Mazmur 35:1-3

Psalm 35 ¹ 

By David.

35:1 O Lord, fight ²  those who fight with me!

Attack those who attack me!

35:2 Grab your small shield and large shield, ³ 

and rise up to help me!

35:3 Use your spear and lance ⁴  against ⁵  those who chase me!

Assure me with these words: ⁶  “I am your deliverer!”

Mazmur 54:1

Psalm 54 ⁷ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song ⁸  by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.” ⁹ 

54:1 O God, deliver me by your name! ¹⁰ 

Vindicate me ¹¹  by your power!

Mazmur 98:1-2

Psalm 98 ¹² 

A psalm.

98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, ¹³ 

for he performs ¹⁴  amazing deeds!

His right hand and his mighty arm

accomplish deliverance. ¹⁵ 

98:2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver; ¹⁶ 

in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.

Mazmur 144:5-7

144:5 O Lord, make the sky sink ¹⁷  and come down! ¹⁸ 

Touch the mountains and make them smolder! ¹⁹ 

144:6 Hurl lightning bolts and scatter them!

Shoot your arrows and rout them! ²⁰ 

144:7 Reach down ²¹  from above!

Grab me and rescue me from the surging water, ²² 

from the power of foreigners, ²³ 

[35:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 35. The author, who faces ruthless enemies who seek his life for no reason, begs the Lord to fight his battles for him and to vindicate him by annihilating his adversaries.

[35:1]  ² tn Or “contend.”

[35:2]  ³ tn Two different types of shields are mentioned here. See also Ezek 38:4. Many modern translations render the first term (translated here “small shield”) as “buckler” (cf. NASB “buckler and shield”; the order is often reversed in the translation, apparently for stylistic reasons: cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “shield and buckler”). The English term “buckler,” referring to a small round shield held on the arm to protect the upper body, is unfamiliar to many modern readers, so the term “small shield” was used in the present translation for clarity.

[35:3]  ⁴ tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.

[35:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”

[35:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”

[54:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 54. The psalmist asks God for protection against his enemies, confidently affirms that God will vindicate him, and promises to give thanks to God for his saving intervention.

[54:1]  ⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[54:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is not David hiding with us?”

[54:1]  sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm during the period when Saul was seeking his life. On one occasion the Ziphites informed Saul that David was hiding in their territory (see 1 Sam 23:19-20).

[54:1]  ¹⁰ tn God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character, which would instill fear in the psalmist’s enemies (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:17).

[54:1]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[98:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.

[98:1]  ¹³ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.

[98:1]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.

[98:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.

[98:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “makes known his deliverance.”

[144:5]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense “to [cause to] bend; to [cause to] bow down.” For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that “bends” its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the Lord causes the sky, pictured as a dome or vault, to sink down as he descends in the storm. See Ps 18:9.

[144:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “so you might come down.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The same type of construction is utilized in v. 6.

[144:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “so they might smolder.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative.

[144:6]  ²⁰ sn Arrows and lightning bolts are associated in other texts (see Pss 18:14; 77:17-18; Zech 9:14), as well as in ancient Near Eastern art (see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” [Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983], 187).

[144:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “stretch out your hands.”

[144:7]  ²² tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful foreign enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see the next line and Ps 18:16-17).

[144:7]  ²³ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”