Mazmur 18:48

18:48 He delivers me ¹  from my enemies;

you snatch me away ²  from those who attack me; ³ 

you rescue me from violent men.

Mazmur 54:3

54:3 For foreigners ⁴  attack me; ⁵ 

ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life. ⁶  (Selah)

Mazmur 86:14

86:14 O God, arrogant men attack me; ⁷ 

a gang ⁸  of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life. ⁹ 

[18:48]  ¹ tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”

[18:48]  ² tn Heb “lifts me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רום probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt, elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given the psalmist victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[18:48]  ³ tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”

[54:3]  ⁴ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read זֵדִים (zedim, “proud ones”) rather than זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”). (No matter which reading one chooses as original, dalet-resh confusion accounts for the existence of the variant.) The term זֵדִים (“proud ones”) occurs in parallelism with עָרִיצִים (’aritsim, “violent ones”) in Ps 86:14 and Isa 13:11. However, זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) is parallel to עָרִיצִים (’aritsim, “violent ones”) in Isa 25:5; 29:5; Ezek 28:7; 31:12.

[54:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “rise against me.”

[54:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”

[86:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “rise up against me.”

[86:14]  ⁸ tn Or “assembly.”

[86:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “seek my life and do not set you before them.” See Ps 54:3.