Mazmur 18:2

18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, ¹  my stronghold, ²  my deliverer.

My God is my rocky summit where ³  I take shelter, ⁴ 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ⁵  and my refuge. ⁶ 

Mazmur 18:46

18:46 The Lord is alive! ⁷ 

My protector ⁸  is praiseworthy! ⁹ 

The God who delivers me ¹⁰  is exalted as king! ¹¹ 

Mazmur 25:5

25:5 Guide me into your truth ¹²  and teach me.

For you are the God who delivers me;

on you I rely all day long.

Mazmur 27:1

Psalm 27 ¹³ 

By David.

27:1 The Lord delivers and vindicates me! ¹⁴ 

I fear no one! ¹⁵ 

The Lord protects my life!

I am afraid of no one! ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 62:2

62:2 He alone is my protector ¹⁷  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ¹⁸  I will not be upended. ¹⁹ 

Mazmur 118:14

118:14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me; ²⁰ 

he has become my deliverer.” ²¹ 

[18:2]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “in whom.”

[18:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.”

[18:46]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection. See similar phrases in vv. 2, 31.

[18:46]  ⁹ tn Or “blessed [i.e., praised] be.”

[18:46]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the God of my deliverance.” 2 Sam 22:48 reads, “the God of the rocky cliff of my deliverance.”

[18:46]  ¹¹ 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).

[25:5]  ¹² sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will.

[27:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.

[27:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the Lord [is] my light and my deliverance.” “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).

[27:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[27:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[62:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

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

[62:2]  ¹⁹ 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.”

[118:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “my strength and protection [is] the Lord.” The Hebrew term זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song” (“my strength and song [is] the Lord”) in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing). However, many recent commentators have argued that the noun זִמְרָת is here a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v.; cf. NEB “The Lord is my refuge and defence”; NRSV “my strength and my might.”

[118:14]  ²¹ tn Or “salvation.”