22:20 Deliver me 1 from the sword!
Save 2 my life 3 from the claws 4 of the wild dogs!
26:9 Do not sweep me away 5 with sinners,
or execute me along with violent people, 6
51:12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance!
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey! 7
51:15 O Lord, give me the words! 8
Then my mouth will praise you. 9
58:6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!
Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord!
71:11 They say, 10 “God has abandoned him.
Run and seize him, for there is no one who will rescue him!”
72:2 Then he will judge 11 your people fairly,
and your oppressed ones 12 equitably.
75:4 13 I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory! 14
75:5 Do not be so certain you have won! 15
Do not speak with your head held so high! 16
78:13 He divided the sea and led them across it;
he made the water stand in a heap.
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 17
he gave the symbol of his splendor 18 into the hand of the enemy. 19
84:9 O God, take notice of our shield! 20
Show concern for your chosen king! 21
90:13 Turn back toward us, O Lord!
How long must this suffering last? 22
Have pity on your servants! 23
94:1 O Lord, the God who avenges!
O God who avenges, reveal your splendor! 25
105:4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives!
Seek his presence continually!
139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! 26
Test me, and know my concerns! 27
144:9 O God, I will sing a new song to you!
Accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, I will sing praises to you,
1 tn Or “my life.”
2 tn The verb “save” is supplied in the translation; it is understood by ellipsis (see “deliver” in the preceding line).
3 tn Heb “my only one.” The psalmist may mean that his life is precious, or that he feels isolated and alone.
4 tn Heb “from the hand.” Here “hand” is understood by metonymy as a reference to the “paw” and thus the “claws” of the wild dogs.
5 tn Heb “do not gather up my life with.”
6 tn Heb “or with men of bloodshed my life.” The verb is supplied; it is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
7 tn Heb “and [with] a willing spirit sustain me.” The psalmist asks that God make him the kind of person who willingly obeys the divine commandments. The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
8 tn Heb “open my lips.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.
9 tn Heb “and my mouth will declare your praise.”
10 tn Heb “saying.”
11 tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.
12 sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).
13 tn The identity of the speaker in vv. 4-6 is unclear. The present translation assumes that the psalmist, who also speaks in vv. 7-9 (where God/the
14 tn Heb “do not lift up a horn.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Here the idiom seems to refer to an arrogant attitude that assumes victory has been achieved.
15 tn Heb “do not lift up on high your horn.”
16 tn Heb “[do not] speak with unrestrained neck.” The negative particle is understood in this line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
sn The image behind the language of vv. 4-5 is that of a powerful wild ox that confidently raises its head before its enemies.
17 tn Heb “and he gave to captivity his strength.” The expression “his strength” refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant, which was housed in the tabernacle at Shiloh.
18 tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.
19 sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).
20 tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “your anointed one” here and with “our king” in Ps 89:18.
21 tn Heb “look [on] the face of your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (mÿshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17).
22 tn Heb “Return, O
23 tn Elsewhere the Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) + the preposition עַל (’al) + a personal object has the nuance “be comforted concerning [the personal object’s death]” (see 2 Sam 13:39; Jer 31:15). However, here the context seems to demand “feel sorrow for,” “have pity on.” In Deut 32:36 and Ps 135:14, where “servants” is also the object of the preposition, this idea is expressed with the Hitpael form of the verb.
24 sn Psalm 94. The psalmist asks God to judge the wicked and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.
25 tn Heb “shine forth” (see Pss 50:2; 80:1).
26 tn Heb “and know my heart.”
27 tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.