Mazmur 7:10

7:10 The Exalted God is my shield, ¹ 

the one who delivers the morally upright. ² 

Mazmur 18:20

18:20 The Lord repaid ³  me for my godly deeds; ⁴ 

he rewarded ⁵  my blameless behavior. ⁶ 

Mazmur 18:34

18:34 He trains my hands for battle; ⁷ 

my arms can bend even the strongest bow. ⁸ 

Mazmur 20:4

20:4 May he grant your heart’s desire; ⁹ 

may he bring all your plans to pass! ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 24:8

24:8 Who is this majestic king? ¹¹ 

The Lord who is strong and mighty!

The Lord who is mighty in battle!

Mazmur 25:14

25:14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance, ¹² 

and he reveals his covenantal demands to them. ¹³ 

Mazmur 27:14

27:14 Rely ¹⁴  on the Lord!

Be strong and confident! ¹⁵ 

Rely on the Lord!

Mazmur 29:11

29:11 The Lord gives ¹⁶  his people strength; ¹⁷ 

the Lord grants his people security. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 33:20

33:20 We ¹⁹  wait for the Lord;

he is our deliverer ²⁰  and shield. ²¹ 

Mazmur 37:6

37:6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,

and publicly defend your just cause. ²² 

Mazmur 37:19

37:19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come; ²³ 

when famine comes they will have enough to eat. ²⁴ 

Mazmur 48:3

48:3 God is in its fortresses;

he reveals himself as its defender. ²⁵ 

Mazmur 50:6

50:6 The heavens declare his fairness, ²⁶ 

for God is judge. ²⁷  (Selah)

Mazmur 69:23

69:23 May their eyes be blinded! ²⁸ 

Make them shake violently! ²⁹ 

Mazmur 78:14

78:14 He led them with a cloud by day,

and with the light of a fire all night long.

Mazmur 78:19

78:19 They insulted God, saying, ³⁰ 

“Is God really able to give us food ³¹  in the wilderness?

Mazmur 78:24

78:24 He rained down manna for them to eat;

he gave them the grain of heaven. ³² 

Mazmur 78:29

78:29 They ate until they were stuffed; ³³ 

he gave them what they desired.

Mazmur 78:34

78:34 When he struck them down, ³⁴  they sought his favor; ³⁵ 

they turned back and longed for God.

Mazmur 78:43-44

78:43 when he performed his awesome deeds ³⁶  in Egypt,

and his acts of judgment ³⁷  in the region of Zoan.

78:44 He turned their rivers into blood,

and they could not drink from their streams.

Mazmur 78:46

78:46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,

the fruit of their labor to the locust.

Mazmur 78:48

78:48 He rained hail down on their cattle, ³⁸ 

and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock. ³⁹ 

Mazmur 78:51

78:51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,

the firstfruits of their reproductive power ⁴⁰  in the tents of Ham.

Mazmur 78:53

78:53 He guided them safely along,

while the sea covered their enemies.

Mazmur 87:6

87:6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations, ⁴¹ 

“This one was born there.” ⁴²  (Selah)

Mazmur 94:12

94:12 How blessed is the one ⁴³  whom you instruct, O Lord,

the one whom you teach from your law,

Mazmur 95:5

95:5 The sea is his, for he made it.

His hands formed the dry land.

Mazmur 96:2

96:2 Sing to the Lord! Praise his name!

Announce every day how he delivers! ⁴⁴ 

Mazmur 102:16

102:16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,

and reveals his splendor,

Mazmur 103:4

103:4 who delivers ⁴⁵  your life from the Pit, ⁴⁶ 

who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,

Mazmur 103:19

103:19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven;

his kingdom extends over everything. ⁴⁷ 

Mazmur 104:10

104:10 He turns springs into streams; ⁴⁸ 

they flow between the mountains.

Mazmur 104:26

104:26 The ships travel there,

and over here swims the whale ⁴⁹  you made to play in it.

Mazmur 104:30

104:30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,

and you replenish the surface of the ground.

Mazmur 105:16-17

105:16 He called down a famine upon the earth;

he cut off all the food supply. ⁵⁰ 

105:17 He sent a man ahead of them ⁵¹  –

Joseph was sold as a servant.

Mazmur 105:41

105:41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;

a river ran through dry regions.

Mazmur 106:46

106:46 He caused all their conquerors ⁵² 

to have pity on them.

Mazmur 107:2

107:2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out, ⁵³ 

those whom he delivered ⁵⁴  from the power ⁵⁵  of the enemy,

Mazmur 107:14

107:14 He brought them out of the utter darkness, ⁵⁶ 

and tore off their shackles.

Mazmur 107:16

107:16 For he shattered the bronze gates,

and hacked through the iron bars. ⁵⁷ 

Mazmur 109:6

109:6 ⁵⁸ Appoint an evil man to testify against him! ⁵⁹ 

May an accuser stand ⁶⁰  at his right side!

Mazmur 112:4

112:4 In the darkness a light ⁶¹  shines for the godly,

for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. ⁶² 

Mazmur 113:7

113:7 He raises the poor from the dirt,

and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile, ⁶³ 

Mazmur 115:5

115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see,

Mazmur 116:6

116:6 The Lord protects ⁶⁴  the untrained; ⁶⁵ 

I was in serious trouble ⁶⁶  and he delivered me.

Mazmur 134:3

134:3 May the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth,

bless you ⁶⁷  from Zion! ⁶⁸ 

Mazmur 135:5

135:5 Yes, ⁶⁹  I know the Lord is great,

and our Lord is superior to all gods.

Mazmur 136:23

136:23 to the one who remembered us when we were down, ⁷⁰ 

for his loyal love endures,

Mazmur 144:1

Psalm 144 ⁷¹ 

By David.

144:1 The Lord, my protector, ⁷²  deserves praise ⁷³  –

the one who trains my hands for battle, ⁷⁴ 

and my fingers for war,

Mazmur 144:5

144:5 O Lord, make the sky sink ⁷⁵  and come down! ⁷⁶ 

Touch the mountains and make them smolder! ⁷⁷ 

Mazmur 145:9

145:9 The Lord is good to all,

and has compassion on all he has made. ⁷⁸ 

Mazmur 145:20

145:20 The Lord protects those who love him,

but he destroys all the wicked.

Mazmur 147:17

147:17 He throws his hailstones ⁷⁹  like crumbs.

Who can withstand the cold wind he sends? ⁸⁰ 

Mazmur 148:6

148:6 He established them so they would endure; ⁸¹ 

he issued a decree that will not be revoked. ⁸² 

[7:10]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “my shield is upon God” (cf. NASB). As in v. 8, עַל (’al) should be understood as a divine title, here compounded with “God” (cf. NIV, “God Most High”). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:45-46. The shield metaphor pictures God as a protector against deadly attacks.

[7:10]  ² tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[18:20]  ³ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.

[18:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-24 make clear, the psalmist refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. In these verses the psalmist explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.

[18:20]  ⁵ tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 24) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.

[18:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” “Hands” suggest activity and behavior.

[18:34]  ⁷ sn He trains my hands. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement. Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

[18:34]  ⁸ tn Heb “and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms”; or “my arms bend a bow of bronze.” The verb נָחַת (nakhat) apparently means “pull back, bend” here (see HALOT 692 s.v. נחת). The third feminine singular verbal form appears to agree with the feminine singular noun קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”). In this case the verb must be taken as Niphal (passive). However, it is possible that “my arms” is the subject of the verb and “bow” the object. In this case the verb is Piel (active). For other examples of a feminine singular verb being construed with a plural noun, see GKC 464 §145.k.

[18:34]  sn The strongest bow (Heb “bow of bronze”) probably refers to a bow laminated with bronze strips, or to a purely ceremonial or decorative bow made entirely from bronze. In the latter case the language is hyperbolic, for such a weapon would not be functional in battle.

[20:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “may he give to you according to your heart.” This probably refers to the king’s prayer for protection and victory in battle. See vv. 5-6.

[20:4]  ¹⁰ sn May he bring all your plans to pass. This probably refers to the king’s strategy for battle.

[24:8]  ¹¹ sn Who is this majestic king? Perhaps the personified gates/doors ask this question, in response to the command given in v. 7.

[25:14]  ¹² tn Heb “the advice of the Lord belongs to those who fear him.”

[25:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.”

[27:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or “wait.”

[27:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “be strong and let your heart be confident.”

[29:11]  ¹⁶ tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 11 are either descriptive or generalizing.

[29:11]  ¹⁷ sn Strength. This probably refers to military power; see the use of the noun in 1 Sam 2:10 and Ps 86:16.

[29:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “blesses his people with peace.” The Hebrew term שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) probably refers here to the protection and prosperity experienced by God’s people after the Lord intervenes in battle on their behalf.

[33:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “our lives.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[33:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[33:20]  ²¹ tn Or “protector.”

[37:6]  ²² tn Heb “and he will bring out like light your vindication, and your just cause like noonday.”

[37:19]  ²³ tn Heb “in a time of trouble.”

[37:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in days of famine they will be satisfied.”

[48:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he is known for an elevated place.”

[50:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “justice.”

[50:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “for God, he is about to judge.” The participle may be taken as substantival (as in the translation above) or as a predicate (indicating imminent future action in this context).

[69:23]  ²⁸ tn Heb “may their eyes be darkened from seeing.”

[69:23]  ²⁹ tn Heb “make their hips shake continually.”

[78:19]  ³⁰ tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”

[78:19]  ³¹ tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”

[78:24]  ³² sn Manna was apparently shaped like a seed (Exod 16:31), perhaps explaining why it is here compared to grain.

[78:29]  ³³ tn Heb “and they ate and were very satisfied.”

[78:34]  ³⁴ tn Or “killed them,” that is, killed large numbers of them.

[78:34]  ³⁵ tn Heb “they sought him.”

[78:43]  ³⁶ tn Or “signs” (see Ps 65:8).

[78:43]  ³⁷ tn Or “portents, omens” (see Ps 71:7). The Egyptian plagues are referred to here (see vv. 44-51).

[78:48]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and he turned over to the hail their cattle.”

[78:48]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and their livestock to the flames.” “Flames” here refer to the lightning bolts that accompanied the storm.

[78:51]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the beginning of strength.” If retained, the plural form אוֹנִים (’onim, “strength”) probably indicates degree (“great strength”), but many ancient witnesses read “their strength,” which presupposes an emendation to אֹנָם (’onam; singular form of the noun with third masculine plural pronominal suffix).

[87:6]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the Lord records in the writing of the nations.”

[87:6]  ⁴² tn As noted in v. 4, the translation assumes a contrast between “there” (the various foreign lands) and “in her” (Zion). In contrast to foreigners, the citizens of Zion have special status because of their birthplace (v. 5). In this case vv. 4 and 6 form a structural frame around v. 5.

[94:12]  ⁴³ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in v. 2.

[96:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “announce from day to day his deliverance.”

[103:4]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “redeems.”

[103:4]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 55:24.

[103:19]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “his kingdom rules over all.”

[104:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “[the] one who sends springs into streams.” Another option is to translate, “he sends streams [i.e., streams that originate from springs] into the valleys” (cf. NIV).

[104:26]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “[and] this Leviathan, [which] you formed to play in it.” Elsewhere Leviathan is a multiheaded sea monster that symbolizes forces hostile to God (see Ps 74:14; Isa 27:1), but here it appears to be an actual marine creature created by God, probably some type of whale.

[105:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).

[105:17]  ⁵¹ tn After the reference to the famine in v. 16, v. 17 flashes back to events that preceded the famine (see Gen 37).

[106:46]  ⁵² tn Or “captors.”

[107:2]  ⁵³ tn Or “let the redeemed of the Lord say [so].”

[107:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “redeemed.”

[107:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “hand.”

[107:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “darkness and deep darkness.” See the note on the word “darkness” in v. 10.

[107:16]  ⁵⁷ sn The language of v. 16 recalls Isa 45:2.

[109:6]  ⁵⁸ sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the Lord repay my accusers in this way” in v. 20 most naturally appears to be a fitting conclusion to the prayer in vv. 6-19. But what about the use of the singular in vv. 6-19? Often in the psalms the psalmist will describe his enemies as a group, but then speak of them as an individual as well, as if viewing his adversaries collectively as one powerful foe. See, for example, Ps 7, where the psalmist uses both the plural (vv. 1, 6) and the singular (vv. 2, 4-5) in referring to enemies. Perhaps by using the singular in such cases, the psalmist wants to single out each enemy for individual attention, or perhaps he has one especially hostile enemy in mind who epitomizes the opposition of the whole group. This may well be the case in Ps 109. Perhaps we should understand the singular throughout vv. 6-19 in the sense of “each and every one.” For a lengthy and well-reasoned defense of the opposite view – that vv. 6-19 are a quotation of what the enemies said about the psalmist – see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 72-73.

[109:6]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”

[109:6]  ⁶⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).

[112:4]  ⁶¹ tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.

[112:4]  ⁶² tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.

[113:7]  ⁶³ sn The language of v. 7 is almost identical to that of 1 Sam 2:8.

[116:6]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the Lord.

[116:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Ps 19:7.

[116:6]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “I was low.”

[134:3]  ⁶⁷ tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine singular, suggesting that the servants addressed in vv. 1-2 are responding to the psalmist.

[134:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “may the Lord bless you from Zion, the maker of heaven and earth.”

[135:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “for.”

[136:23]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “who, in our low condition, remembered us.”

[144:1]  ⁷¹ sn Psalm 144. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God, asks for a mighty display of divine intervention in an upcoming battle, and anticipates God’s rich blessings on the nation in the aftermath of military victory.

[144:1]  ⁷² tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[144:1]  ⁷³ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord, my rocky summit.”

[144:1]  ⁷⁴ sn The one who trains my hands for battle. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement (see Ps 18:34). Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

[144:5]  ⁷⁵ tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense “to [cause to] bend; to [cause to] bow down.” For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that “bends” its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the Lord causes the sky, pictured as a dome or vault, to sink down as he descends in the storm. See Ps 18:9.

[144:5]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “so you might come down.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The same type of construction is utilized in v. 6.

[144:5]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “so they might smolder.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose after the preceding imperative.

[145:9]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “and his compassion is over all his works.”

[147:17]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “his ice.”

[147:17]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “Before his cold, who can stand?”

[148:6]  ⁸¹ tn Or “forever and ever.”

[148:6]  ⁸² tn Heb “and it will not pass away.”