Mazmur 62:6

62:6 He alone is my protector ¹  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ²  I will not be upended. ³ 

Mazmur 18:2

18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, ⁴  my stronghold, ⁵  my deliverer.

My God is my rocky summit where ⁶  I take shelter, ⁷ 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ⁸  and my refuge. ⁹ 

Mazmur 21:1

Psalm 21 ¹⁰ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

21:1 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give; ¹¹ 

he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide. ¹² 

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 73:25-26

73:25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?

I desire no one but you on earth. ¹⁷ 

73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, ¹⁸ 

but God always ¹⁹  protects my heart and gives me stability. ²⁰ 

[62:6]  ¹ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:6]  ² tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:6]  ³ sn The wording is identical to that of v. 2, except that רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) does not appear in v. 6.

[18:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “in whom.”

[18:2]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.”

[21:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 21. The psalmist praises the Lord for the way he protects and blesses the Davidic king.

[21:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in your strength.” The translation interprets the pronominal suffix as subjective, rather than merely descriptive (or attributive).

[21:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and in your deliverance, how greatly he rejoices.”

[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!”

[73:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Who [is there] for me in heaven? And besides you I do not desire [anyone] in the earth.” The psalmist uses a merism (heaven/earth) to emphasize that God is the sole object of his desire and worship in the entire universe.

[73:26]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).

[73:26]  ¹⁹ tn Or “forever.”

[73:26]  ²⁰ tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to a rocky summit where one could go for protection and to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.