Psalms 91:1--93:5 
Context91:1 As for you, the one who lives 2 in the shelter of the sovereign One, 3
and resides in the protective shadow 4 of the mighty king 5 –
91:2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,
my God in whom I trust –
91:3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter 6
and from the destructive plague.
91:4 He will shelter you 7 with his wings; 8
you will find safety under his wings.
His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall. 9
91:5 You need not fear the terrors of the night, 10
the arrow that flies by day,
91:6 the plague that comes in the darkness,
or the disease that comes at noon. 11
91:7 Though a thousand may fall beside you,
and a multitude on your right side,
it 12 will not reach you.
91:8 Certainly you will see it with your very own eyes –
you will see the wicked paid back. 13
91:9 For you have taken refuge in the Lord,
my shelter, the sovereign One. 14
91:10 No harm will overtake 15 you;
no illness 16 will come near your home. 17
91:11 For he will order his angels 18
to protect you in all you do. 19
91:12 They will lift you up in their hands,
so you will not slip and fall on a stone. 20
91:13 You will subdue 21 a lion and a snake; 22
you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.
“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;
I will protect him 24 because he is loyal to me. 25
91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him honor.
91:16 I will satisfy him with long life, 26
and will let him see my salvation.
A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.
92:1 It is fitting 28 to thank the Lord,
and to sing praises to your name, O sovereign One! 29
92:2 It is fitting 30 to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,
and your faithfulness during the night,
92:3 to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre,
to the accompaniment of the meditative tone of the harp.
92:4 For you, O Lord, have made me happy by your work.
I will sing for joy because of what you have done. 31
92:5 How great are your works, O Lord!
Your plans are very intricate! 32
92:6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this;
the fool does not understand this. 33
92:7 When the wicked sprout up like grass,
and all the evildoers glisten, 34
it is so that they may be annihilated. 35
92:8 But you, O Lord, reign 36 forever!
92:9 Indeed, 37 look at your enemies, O Lord!
Indeed, 38 look at how your enemies perish!
All the evildoers are scattered!
92:10 You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. 39
I am covered 40 with fresh oil.
92:11 I gloat in triumph over those who tried to ambush me; 41
I hear the defeated cries of the evil foes who attacked me. 42
92:12 The godly 43 grow like a palm tree;
they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon. 44
92:13 Planted in the Lord’s house,
they grow in the courts of our God.
92:14 They bear fruit even when they are old;
they are filled with vitality and have many leaves. 45
92:15 So they proclaim that the Lord, my protector,
is just and never unfair. 46
93:1 The Lord reigns!
He is robed in majesty,
the Lord is robed,
he wears strength around his waist. 48
Indeed, the world is established, it cannot be moved.
93:2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times;
you have always been king. 49
93:3 The waves 50 roar, O Lord,
the waves roar,
the waves roar and crash. 51
93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, 52
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. 53
1 sn Psalm 91. In this psalm an individual (perhaps a priest) addresses one who has sought shelter in the Lord and assures him that God will protect him from danger (vv. 1-13). In vv. 14-16 God himself promises to keep his loyal follower safe.
2 tn Heb “[O] one who lives.”
3 tn Traditionally “the Most High.”
4 sn The Lord is compared here to a bird who protects its young under the shadow of its wings (see v. 4).
5 sn The divine name used here is “Shaddai” (שַׁדַּי, shadday; see also Ps 68:14). Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is the mighty king (sovereign judge) of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness.
6 tn The word refers specifically to a fowler (or hunter of birds).
7 tn Heb “put a cover over you” (see Ps 5:11).
8 tc The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural should be read. The final yod (י) of the suffix, which indicates the plural, has dropped off by haplography (note the yod [י] at the beginning of the next word).
9 tn Traditionally the Hebrew term סֹחֵרָה (sokherah), which occurs only here in the OT, has been understood to refer to a buckler or small shield (see BDB 695 s.v.). But HALOT 750 s.v., on the basis of evidence from the cognate languages, proposes the meaning “wall.”
10 tn This probably alludes to a sneak attack by enemies in the darkness of night (see Song 3:8).
11 sn As in Deut 32:23-24, vv. 5-6 closely associate military attack and deadly disease. Perhaps the latter alludes to one of the effects of siege warfare on the population of an entrapped city, which was especially vulnerable to the outbreak of epidemics.
12 tn Apparently the deadly disease mentioned in v. 6b is the understood subject here.
13 tn Heb “retribution on the wicked.”
14 tn Heb “for you, the
15 tn Or “confront.”
16 tn For this sense of the Hebrew term נגע see Ps 38:11.
17 tn Heb “your tent.”
18 tn Heb “for his angels he will command concerning you.”
19 tn Heb “in all your ways.”
20 tn Heb “so your foot will not strike a stone.”
21 tn Heb “walk upon.”
22 tn Or perhaps “cobra” (see Ps 58:4).
23 tn The words “the
24 tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).
25 tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).
26 tn Heb “length of days.”
27 sn Psalm 92. The psalmist praises God because he defeats the wicked and vindicates his loyal followers.
28 tn Or “good.”
29 tn Traditionally “O Most High.”
30 tn The words “it is fitting” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Verses 1-3 are actually one long sentence in the Hebrew text, but this has been divided up into two shorter sentences in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.
31 tn Heb “the works of your hands.”
32 tn Heb “very deep [are] your thoughts.” God’s “thoughts” refer here to his moral design of the world, as outlined in vv. 6-15.
33 tn Heb “the brutish man does not know, and the fool does not understand this.” The adjective בַּעַר (ba’ar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 49:10; 73:22; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).
34 tn Or “flourish.”
35 tn Heb “in order that they might be destroyed permanently.”
sn God allows the wicked to prosper temporarily so that he might reveal his justice. When the wicked are annihilated, God demonstrates that wickedness does not pay off.
36 tn Heb “[are elevated] on high.”
37 tn Or “for.”
38 tn Or “for.”
39 sn The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “to exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; Lam 2:17).
40 tn The Hebrew verb בָּלַל (balal) usually has the nuance “to mix.” Here it seems to mean “to smear” or “to anoint.” Some emend the form to בַּלֹּתַנִי (ballotaniy; a second person form of the verb with a first person suffix) and read, “you anoint me.”
41 tn Heb “my eye gazes upon those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2. The form שׁוּרָי (shuray) should be emended to שׁוֹרְרָי (shorÿray).
42 tn Heb “those who rise up against me, evil [foes], my ears hear.”
43 tn The singular is used in a representative sense, with the typical godly person being in view.
44 sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size.
45 tn Heb “they are juicy and fresh.”
46 tn Heb “so that [they] proclaim that upright [is] the
47 sn Psalm 93. The psalmist affirms that the
48 sn Strength is compared here to a belt that one wears for support. The Lord’s power undergirds his rule.
49 tn Heb “from antiquity [are] you.” As the context suggests, this refers specifically to God’s royal position, not his personal existence.
50 tn The Hebrew noun translated “waves” often refers to rivers or streams, but here it appears to refer to the surging waves of the sea (see v. 4, Ps 24:2).
51 tn Heb “the waves lift up, O
52 tn Heb “mighty waters.”
sn The surging waters here symbolizes the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy the order he has established in the world (see Pss 18:17; 29:3; 32:6; 77:20; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). But the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over these raging waters.
53 tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the
54 tn Traditionally “your testimonies.” The Hebrew noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law. See Ps 19:7.
55 sn The rules you set down. God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.
56 sn Holiness refers here to God’s royal transcendence (see vv. 1-4), as well as his moral authority and perfection (see v. 5a).
57 tn Heb “for your house holiness is fitting, O
