Mazmur 18:46

18:46 The Lord is alive! ¹ 

My protector ²  is praiseworthy! ³ 

The God who delivers me ⁴  is exalted as king! ⁵ 

Mazmur 71:3

71:3 Be my protector and refuge, ⁶ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ⁷ 

For you are my high ridge ⁸  and my stronghold.

Mazmur 28:1

Psalm 28 ⁹ 

By David.

28:1 To you, O Lord, I cry out!

My protector, ¹⁰  do not ignore me! ¹¹ 

If you do not respond to me, ¹² 

I will join ¹³  those who are descending into the grave. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 73:26

73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, ¹⁵ 

but God always ¹⁶  protects my heart and gives me stability. ¹⁷ 

[18:46]  ¹ tn Elsewhere the construction חַי־יְהוָה (khay-yÿhvah) is used exclusively as an oath formula, “as surely as the Lord lives,” but this is not the case here, for no oath follows. Here the statement is an affirmation of the Lord’s active presence and intervention. In contrast to pagan deities, he demonstrates he is the living God by rescuing and empowering the psalmist.

[18:46]  ² tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection. See similar phrases in vv. 2, 31.

[18:46]  ³ tn Or “blessed [i.e., praised] be.”

[18:46]  ⁴ tn Heb “the God of my deliverance.” 2 Sam 22:48 reads, “the God of the rocky cliff of my deliverance.”

[18:46]  ⁵ tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Elsewhere in the psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 46:10; 57:5, 11).

[71:3]  ⁶ tc Heb “become for me a rocky summit of a dwelling place.” The Hebrew term מָעוֹן (ma’on, “dwelling place”) should probably be emended to מָעוֹז (ma’oz, “refuge”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ⁷ tc Heb “to enter continually, you commanded to deliver me.” The Hebrew phrase לָבוֹא תָּמִיד צִוִּיתָ (lavo’ tamid tsivvita, “to enter continually, you commanded”) should be emended to לְבֵית מְצוּדוֹת (lÿvet mÿtsudot, “a house of strongholds”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ⁸ sn You are 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.

[28:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 28. The author looks to the Lord for vindication, asks that the wicked be repaid in full for their evil deeds, and affirms his confidence that the Lord will protect his own.

[28:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[28:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”

[28:1]  ¹² tn Heb “lest [if] you are silent from me.”

[28:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[28:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[73:26]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).

[73:26]  ¹⁶ tn Or “forever.”

[73:26]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to a rocky summit where one could go for protection and to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.