Mazmur 24:10

24:10 Who is this majestic king?

The Lord who commands armies! ¹ 

He is the majestic king! (Selah)

Mazmur 46:7

46:7 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ² 

The God of Jacob ³  is our protector! ⁴  (Selah)

Mazmur 84:12

84:12 O Lord who rules over all, ⁵ 

how blessed are those who trust in you! ⁶ 

Mazmur 88:3

88:3 For my life ⁷  is filled with troubles

and I am ready to enter Sheol. ⁸ 

Mazmur 116:3

116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, ⁹ 

the snares ¹⁰  of Sheol confronted me.

I was confronted ¹¹  with trouble and sorrow.

[24:10]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts,” a title which here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle.

[46:7]  ² 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]  ³ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

[84:12]  ⁵ tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”

[84:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.

[88:3]  ⁷ tn Or “my soul.”

[88:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “and my life approaches Sheol.”

[116:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[116:3]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew noun מצר (“straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.

[116:3]  ¹¹ tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.