Mazmur 11:1

Psalm 11 ¹ 

For the music director; by David.

11:1 In the Lord I have taken shelter. ² 

How can you say to me, ³ 

“Flee to a mountain like a bird! ⁴ 

Mazmur 18:33

18:33 He gives me the agility of a deer; ⁵ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ⁶ 

Mazmur 143:11

143:11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation, ⁷  revive me! ⁸ 

Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble! ⁹ 

[11:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 11. The psalmist rejects the advice to flee from his dangerous enemies. Instead he affirms his confidence in God’s just character and calls down judgment on evildoers.

[11:1]  ² tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

[11:1]  ³ tn The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

[11:1]  ⁴ tc The MT is corrupt here. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads: “flee [masculine plural!] to your [masculine plural!] mountain, bird.” The Qere (marginal reading) has “flee” in a feminine singular form, agreeing grammatically with the addressee, the feminine noun “bird.” Rather than being a second masculine plural pronominal suffix, the ending כֶם- (-khem) attached to “mountain” is better interpreted as a second feminine singular pronominal suffix followed by an enclitic mem (ם). “Bird” may be taken as vocative (“O bird”) or as an adverbial accusative of manner (“like a bird”). Either way, the psalmist’s advisers compare him to a helpless bird whose only option in the face of danger is to fly away to an inaccessible place.

[18:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “[the one who] makes my feet like [those of ] a deer.”

[18:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “and on my high places he makes me walk.” The imperfect verbal form emphasizes God’s characteristic provision. The psalmist compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.

[18:33]  sn Habakkuk uses similar language to describe his faith during difficult times. See Hab 3:19.

[143:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[143:11]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 11-12a are understood as expressing the psalmist’s desire. Note the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

[143:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “by your justice bring out my life from trouble.”