrative of what has already happened. Consequently the verb form in v. 4a is better understood as a preterite, “I cried out.” (For another example of the preterite of this same verb form, see Ps 30:8.) Sometime after the crisis arose, the psalmist prayed to the Lord and received an assuring answer. Now he confidently awaits the fulfillment of the divine promise.

[3:4]  ⁵ sn His holy hill. That is, Zion (see Pss 2:6; 48:1-2). The psalmist recognizes that the Lord dwells in his sanctuary on Mount Zion.