110:7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head. 1
113:7 He raises the poor from the dirt,
and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile, 2
145:14 3 The Lord supports all who fall,
and lifts up all who are bent over. 4
147:6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knocks 5 the wicked to the ground.
146:8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. 6
The Lord loves the godly.
146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;
he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, 7
but he opposes the wicked. 8
1 tn Here the expression “lifts up the head” refers to the renewed physical strength and emotional vigor (see Ps 3:3) provided by the refreshing water. For another example of a victorious warrior being energized by water in the aftermath of battle, see Judg 15:18-19 (see also 1 Sam 30:11-12, where the setting is different, however).
2 sn The language of v. 7 is almost identical to that of 1 Sam 2:8.
3 tc Psalm 145 is an acrostic psalm, with each successive verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. However, in the traditional Hebrew (Masoretic) text of Psalm 145 there is no verse beginning with the letter nun. One would expect such a verse to appear as the fourteenth verse, between the mem (מ) and samek (ס) verses. Several ancient witnesses, including one medieval Hebrew manuscript, the Qumran scroll from cave 11, the LXX, and the Syriac, supply the missing nun (נ) verse, which reads as follows: “The Lord is reliable in all his words, and faithful in all his deeds.” One might paraphrase this as follows: “The Lord’s words are always reliable; his actions are always faithful.” Scholars are divided as to the originality of this verse. L. C. Allen argues for its inclusion on the basis of structural considerations (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 294-95), but there is no apparent explanation for why, if original, it would have been accidentally omitted. The psalm may be a partial acrostic, as in Pss 25 and 34 (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:335). The glaring omission of the nun line would have invited a later redactor to add such a line.
4 tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).
5 tn Heb “brings down.”
6 tn Perhaps “discouraged” (see Ps 57:6).
7 sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by resident aliens, the fatherless, and widows.
8 tn Heb “he makes the way of the wicked twisted.” The “way of the wicked” probably refers to their course of life (see Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1). God makes their path tortuous in the sense that he makes them pay the harmful consequences of their actions.