Psalms 20:6

20:6 Now I am sure that the Lord will deliver his chosen king;

he will intervene for him from his holy heavenly temple,

and display his mighty ability to deliver.

Psalms 27:6

27:6 Now I will triumph

over my enemies who surround me!

I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy!

I will sing praises to the Lord!

Psalms 48:8

48:8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds, now we have seen them,

in the city of the Lord, the invincible Warrior, 10 

in the city of our God.

God makes it permanently secure. 11  (Selah)


tn Or “know.”

sn Now I am sure. The speaker is not identified. It is likely that the king, referring to himself in the third person (note “his chosen king”), responds to the people’s prayer. Perhaps his confidence is due to the reception of a divine oracle of salvation.

tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the Lord typically delivers the king.

tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.

tn Heb “he will answer him.”

tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”

tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).

tn Heb “and now my head will be lifted up over my enemies all around me.”

sn In vv. 1-3 the psalmist generalizes, but here we discover that he is facing a crisis and is under attack from enemies (see vv. 11-12).

tn Heb “I will sacrifice in his tent sacrifices of a shout for joy” (that is, “sacrifices accompanied by a joyful shout”).

tn Heb “As we have heard, so we have seen.” The community had heard about God’s mighty deeds in the nation’s history. Having personally witnessed his saving power with their own eyes, they could now affirm that the tradition was not exaggerated or inaccurate.

10 tn Heb “the Lord of hosts.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Pss 24:10; 46:7, 11).

11 tn Or “God makes it secure forever.” The imperfect highlights the characteristic nature of the generalizing statement.