Mazmur 9:1

Psalm 9 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the alumoth-labben style; ²  a psalm of David.

9:1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!

I will tell about all your amazing deeds! ³ 

Mazmur 14:7

14:7 I wish the deliverance ⁴  of Israel would come from Zion!

When the Lord restores the well-being of his people, ⁵ 

may Jacob rejoice, ⁶ 

may Israel be happy! ⁷ 

Mazmur 18:2

18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, ⁸  my stronghold, ⁹  my deliverer.

My God is my rocky summit where ¹⁰  I take shelter, ¹¹ 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ¹²  and my refuge. ¹³ 

Mazmur 18:11

18:11 He shrouded himself in darkness, ¹⁴ 

in thick rain clouds. ¹⁵ 

Mazmur 18:35

18:35 You give me your protective shield; ¹⁶ 

your right hand supports me; ¹⁷ 

your willingness to help ¹⁸  enables me to prevail. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 22:9

22:9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out ²⁰  from the womb

and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.

Mazmur 22:25

22:25 You are the reason I offer praise ²¹  in the great assembly;

I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers. ²² 

Mazmur 22:29

22:29 All of the thriving people ²³  of the earth will join the celebration and worship; ²⁴ 

all those who are descending into the grave ²⁵  will bow before him,

including those who cannot preserve their lives. ²⁶ 

Mazmur 30:9

30:9 “What ²⁷  profit is there in taking my life, ²⁸ 

in my descending into the Pit? ²⁹ 

Can the dust of the grave ³⁰  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ³¹ 

Mazmur 39:5

39:5 Look, you make my days short-lived, ³² 

and my life span is nothing from your perspective. ³³ 

Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. ³⁴ 

Mazmur 39:11

39:11 You severely discipline people for their sins; ³⁵ 

like a moth you slowly devour their strength. ³⁶ 

Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)

Mazmur 45:7

45:7 You love ³⁷  justice and hate evil. ³⁸ 

For this reason God, your God ³⁹  has anointed you ⁴⁰ 

with the oil of joy, ⁴¹  elevating you above your companions. ⁴² 

Mazmur 52:9

52:9 I will continually ⁴³  thank you when ⁴⁴  you execute judgment; ⁴⁵ 

I will rely ⁴⁶  on you, ⁴⁷  for your loyal followers know you are good. ⁴⁸ 

Mazmur 53:6

53:6 I wish the deliverance ⁴⁹  of Israel would come from Zion!

When God restores the well-being of his people, ⁵⁰ 

may Jacob rejoice, ⁵¹ 

may Israel be happy! ⁵² 

Mazmur 55:15

55:15 May death destroy them! ⁵³ 

May they go down alive into Sheol! ⁵⁴ 

For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.

Mazmur 59:13

59:13 Angrily wipe them out! Wipe them out so they vanish!

Let them know that God rules

in Jacob and to the ends of the earth! (Selah)

Mazmur 66:3

66:3 Say to God:

“How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ⁵⁵  before you.

Mazmur 67:1

Psalm 67 ⁵⁶ 

For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.

67:1 May God show us his favor ⁵⁷  and bless us! ⁵⁸ 

May he smile on us! ⁵⁹  (Selah)

Mazmur 68:1

Psalm 68 ⁶⁰ 

For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.

68:1 God springs into action! ⁶¹ 

His enemies scatter;

his adversaries ⁶²  run from him. ⁶³ 

Mazmur 68:4

68:4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!

Exalt the one who rides on the clouds! ⁶⁴ 

For the Lord is his name! ⁶⁵ 

Rejoice before him!

Mazmur 68:30

68:30 Sound your battle cry ⁶⁶  against the wild beast of the reeds, ⁶⁷ 

and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! ⁶⁸ 

They humble themselves ⁶⁹  and offer gold and silver as tribute. ⁷⁰ 

God ⁷¹  scatters ⁷²  the nations that like to do battle.

Mazmur 74:9

74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; ⁷³ 

there are no longer any prophets ⁷⁴ 

and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. ⁷⁵ 

Mazmur 93:1

Psalm 93 ⁷⁶ 

93:1 The Lord reigns!

He is robed in majesty,

the Lord is robed,

he wears strength around his waist. ⁷⁷ 

Indeed, the world is established, it cannot be moved.

Mazmur 106:9

106:9 He shouted at ⁷⁸  the Red Sea and it dried up;

he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.

Mazmur 123:2

123:2 Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress, ⁷⁹ 

so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.

Mazmur 148:14

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ⁸⁰ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ⁸¹ 

Praise the Lord!

[9:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 9. The psalmist, probably speaking on behalf of Israel or Judah, praises God for delivering him from hostile nations. He celebrates God’s sovereignty and justice, and calls on others to join him in boasting of God’s greatness. Many Hebrew mss and the ancient Greek version (LXX) combine Psalms 9 and 10 into a single psalm.

[9:1]  ² tc The meaning of the Hebrew term עַלְמוּת (’almut) is uncertain. Some mss divide the form into עַל מוּת (’al mut, “according to the death [of the son]”), while the LXX assumes a reading עֲלֻמוֹת עַל (’al ’alumot, “according to alumoth”). The phrase probably refers to a particular tune or musical style.

[9:1]  ³ tn The cohortative forms in vv. 1-2 express the psalmist’s resolve to praise God publicly.

[14:7]  ⁴ sn The deliverance of Israel. This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

[14:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).

[14:7]  ⁶ tn The verb form is jussive.

[14:7]  ⁷ tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.

[18:2]  ⁸ sn My high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[18:2]  ⁹ sn My stronghold. David often found safety in such strongholds. See 1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22; 2 Sam 5:9, 17; 23:14.

[18:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in whom.”

[18:2]  ¹¹ sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[18:2]  ¹² tn Heb “the horn of my salvation”; or “my saving horn.”

[18:2]  sn Though some see “horn” as referring to a horn-shaped peak of a hill, or to the “horns” of an altar where one could find refuge, it is more likely that the horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that uses its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36. Ps 18:2 uses the metaphor of the horn in a slightly different manner. Here the Lord himself is compared to a horn. He is to the psalmist what the horn is to the ox, a source of defense and victory.

[18:2]  ¹³ tn Or “my elevated place.” The parallel version of this psalm in 2 Sam 22:3 adds at this point, “my refuge, my savior, [you who] save me from violence.”

[18:11]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “he made darkness his hiding place around him, his covering.” 2 Sam 22:12 reads, “he made darkness around him coverings,” omitting “his hiding place” and pluralizing “covering.” Ps 18:11 may include a conflation of synonyms (“his hiding place” and “his covering”) or 2 Sam 22:12 may be the result of haplography/homoioarcton. Note that three successive words in Ps 18:11 begin with the Hebrew letter samek: סִתְרוֹ סְבִיבוֹתָיו סֻכָּתוֹ (sitro sÿvivotayv sukkato).

[18:11]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “darkness of water, clouds of clouds.” The noun “darkness” (חֶשְׁכַת, kheshkhat) is probably a corruption of an original reading חשׁרת, a form that is preserved in 2 Sam 22:12. The latter is a construct form of חַשְׁרָה (khashrah, “sieve”) which occurs only here in the OT. A cognate Ugaritic noun means “sieve,” and a related verb חָשַׁר (khashar, “to sift”) is attested in postbiblical Hebrew and Aramaic. The phrase חַשְׁרַת מַיִם (khashrat mayim) means literally “a sieve of water.” It pictures the rain clouds as a sieve through which the rain falls to the ground (see F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry [SBLDS], 146, n. 33).

[18:35]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and you give to me the shield of your deliverance.”

[18:35]  sn You give me your protective shield. Ancient Near Eastern literature often refers to a god giving a king special weapons. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 260-61.

[18:35]  ¹⁷ tc 2 Sam 22:36 omits this line, perhaps due to homoioarcton. A scribe’s eye may have jumped from the vav (ו) prefixed to “your right hand” to the vav prefixed to the following “and your answer,” causing the copyist to omit by accident the intervening words (“your right hand supports me and”).

[18:35]  ¹⁸ tn The MT of Ps 18:35 appears to read, “your condescension,” apparently referring to God’s willingness to intervene (cf. NIV “you stoop down”). However, the noun עֲנָוָה (’anavah) elsewhere means “humility” and is used only here of God. The form עַנְוַתְךָ (’anvatÿkha) may be a fully written form of the suffixed infinitive construct of עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”; a defectively written form of the infinitive appears in 2 Sam 22:36). In this case the psalmist refers to God’s willingness to answer his prayer; one might translate, “your favorable response.”

[18:35]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “makes me great.”

[22:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “the one who pulled me.” The verb is derived from either גָחָה (gakhah; see HALOT 187 s.v. גחה) or גִּיחַ (giyakh; see BDB 161 s.v. גִּיחַ) and seems to carry the nuance “burst forth” or “pull out.”

[22:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “from with you [is] my praise.”

[22:25]  ²² tn Heb “my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.” When asking the Lord for help, the psalmists would typically promise to praise the Lord publicly if he intervened and delivered them.

[22:29]  ²³ tn Heb “fat [ones].” This apparently refers to those who are healthy and robust, i.e., thriving. In light of the parallelism, some prefer to emend the form to יְשֵׁנֵי (yÿsheney, “those who sleep [in the earth]”; cf. NAB, NRSV), but דִּשְׁנֵי (dishney, “fat [ones]”) seems to form a merism with “all who descend into the grave” in the following line. The psalmist envisions all people, whether healthy or dying, joining in worship of the Lord.

[22:29]  ²⁴ tn Heb “eat and worship.” The verb forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) are normally used in narrative to relate completed actions. Here the psalmist uses the forms rhetorically as he envisions a time when the Lord will receive universal worship. The mood is one of wishful thinking and anticipation; this is not prophecy in the strict sense.

[22:29]  ²⁵ tn Heb “all of the ones going down [into] the dust.” This group stands in contrast to those mentioned in the previous line. Together the two form a merism encompassing all human beings – the healthy, the dying, and everyone in between.

[22:29]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and his life he does not revive.”

[30:9]  ²⁷ sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.

[30:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ³¹ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[30:9]  sn According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 6:5; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!

[39:5]  ³² tn Heb “Look, handbreadths you make my days.” The “handbreadth” (equivalent to the width of four fingers) was one of the smallest measures used by ancient Israelites. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 309.

[39:5]  ³³ tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”

[39:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “surely, all vapor [is] all mankind, standing firm.” Another option is to translate, “Surely, all mankind, though seemingly secure, is nothing but a vapor.”

[39:11]  ³⁵ tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”

[39:11]  ³⁶ tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss.

[45:7]  ³⁷ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ³⁸ sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ³⁹ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ⁴⁰ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ⁴¹ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[45:7]  sn Verses 6-7 are quoted in Heb 1:8-9, where they are applied to Jesus.

[52:9]  ⁴³ tn Or, hyperbolically, “forever.”

[52:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “for.”

[52:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “you have acted.” The perfect verbal form (1) probably indicates a future perfect here. The psalmist promises to give thanks when the expected vindication has been accomplished. Other options include (2) a generalizing (“for you act”) or (3) rhetorical (“for you will act”) use.

[52:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “wait.”

[52:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “your name.” God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character.

[52:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “for it is good in front of your loyal followers.”

[53:6]  ⁴⁹ tn This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.

[53:6]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).

[53:6]  ⁵¹ tn The verb form is jussive.

[53:6]  ⁵² tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.

[55:15]  ⁵³ tc The meaning of the MT is unclear. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads יַשִּׁימָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashimavet ’alemo, “May devastation [be] upon them!”). The proposed noun יַשִּׁימָוֶת occurs only here and perhaps in the place name Beth-Jeshimoth in Num 33:49. The Qere (marginal text) has יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashi mavet ’alemo). The verbal form יַשִּׁי is apparently an alternate form of יַשִּׁיא (yashi’), a Hiphil imperfect from נָשַׁא (nasha’, “deceive”). In this case one might read “death will come deceptively upon them.” This reading has the advantage of reading מָוֶת (mavet, “death”) which forms a natural parallel with “Sheol” in the next line. The present translation is based on the following reconstruction of the text: יְשִׁמֵּם מָוֶת (yeshimmem mavet). The verb assumed in the reconstruction is a Hiphil jussive third masculine singular from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be desolate”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix attached. This reconstruction assumes that (1) haplography has occurred in the traditional text (the original sequence of three mems [מ] was lost with only one mem remaining), resulting in the fusion of originally distinct forms in the Kethib, and (2) that עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon them”) is a later scribal addition attempting to make sense of a garbled and corrupt text. The preposition עַל (’al) does occur with the verb שָׁמַם (shamam), but in such cases the expression means “be appalled at/because of” (see Jer 49:20; 50:45). If one were to retain the prepositional phrase here, one would have to read the text as follows: יַשִּׁים מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashim mavet ’alemo, “Death will be appalled at them”). The idea seems odd, to say the least. Death is not collocated with this verb elsewhere.

[55:15]  ⁵⁴ sn Go down alive. This curse imagines a swift and sudden death for the psalmist’s enemies.

[66:3]  ⁵⁵ tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).

[67:1]  ⁵⁶ sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.

[67:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “have mercy on us.”

[67:1]  ⁵⁸ tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (ya’er) in the next line.

[67:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”

[68:1]  ⁶⁰ sn Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.

[68:1]  ⁶¹ tn Or “rises up.” The verb form is an imperfect, not a jussive. The psalmist is describing God’s appearance in battle in a dramatic fashion.

[68:1]  ⁶² tn Heb “those who hate him.”

[68:1]  ⁶³ sn The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action, Lord! Then your enemies will be scattered and your adversaries will run from you.”

[68:4]  ⁶⁴ tn Traditionally the Hebrew term עֲרָבוֹת (’aravot) is taken as “steppe-lands” (often rendered “deserts”), but here the form is probably a homonym meaning “clouds.” Verse 33, which depicts God as the one who “rides on the sky” strongly favors this (see as well Deut 33:26), as does the reference in v. 9 to God as the source of rain. The term עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “cloud”) is cognate with Akkadian urpatu/erpetu and with Ugaritic ’rpt. The phrase rkb ’rpt (“one who rides on the clouds”) appears in Ugaritic mythological texts as an epithet of the storm god Baal. The nonphonemic interchange of the bilabial consonants b and p is attested elsewhere in roots common to Hebrew and Ugaritic, though the phenomenon is relatively rare.

[68:4]  ⁶⁵ tc Heb “in the Lord his name.” If the MT is retained, the preposition -בְ (bet) is introducing the predicate (the so-called bet of identity), “the Lord is his name.” However, some prefer to emend the text to כִּי יָהּ שְׁמוֹ (ki yah shÿmo, “for Yah is his name”). This emendation, reflected in the present translation, assumes a confusion of bet (ב) and kaf (כ) and haplography of yod (י).

[68:30]  ⁶⁶ tn The Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts such as Ps 68 this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Ps 106:9 and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[68:30]  ⁶⁷ sn The wild beast of the reeds probably refers to a hippopotamus, which in turn symbolizes the nation of Egypt.

[68:30]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “an assembly of bulls, with calves of the nations.”

[68:30]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “humbling himself.” The verb form is a Hitpael participle from the root רָפַס (rafas, “to trample”). The Hitpael of this verb appears only here and in Prov 6:3, where it seems to mean, “humble oneself,” a nuance that fits nicely in this context. The apparent subject is “wild beast” or “assembly,” though both of these nouns are grammatically feminine, while the participle is a masculine form. Perhaps one should emend the participial form to a masculine plural (מִתְרַפִּם, mitrapim) and understand “bulls” or “calves” as the subject.

[68:30]  ⁷⁰ tc Heb “with pieces [?] of silver.” The meaning of the Hebrew term רַצֵּי (ratsey) is unclear. It is probably best to emend the text to בֶּצֶר וְכָסֶף (betser vÿkhasef, “[with] gold and silver”).

[68:30]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[68:30]  ⁷² tn The verb בָּזַר (bazar) is an alternative form of פָּזַר (pazar, “scatter”).

[74:9]  ⁷³ tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).

[74:9]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”

[74:9]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”

[93:1]  ⁷⁶ sn Psalm 93. The psalmist affirms that the Lord is the king of the universe who preserves order and suppresses the destructive forces in the world.

[93:1]  ⁷⁷ sn Strength is compared here to a belt that one wears for support. The Lord’s power undergirds his rule.

[106:9]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “rebuked.”

[123:2]  ⁷⁹ sn Servants look to their master for food, shelter, and other basic needs.

[148:14]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ⁸¹ tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.