Mazmur 20:9

20:9 The Lord will deliver the king; ¹ 

he will answer us ²  when we call to him for help! ³ 

Mazmur 50:4

50:4 He summons the heavens above,

as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people. ⁴ 

Mazmur 50:15

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ⁵ 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ⁶ 

Mazmur 86:7

86:7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,

for you will answer me.

Mazmur 107:6

107:6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;

he delivered them from their troubles.

Mazmur 116:2

116:2 and listened to me. ⁷ 

As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. ⁸ 

Mazmur 118:5

118:5 In my distress ⁹  I cried out to the Lord.

The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 120:1

Psalm 120 ¹¹ 

A song of ascents. ¹² 

120:1 In my distress I cried out

to the Lord and he answered me.

[20:9]  ¹ tc This translation assumes an emendation of the verbal form הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshi’ah). As it stands, the form is an imperative. In this case the people return to the petitionary mood with which the psalm begins (“O Lord, deliver”). But the immediate context is one of confidence (vv. 6-8), not petition (vv. 1-5). If one takes the final he on the verb “deliver” as dittographic (note the initial he (ה) on the following phrase, “the king”), one can repoint the verbal form as a perfect and understand it as expressing the people’s confidence, “the Lord will deliver the king” (see v. 6). The Hebrew scribal tradition takes “the king” with the following line, in which case it would be best interpreted as a divine title, “may the King answer us” or “the king will answer us” (see Pss 98:6; 145:1). However, the poetic parallelism is better balanced if “the king” is taken with the first line. In this case the referent is the Davidic king, who is earlier called the Lord’s “anointed one” (cf. note on “chosen king” in v. 6; see Pss 21:7; 45:5, 11; 63:11).

[20:9]  ² tn If the imperative is retained in the preceding line, then the prefixed verbal form is best taken as a jussive of prayer, “may he answer us.” However, if the imperative in the previous line is emended to a perfect, the prefixed form is best taken as imperfect, “he will answer us” (see the note on the word “king” at the end of the previous line).

[20:9]  ³ tn Heb “in the day we call.”

[50:4]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”

[50:4]  sn The personified heavens and earth (see v. 1 as well) are summoned to God’s courtroom as witnesses against God’s covenant people (see Isa 1:2). Long before this Moses warned the people that the heavens and earth would be watching their actions (see Deut 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1).

[50:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ⁶ sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

[116:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”

[116:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”

[118:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the distress.” The noun מֵצַר (metsar, “straits; distress”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:3. In Ps 116:3 מצר should probably be emended to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”).

[118:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord answered me in a wide open place.”

[120:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 120. The genre and structure of this psalm are uncertain. It begins like a thanksgiving psalm, with a brief notice that God has heard the psalmist’s prayer for help and has intervened. But v. 2 is a petition for help, followed by a taunt directed toward enemies (vv. 3-4) and a lament (vv. 5-7). Perhaps vv. 2-7 recall the psalmist’s prayer when he cried out to the Lord.

[120:1]  ¹² sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.