Mazmur 144:2

144:2 who loves me ¹  and is my stronghold,

my refuge ²  and my deliverer,

my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,

who makes nations submit to me. 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 40:17

40:17 I am oppressed and needy! ¹⁰ 

May the Lord pay attention to me! ¹¹ 

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O my God, do not delay!

Mazmur 70:5

70:5 I am oppressed and needy! ¹² 

O God, hurry to me! ¹³ 

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O Lord, ¹⁴  do not delay!

[144:2]  ¹ tn Heb “my loyal love,” which is probably an abbreviated form of “the God of my loyal love” (see Ps 59:10, 17).

[144:2]  ² tn Or “my elevated place.”

[144:2]  ³ tn Heb “the one who subdues nations beneath me.”

[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.”

[40:17]  ¹⁰ sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

[40:17]  ¹¹ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The Lord will pay attention to me” (cf. NRSV). The parallel in Ps 70:5 has, “O God, hurry to me!” For this reason some prefer to emend יַחֲשָׁב (yakhashav, “may he pay attention”) to חוּשָׁה (khushah, “hurry!”). The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward; elsewhere when the Qal of חָשַׁב (khashav, “reckon; consider”) is collocated with the preposition -ל (lamed) and a pronominal suffix there is an accompanying direct object or additional prepositional phrase/adverbial accusative (see Gen 15:6; 2 Sam 19:19; Job 13:24; 19:11; 33:10; Pss 32:2; 41:7; Amos 6:5).

[70:5]  ¹² sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

[70:5]  ¹³ tn Ps 40:17 has “may the Lord pay attention to me.”

[70:5]  ¹⁴ tn Ps 40:17 has “my God” instead of “Lord.”