Mazmur 9:19

9:19 Rise up, Lord! ¹ 

Don’t let men be defiant! ² 

May the nations be judged in your presence!

Mazmur 10:12

10:12 Rise up, Lord! ³ 

O God, strike him down! ⁴ 

Do not forget the oppressed!

Mazmur 20:8

20:8 They will fall down, ⁵ 

but we ⁶  will stand firm. ⁷ 

Mazmur 59:9

59:9 You are my source of strength! I will wait for you! ⁸ 

For God is my refuge. ⁹ 

Mazmur 61:3

61:3 Indeed, ¹⁰  you are ¹¹  my shelter,

a strong tower that protects me from the enemy. ¹² 

Mazmur 87:1

Psalm 87 ¹³ 

Written by the Korahites; a psalm, a song.

87:1 The Lord’s city is in the holy hills. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 139:2

139:2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;

even from far away you understand my motives.

[9:19]  ¹ sn Rise up, Lord! …May the nations be judged. The psalm concludes with a petition that the Lord would continue to exercise his justice as he has done in the recent crisis.

[9:19]  ² tn Or “prevail.”

[10:12]  ³ sn Rise up, O Lord! The psalmist’s mood changes from lament to petition and confidence.

[10:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “lift up your hand.” Usually the expression “lifting the hand” refers to praying (Pss 28:2; 134:2) or making an oath (Ps 106:26), but here it probably refers to “striking a blow” (see 2 Sam 18:28; 20:21). Note v. 15, where the psalmist asks the Lord to “break the arm of the wicked.” A less likely option is that the psalmist is requesting that the Lord declare by oath his intention to intervene.

[20:8]  ⁵ tn Or “stumble and fall down.”

[20:8]  ⁶ tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s victorious people and the defeated enemies mentioned in the previous line. The perfect verbal forms either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle. They describe the demise of the enemy as being as good as done.

[20:8]  ⁷ tn Or “rise up and remain upright.” On the meaning of the Hitpolel of עוּד (’ud), see HALOT 795 s.v. I עוד. The verbal forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) either generalize or, more likely, state rhetorically the people’s confidence as they face the approaching battle.

[59:9]  ⁸ tc Heb “his strength, for you I will watch.” “His strength” should be emended to “my strength” (see v. 17). Some also emend אֶשְׁמֹרָה (’eshmorah, “I will watch”) to אֱזַמֵּרָה (’ezammerah, “I will sing praises [to you]”) See v. 17.

[59:9]  ⁹ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[61:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “for.”

[61:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “have been.”

[61:3]  ¹² tn Heb “a strong tower from the face of an enemy.”

[87:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 87. The psalmist celebrates the Lord’s presence in Zion and the special status of its citizens.

[87:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his foundation [is] in the hills of holiness.” The expression “his foundation” refers here by metonymy to the Lord’s dwelling place in Zion. The “hills” are the ones surrounding Zion (see Pss 125:2; 133:3).