Mazmur 18:40

18:40 You make my enemies retreat; ¹ 

I destroy those who hate me. ² 

Mazmur 18:49

18:49 So I will give you thanks before the nations, ³  O Lord!

I will sing praises to you! ⁴ 

[18:40]  ¹ tn Heb “and [as for] my enemies, you give to me [the] back [or “neck”].” The idiom “give [the] back” means “to cause [one] to turn the back and run away.” Cf. Exod 23:27.

[18:40]  ² sn Those who hate me. See v. 17, where it is the Lord who delivered the psalmist from those who hated him.

[18:49]  ³ sn I will give you thanks before the nations. This probably alludes to the fact that the psalmist will praise the Lord in the presence of the defeated nations when they, as his subjects, bring their tribute payments. Ideally the Davidic king was to testify to the nations of God’s greatness. See J. H. Eaton, Kingship and the Psalms (SBT), 182-85.

[18:49]  ⁴ tn Heb “to your name.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case “Lord,” the primary name of Israel’s covenant God which suggests his active presence with his people (see Exod 3:12-15).