Mazmur 9:5

9:5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry; ¹ 

you destroyed the wicked; ² 

you permanently wiped out all memory of them. ³ 

Mazmur 9:15

9:15 The nations fell ⁴  into the pit they had made;

their feet were caught in the net they had hidden. ⁵ 

Mazmur 18:43-45

18:43 You rescue me from a hostile army; ⁶ 

you make me ⁷  a leader of nations;

people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. ⁸ 

18:44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me. ⁹ 

Foreigners are powerless ¹⁰  before me;

18:45 foreigners lose their courage; ¹¹ 

they shake with fear ¹²  as they leave ¹³  their strongholds. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 44:2-3

44:2 You, by your power, ¹⁵  defeated nations and settled our fathers on their land; ¹⁶ 

you crushed ¹⁷  the people living there ¹⁸  and enabled our ancestors to occupy it. ¹⁹ 

44:3 For they did not conquer ²⁰  the land by their swords,

and they did not prevail by their strength, ²¹ 

but rather by your power, ²²  strength ²³  and good favor, ²⁴ 

for you were partial to ²⁵  them.

Mazmur 78:55

78:55 He drove the nations out from before them;

he assigned them their tribal allotments ²⁶ 

and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down. ²⁷ 

[9:5]  ¹ tn The verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke” and in this context taken to refer to the Lord’s “rebuke” of the nations. 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 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 Pss 68:30; 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.

[9:5]  ² tn The singular form is collective (note “nations” and “their name”). In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). In this context the hostile nations who threaten Israel/Judah are in view.

[9:5]  ³ tn Heb “their name you wiped out forever and ever.” The three perfect verbal forms in v. 5 probably refer to a recent victory (definite past or present perfect use), although they might express what is typical (characteristic use).

[9:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “sank down.”

[9:15]  ⁵ sn The hostility of the nations against God’s people is their downfall, for it prompts God to intervene and destroy them. See also Ps 7:15-16.

[18:43]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn 2 Sam 22:44 reads, “you keep me.”

[18:43]  ⁸ 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.

[18:44]  ⁹ tn Heb “at a report of an ear they submit to me.” The report of the psalmist’s exploits is so impressive that those who hear it submit to his rulership without putting up a fight.

[18:44]  ¹⁰ tn For the meaning “be weak, powerless” for כָּחַשׁ (kakhash), see Ps 109:24. The next line (see v. 45a), in which “foreigners” are also mentioned, favors this interpretation. Another option is to translate “cower in fear” (see Deut 33:29; Pss 66:3; 81:15; cf. NIV “cringe”; NRSV “came cringing”).

[18:45]  ¹¹ tn Heb “wither, wear out.”

[18:45]  ¹² tn The meaning of חָרַג (kharag, “shake”) is established on the basis of cognates in Arabic and Aramaic. 2 Sam 22:46 reads חָגַר (khagar), which might mean here, “[they] come limping” (on the basis of a cognate in postbiblical Hebrew). The normal meaning for חָגַר (“gird”) makes little sense here.

[18:45]  ¹³ tn Heb “from.”

[18:45]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “their prisons.” The besieged cities of the foreigners are compared to prisons.

[44:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you, your hand.”

[44:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “dispossessed nations and planted them.” The third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v. 1). See Ps 80:8, 15.

[44:2]  ¹⁷ tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Hiphil preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive) from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil; be bad”). If retained it apparently means, “you injured; harmed.” Some prefer to derive the verb from רָעַע (“break”; cf. NEB “breaking up the peoples”), in which case the form must be revocalized as Qal (since this verb is unattested in the Hiphil).

[44:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “peoples.”

[44:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and you sent them out.” The translation assumes that the third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v. 1), as in the preceding parallel line. See Ps 80:11, where Israel, likened to a vine, “spreads out” its tendrils to the west and east. Another option is to take the “peoples” as the referent of the pronoun and translate, “and you sent them away,” though this does not provide as tight a parallel with the corresponding line.

[44:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “take possession of.”

[44:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.

[44:3]  ²² tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7; 20:6; 21:8).

[44:3]  ²³ tn Heb “your arm.”

[44:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[44:3]  ²⁵ tn Or “favorable toward.”

[78:55]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he caused to fall [to] them with a measuring line an inheritance.”

[78:55]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and caused the tribes of Israel to settle down in their tents.”