Mazmur 9:9

9:9 Consequently ¹  the Lord provides safety for the oppressed; ² 

he provides safety in times of trouble. ³ 

Mazmur 14:6

14:6 You want to humiliate the oppressed, ⁴ 

even though ⁵  the Lord is their ⁶  shelter.

Mazmur 18:2

18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, ⁷  my stronghold, ⁸  my deliverer.

My God is my rocky summit where ⁹  I take shelter, ¹⁰ 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ¹¹  and my refuge. ¹² 

Mazmur 27:5

27:5 He will surely ¹³  give me shelter ¹⁴  in the day of danger; ¹⁵ 

he will hide me in his home; ¹⁶ 

he will place me ¹⁷  on an inaccessible rocky summit. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 32:7

32:7 You are my hiding place;

you protect me from distress.

You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance. ¹⁹  (Selah)

Mazmur 46:1

Psalm 46 ²⁰ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; ²¹  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; ²² 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. ²³ 

Mazmur 46:7

46:7 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ²⁴ 

The God of Jacob ²⁵  is our protector! ²⁶  (Selah)

Mazmur 46:11

46:11 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ²⁷ 

The God of Jacob ²⁸  is our protector! ²⁹  (Selah)

Mazmur 59:16

59:16 As for me, I will sing about your strength;

I will praise your loyal love in the morning.

For you are my refuge ³⁰ 

and my place of shelter when I face trouble. ³¹ 

Mazmur 71:7

71:7 Many are appalled when they see me, ³² 

but you are my secure shelter.

Mazmur 142:4

142:4 Look to the right and see!

No one cares about me. ³³ 

I have nowhere to run; ³⁴ 

no one is concerned about my life. ³⁵ 

[9:9]  ¹ tn Following the imperfect in v. 9, the construction vav (ו) conjunctive + shortened form of the prefixed verb הָיָה (hayah) indicates a consequence or result of the preceding statement. The construction functions this same way in Pss 81:15 and 104:20.

[9:9]  ² tn Heb “and the Lord is an elevated place for the oppressed.” The singular form דָּךְ (dakh, “oppressed”) is collective here.

[9:9]  ³ tn Heb “[he is] an elevated place for times in trouble.” Here an “elevated place” refers to a stronghold, a defensible, secure position that represents a safe haven in times of unrest or distress (cf. NEB “tower of strength”; NIV, NRSV “stronghold”).

[14:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame.” Using a second person plural verb form, the psalmist addresses the wicked. Since the context indicates their attempt to harm the godly will be thwarted, the imperfect should be taken in a subjunctive (cf. NASB, NRSV) rather than an indicative manner (cf. NIV). Here it probably expresses their desire or intent (“want to humiliate”).

[14:6]  ⁵ tn It is unlikely that כִּי (ki) has a causal force here. The translation assumes a concessive force; another option is to understand an asseverative use (“certainly, indeed”).

[14:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “his.” The antecedent of the singular pronoun is the singular form עָנִי (’ani, “oppressed”) in the preceding line. The singular is collective or representative here (and thus translated as plural, “they”).

[18:2]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “in whom.”

[18:2]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.”

[27:5]  ¹³ tn Or “for he will.” The translation assumes the כִּי (ki) is asseverative here, rather than causal.

[27:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he will hide me in his hut.”

[27:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “trouble.”

[27:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “tent.”

[27:5]  ¹⁷ tn The three imperfect verb forms in v. 5 anticipate a positive response to the prayer offered in vv. 7-12.

[27:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “on a rocky summit he lifts me up.” The Lord places the psalmist in an inaccessible place where his enemies cannot reach him. See Ps 18:2.

[32:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[with] shouts of joy of deliverance you surround me.”

[46:1]  ²⁰ sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.

[46:1]  ²¹ sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.

[46:1]  ²² tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”

[46:1]  ²³ tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.

[46:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

[46:7]  ²⁵ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

[46:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

[46:11]  ²⁸ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

[59:16]  ³⁰ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[59:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “and my shelter in the day of my distress.”

[71:7]  ³² tn Heb “like a sign [i.e., portent or bad omen] I am to many.”

[142:4]  ³³ tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”

[142:4]  ³⁴ tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”

[142:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”