Mazmur 62:2-3

62:2 He alone is my protector ¹  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ²  I will not be upended. ³ 

62:3 How long will you threaten ⁴  a man?

All of you are murderers, ⁵ 

as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. ⁶ 

Mazmur 62:6-8

62:6 He alone is my protector ⁷  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ⁸  I will not be upended. ⁹ 

62:7 God delivers me and exalts me;

God is my strong protector and my shelter. ¹⁰ 

62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people!

Pour out your hearts before him! ¹¹ 

God is our shelter! (Selah)

[62:2]  ¹ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:2]  ² tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”

[62:3]  ⁴ tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”

[62:3]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.

[62:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).

[62:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:6]  ⁸ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:6]  ⁹ sn The wording is identical to that of v. 2, except that רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) does not appear in v. 6.

[62:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “upon God [is] my deliverance and my glory, the high rocky summit of my strength, my shelter [is] in God.”

[62:8]  ¹¹ tn To “pour out one’s heart” means to offer up to God intense, emotional lamentation and petitionary prayers (see Lam 2:19).