Mazmur 18:30

18:30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner; ¹ 

the Lord’s promise ²  is reliable; ³ 

he is a shield to all who take shelter ⁴  in him.

Mazmur 18:43

18:43 You rescue me from a hostile army; ⁵ 

you make me ⁶  a leader of nations;

people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. ⁷ 

Mazmur 18:48

18:48 He delivers me ⁸  from my enemies;

you snatch me away ⁹  from those who attack me; ¹⁰ 

you rescue me from violent men.

Mazmur 30:5

30:5 For his anger lasts only a brief moment,

and his good favor restores one’s life. ¹¹ 

One may experience sorrow during the night,

but joy arrives in the morning. ¹² 

Mazmur 30:12

30:12 So now ¹³  my heart ¹⁴  will sing to you and not be silent;

O Lord my God, I will always ¹⁵  give thanks to you.

Mazmur 31:2

31:2 Listen to me! ¹⁶ 

Quickly deliver me!

Be my protector and refuge, ¹⁷ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 40:3

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ¹⁹ 

praising our God. ²⁰ 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ²¹ 

Mazmur 40:14

40:14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life

be totally embarrassed and ashamed! ²² 

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed! ²³ 

Mazmur 59:3

59:3 For look, they wait to ambush me; ²⁴ 

powerful men stalk ²⁵  me,

but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 59:5

59:5 You, O Lord God, the invincible warrior, ²⁷  the God of Israel,

rouse yourself and punish ²⁸  all the nations!

Have no mercy on any treacherous evildoers! (Selah)

Mazmur 60:4

60:4 You have given your loyal followers ²⁹  a rallying flag,

so that they might seek safety from the bow. ³⁰  (Selah)

Mazmur 62:3

62:3 How long will you threaten ³¹  a man?

All of you are murderers, ³² 

as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. ³³ 

Mazmur 62:9

62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;

human beings are unreliable. ³⁴ 

When they are weighed in the scales,

all of them together are lighter than air. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 69:14

69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!

Deliver me ³⁶  from those who hate me,

from the deep water!

Mazmur 142:4

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ³⁷ 

I have nowhere to run; ³⁸ 

no one is concerned about my life. ³⁹ 

Mazmur 142:7

142:7 Free me ⁴⁰  from prison,

that I may give thanks to your name.

Because of me the godly will assemble, ⁴¹ 

for you will vindicate me. ⁴² 

[18:30]  ¹ tn Heb “[As for] the God, his way is blameless.” The term הָאֵל (ha’el, “the God”) stands as a nominative (or genitive) absolute in apposition to the resumptive pronominal suffix on “way.” The prefixed article emphasizes his distinctiveness as the one true God (cf. Deut 33:26). God’s “way” in this context refers to his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 103:7; 138:5; 145:17).

[18:30]  ² sn The Lord’s promise. In the ancient Near East kings would typically seek and receive oracles from their god(s) prior to battle. For examples, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 241-42.

[18:30]  ³ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is purified.” The Lord’s “word” probably refers here to his oracle(s) of victory delivered to the psalmist before the battle(s) described in the following context. See also Pss 12:5-7 and 138:2-3. David frequently received such oracles before going into battle (see 1 Sam 23:2, 4-5, 10-12; 30:8; 2 Sam 5:19). The Lord’s word of promise is absolutely reliable; it is compared to metal that has been refined in fire and cleansed of impurities. See Ps 12:6.

[18:30]  ⁴ sn Take shelter. See the note on the word “shelter” in v. 2.

[18:43]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the strivings of a people.” In this context the Hebrew term רִיב (riv, “striving”) probably has a militaristic sense (as in Judg 12:2; Isa 41:11), and עָם (’am, “people”) probably refers more specifically to an army (for other examples, see the verses listed in BDB 766 s.v. I עַם, עָם 2.d). Some understand the phrase as referring to attacks by the psalmist’s own countrymen, the “nation” being Israel. However, foreign enemies appear to be in view; note the reference to “nations” in the following line.

[18:43]  ⁶ tn 2 Sam 22:44 reads, “you keep me.”

[18:43]  ⁷ tn Heb “a people whom I did not know serve me.” In this context “know” (יָדַע, yada’) probably refers to formal recognition by treaty. People who were once not under the psalmist’s authority now willingly submit to his rulership to avoid being conquered militarily (see vv. 44-45). The language may recall the events recorded in 2 Sam 8:9-10 and 10:19.

[18:48]  ⁸ tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”

[18:48]  ⁹ tn Heb “lifts me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רום 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 the psalmist victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[18:48]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”

[30:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for [there is] a moment in his anger, [but] life in his favor.” Because of the parallelism with “moment,” some understand חַיִּים (khayyim) in a quantitative sense: “lifetime” (cf. NIV, NRSV). However, the immediate context, which emphasizes deliverance from death (see v. 3), suggests that חַיִּים has a qualitative sense: “physical life” or even “prosperous life” (cf. NEB “in his favour there is life”).

[30:5]  ¹² tn Heb “in the evening weeping comes to lodge, but at morning a shout of joy.” “Weeping” is personified here as a traveler who lodges with one temporarily.

[30:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”

[30:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.

[30:12]  ¹⁵ tn Or “forever.”

[31:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”

[31:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “become for me a rocky summit of refuge.”

[31:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a house of strongholds to deliver me.”

[40:3]  ¹⁹ sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

[40:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

[40:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

[40:14]  ²² tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones seeking my life to snatch it away.”

[40:14]  ²³ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse (“may those…be…embarrassed and ashamed…may those…be turned back and ashamed”) are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.

[40:14]  sn See Ps 35:4 for a similar prayer.

[59:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “my life.”

[59:3]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 56:8.

[59:3]  ²⁶ sn The point is that the psalmist’s enemies have no justifiable reason for attacking him. He has neither rebelled or sinned against the Lord.

[59:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Lord, God, Hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי (’elohey) before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”). See Ps 89:9, but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yÿhvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 80:4, 19; 84:8 as well.

[59:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “wake up to punish” (see Pss 35:23; 44:23).

[60:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “those who fear you.”

[60:4]  ³⁰ tn There is a ray of hope in that God has allowed his loyal followers to rally under a battle flag. The translation assumes the verb is from the root נוּס (nus, “flee”) used here in the Hitpolel in the sense of “find safety for oneself” (HALOT 681 s.v. נוס) or “take flight for oneself” (BDB 630-31 s.v. נוּס). Another option is to take the verb as a denominative from נֵס (nes, “flag”) and translate “that it may be displayed” (BDB 651 s.v. II נסס) or “that they may assemble under the banner” (HALOT 704 s.v. II נסס). Here קֹשֶׁט (qoshet) is taken as an Aramaized form of קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”; BDB 905-6 s.v. קֶשֶׁת), though some understand the homonymic קֹשְׁטְ (qosht, “truth”) here (see Prov 22:21; cf. NASB). If one follows the latter interpretation, the line may be translated, “so that they might assemble under the banner for the sake of truth.”

[62:3]  ³¹ tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”

[62:3]  ³² tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.

[62:3]  ³³ tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).

[62:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bÿney ’adam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bÿney ’ish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.

[62:9]  ³⁵ tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.

[69:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “let me be delivered.”

[142:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ³⁹ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”

[142:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “bring out my life.”

[142:7]  ⁴¹ tn Or “gather around.”

[142:7]  ⁴² tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.