Mazmur 18:35
Konteks18:35 You give me your protective shield; 1
your right hand supports me; 2
your willingness to help 3 enables me to prevail. 4
Mazmur 22:26
Konteks22:26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled! 5
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord!
May you 6 live forever!
Mazmur 39:5
Konteks39:5 Look, you make my days short-lived, 7
and my life span is nothing from your perspective. 8
Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor. 9
Mazmur 39:11
Konteks39:11 You severely discipline people for their sins; 10
like a moth you slowly devour their strength. 11
Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)
Mazmur 40:17
Konteks40:17 I am oppressed and needy! 12
May the Lord pay attention to me! 13
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O my God, do not delay!
Mazmur 69:20
Konteks69:20 Their insults are painful 14 and make me lose heart; 15
I look 16 for sympathy, but receive none, 17
for comforters, but find none.
Mazmur 70:5
Konteks70:5 I am oppressed and needy! 18
O God, hurry to me! 19
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O Lord, 20 do not delay!
Mazmur 142:6
Konteks142:6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble! 21
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
[18:35] 1 tn Heb “and you give to me the shield of your deliverance.”
[18:35] sn You give me your protective shield. Ancient Near Eastern literature often refers to a god giving a king special weapons. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 260-61.
[18:35] 2 tc 2 Sam 22:36 omits this line, perhaps due to homoioarcton. A scribe’s eye may have jumped from the vav (ו) prefixed to “your right hand” to the vav prefixed to the following “and your answer,” causing the copyist to omit by accident the intervening words (“your right hand supports me and”).
[18:35] 3 tn The MT of Ps 18:35 appears to read, “your condescension,” apparently referring to God’s willingness to intervene (cf. NIV “you stoop down”). However, the noun עֲנָוָה (’anavah) elsewhere means “humility” and is used only here of God. The form עַנְוַתְךָ (’anvatÿkha) may be a fully written form of the suffixed infinitive construct of עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”; a defectively written form of the infinitive appears in 2 Sam 22:36). In this case the psalmist refers to God’s willingness to answer his prayer; one might translate, “your favorable response.”
[18:35] 4 tn Heb “makes me great.”
[22:26] 5 sn Eat and be filled. In addition to praising the Lord, the psalmist also offers a thank offering to the Lord and invites others to share in a communal meal.
[22:26] 6 tn Heb “may your heart[s].”
[39:5] 7 tn Heb “Look, handbreadths you make my days.” The “handbreadth” (equivalent to the width of four fingers) was one of the smallest measures used by ancient Israelites. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 309.
[39:5] 8 tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”
[39:5] 9 tn Heb “surely, all vapor [is] all mankind, standing firm.” Another option is to translate, “Surely, all mankind, though seemingly secure, is nothing but a vapor.”
[39:11] 10 tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”
[39:11] 11 tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew
[40:17] 12 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.
[40:17] 13 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
[69:20] 14 tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.
[69:20] 15 tn The verb form appears to be a Qal preterite from an otherwise unattested root נוּשׁ (nush), which some consider an alternate form of אָנַשׁ (’anash, “be weak; be sick”; see BDB 60 s.v. I אָנַשׁ). Perhaps the form should be emended to a Niphal, וָאֵאָנְשָׁה (va’e’onshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.
[69:20] 17 tn Heb “and I wait for sympathy, but there is none.” The form נוּד (nud) is an infinitive functioning as a verbal noun:, “sympathizing.” Some suggest emending the form to a participle נָד (nad, “one who shows sympathy”). The verb נוּד (nud) also has the nuance “show sympathy” in Job 2:11; 42:11 and Isa 51:19.
[70:5] 18 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.
[70:5] 19 tn Ps 40:17 has “may the Lord pay attention to me.”
