Mazmur 18:31

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

Who is a protector ²  besides our God? ³ 

Mazmur 60:11

60:11 Give us help against the enemy,

for any help men might offer is futile. ⁴ 

Mazmur 69:18

69:18 Come near me and redeem me! ⁵ 

Because of my enemies, rescue me!

Mazmur 108:12

108:12 Give us help against the enemy,

for any help men might offer is futile. ⁶ 

Mazmur 18:27-28

18:27 For you deliver oppressed ⁷  people,

but you bring down those who have a proud look. ⁸ 

18:28 Indeed, ⁹  you are my lamp, Lord. ¹⁰ 

My God ¹¹  illuminates the darkness around me. ¹² 

[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.

[60:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”

[69:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “come near my life and redeem it.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).

[108:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”

[18:27]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “humble” (note the contrast with those who are proud).

[18:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “but proud eyes you bring low.” 2 Sam 22:28 reads, “your eyes [are] upon the proud, [whom] you bring low.”

[18:28]  ⁹ tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki)is asseverative here.

[18:28]  ¹⁰ tn Ps 18:28 reads literally, “you light my lamp, Lord.” 2 Sam 22:29 has, “you are my lamp, Lord.” The Ps 18 reading may preserve two variants, נֵרִי (neriy, “my lamp”) and אוֹרִי (’oriy, “my light”), cf. Ps 27:1. The verb תָּאִיר (ta’ir, “you light”) in Ps 18:28 would, in this case, be a corruption of the latter. See F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Studies in Ancient Yahwistic Poetry (SBLDS), 150, n. 64. The metaphor, which likens the Lord to a lamp or light, pictures him as the psalmist’s source of life. For other examples of “lamp” used in this way, see Job 18:6; 21:17; Prov 13:9; 20:20; 24:20. For other examples of “light” as a symbol for life, see Job 3:20; 33:30; Ps 56:13.

[18:28]  ¹¹ tn 2 Sam 22:29 repeats the name “Lord.”

[18:28]  ¹² tn Heb “my darkness.”