Mazmur 18:31

18:31 Indeed, ¹  who is God besides the Lord?

Who is a protector ²  besides our God? ³ 

Mazmur 39:7

39:7 But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying?

You are my only hope! ⁴ 

Mazmur 56:5

56:5 All day long they cause me trouble; ⁵ 

they make a habit of plotting my demise. ⁶ 

Mazmur 102:23

102:23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; ⁷ 

he has cut short my days.

[18:31]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[18:31]  ² tn Heb “rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor of divine protection. See v. 2, where the Hebrew term צוּר (tsur) is translated “rocky summit.”

[18:31]  ³ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “No one.” In this way the psalmist indicates that the Lord is the only true God and reliable source of protection. See also Deut 32:39, where the Lord affirms that he is the only true God. Note as well the emphasis on his role as protector (Heb “rocky cliff,” צוּר, tsur) in Deut 32:4, 15, 17-18, 30.

[39:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “my hope, for you it [is].”

[56:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “my affairs they disturb.” For other instances of דָּבָר (davar) meaning “affairs, business,” see BDB 183 s.v.. The Piel of עָצַב (’atsav, “to hurt”) occurs only here and in Isa 63:10, where it is used of “grieving” (or “offending”) the Lord’s holy Spirit. Here in Ps 56:5, the verb seems to carry the nuance “disturb, upset,” in the sense of “cause trouble.”

[56:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “against me [are] all their thoughts for harm.”

[102:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “he has afflicted my strength in the way.” The term “way” refers here to the course of the psalmist’s life, which appears to be ending prematurely (vv. 23b-24).