Mazmur 20:6-8

20:6 Now I am sure ¹  that the Lord will deliver ²  his chosen king; ³ 

he will intervene for him ⁴  from his holy heavenly temple, ⁵ 

and display his mighty ability to deliver. ⁶ 

20:7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, ⁷ 

but we ⁸  depend on ⁹  the Lord our God.

20:8 They will fall down, ¹⁰ 

but we ¹¹  will stand firm. ¹² 

Mazmur 33:16

33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;

a warrior is not saved by his great might.

Mazmur 33:20-21

33:20 We ¹³  wait for the Lord;

he is our deliverer ¹⁴  and shield. ¹⁵ 

33:21 For our hearts rejoice in him,

for we trust in his holy name.

Mazmur 44:3-7

44:3 For they did not conquer ¹⁶  the land by their swords,

and they did not prevail by their strength, ¹⁷ 

but rather by your power, ¹⁸  strength ¹⁹  and good favor, ²⁰ 

for you were partial to ²¹  them.

44:4 You are my ²²  king, O God!

Decree ²³  Jacob’s ²⁴  deliverance!

44:5 By your power ²⁵  we will drive back ²⁶  our enemies;

by your strength ²⁷  we will trample down ²⁸  our foes! ²⁹ 

44:6 For I do not trust in my bow,

and I do not prevail by my sword.

44:7 For you deliver ³⁰  us from our enemies;

you humiliate ³¹  those who hate us.

[20:6]  ¹ tn Or “know.”

[20:6]  sn Now I am sure. The speaker is not identified. It is likely that the king, referring to himself in the third person (note “his chosen king”), responds to the people’s prayer. Perhaps his confidence is due to the reception of a divine oracle of salvation.

[20:6]  ² tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the Lord typically delivers the king.

[20:6]  ³ tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.

[20:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “he will answer him.”

[20:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”

[20:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).

[20:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “these in chariots and these in horses.” No verb appears; perhaps the verb “invoke” is to be supplied from the following line. In this case the idea would be that some “invoke” (i.e., trust in) their military might for victory (cf. NEB “boast”; NIV “trust”; NRSV “take pride”). Verse 8 suggests that the “some/others” mentioned here are the nation’s enemies.

[20:7]  ⁸ tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s faithful people and the others mentioned in the previous line.

[20:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “we invoke the name of.” The Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar), when combined with the phrase “in the name,” means “to invoke” (see Josh 23:7; Isa 48:1; Amos 6:10). By invoking the Lord’s name in prayer, the people demonstrate their trust in him.

[20:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “stumble and fall down.”

[20:8]  ¹¹ tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s victorious people and the defeated enemies mentioned in the previous line. The perfect verbal forms either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle. They describe the demise of the enemy as being as good as done.

[20:8]  ¹² tn Or “rise up and remain upright.” On the meaning of the Hitpolel of עוּד (’ud), see HALOT 795 s.v. I עוד. The verbal forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle.

[33:20]  ¹³ tn Or “our lives.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[33:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[33:20]  ¹⁵ tn Or “protector.”

[44:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “take possession of.”

[44:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.

[44:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7; 20:6; 21:8).

[44:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “your arm.”

[44:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[44:3]  ²¹ tn Or “favorable toward.”

[44:4]  ²² sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.

[44:4]  ²³ tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).

[44:4]  tn Or “command.” This may be the Israelites’ petition prior to the battle. See the introductory note to the psalm.

[44:4]  ²⁴ tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.

[44:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “by you.”

[44:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”

[44:5]  sn The Hebrew verb translated “drive back” is literally “gore”; the imagery is that of a powerful wild ox that “gores” its enemies and tramples them underfoot.

[44:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “in your name.” The Lord’s “name” refers here to his revealed character or personal presence. Specifically in this context his ability to deliver, protect, and energize for battle is in view (see Ps 54:1).

[44:5]  ²⁸ sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.

[44:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”

[44:7]  ³⁰ tn Or “have delivered,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).

[44:7]  ³¹ tn Or “have humiliated,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).