2 Samuel 22:3

22:3 My God ¹  is my rocky summit where I take shelter, ² 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ³  my stronghold,

my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence! ⁴ 

Mazmur 16:1

Psalm 16 ⁵ 

A prayer ⁶  of David.

16:1 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. ⁷ 

Mazmur 18:2

18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, ⁸  my stronghold, ⁹  my deliverer.

My God is my rocky summit where ¹⁰  I take shelter, ¹¹ 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ¹²  and my refuge. ¹³ 

Mazmur 36:7-8

36:7 How precious ¹⁴  is your loyal love, O God!

The human race finds shelter under your wings. ¹⁵ 

36:8 They are filled with food from your house,

and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.

Mazmur 91:2

91:2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,

my God in whom I trust –

Yesaya 12:2

12:2 Look, God is my deliverer! ¹⁶ 

I will trust in him ¹⁷  and not fear.

For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; ¹⁸ 

he has become my deliverer.” ¹⁹ 

Yesaya 50:7-9

50:7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,

so I am not humiliated.

For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; ²⁰ 

I know I will not be put to shame.

50:8 The one who vindicates me is close by.

Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! ²¹ 

Who is my accuser? ²²  Let him challenge me! ²³ 

50:9 Look, the sovereign Lord helps me.

Who dares to condemn me?

Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;

a moth will eat away at them.

Matius 27:43

27:43 He trusts in God – let God, if he wants to, deliver him now ²⁴  because he said, ‘I am God’s Son’!”

[22:3]  ¹ tc The translation (along with many English versions, e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) follows the LXX in reading אֱלֹהִי (’elohi, “my God”) rather than MT’s אֱלֹהֵי (’elohe, “the God of”). See Ps 18:2.

[22:3]  ² tn Or “in whom.”

[22:3]  ³ tn Heb “the horn of my salvation,” or “my saving horn.”

[22:3]  sn Though some see “horn” as referring to a horn-shaped peak of a hill, or to the “horns” of an altar where one could find refuge, it is more likely that the horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that uses its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36. 2 Sam 22:3 uses the metaphor of the horn in a slightly different manner. Here the Lord himself is compared to a horn. He is to the psalmist what the horn is to the ox, a source of defense and victory.

[22:3]  ⁴ tn The parallel version of the song in Ps 18 does not include this last line.

[16:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

[16:1]  ⁶ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[16:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

[16:1]  sn Taken shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[18:2]  ⁸ sn 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.

[18:2]  ⁹ sn My stronghold. David often found safety in such strongholds. See 1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22; 2 Sam 5:9, 17; 23:14.

[18:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in whom.”

[18:2]  ¹¹ sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[18:2]  ¹² tn Heb “the horn of my salvation”; or “my saving horn.”

[18:2]  sn Though some see “horn” as referring to a horn-shaped peak of a hill, or to the “horns” of an altar where one could find refuge, it is more likely that the horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that uses its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36. Ps 18:2 uses the metaphor of the horn in a slightly different manner. Here the Lord himself is compared to a horn. He is to the psalmist what the horn is to the ox, a source of defense and victory.

[18:2]  ¹³ tn Or “my elevated place.” The parallel version of this psalm in 2 Sam 22:3 adds at this point, “my refuge, my savior, [you who] save me from violence.”

[36:7]  ¹⁴ tn Or “valuable.”

[36:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the sons of man in the shadow of your wings find shelter.” The preservation of physical life is in view, as the next verse makes clear.

[12:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “salvation” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[12:2]  ¹⁷ tn The words “in him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:2]  ¹⁸ tc The Hebrew text has, “for my strength and protection [is] the Lord, the Lord (Heb “Yah, Yahweh).” The word יְהוָה (yehvah) is probably dittographic or explanatory here (note that the short form of the name [יָהּ, yah] precedes, and that the graphically similar וַיְהִי [vayÿhi] follows). Exod 15:2, the passage from which the words of v. 2b are taken, has only יָהּ. The word זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song,” in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing); note that in v. 5 the verb זָמַר (zamar, “sing”) appears. Many recent commentators, however, have argued that the noun is here instead a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v. III *זמר.

[12:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “my savior.”

[50:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”

[50:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “Let us stand together!”

[50:8]  ²² tn Heb “Who is the master of my judgment?”

[50:8]  ²³ tn Heb “let him approach me”; NAB, NIV “Let him confront me.”

[27:43]  ²⁴ sn An allusion to Ps 22:8.