Psalms 28:8-9

28:8 The Lord strengthens his people; 1 

he protects and delivers his chosen king. 2 

28:9 Deliver your people!

Empower 3  the nation that belongs to you! 4 

Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms 5  at all times! 6 

1 tn Heb “the Lord [is] strength to them” (or perhaps, “to him”). The form לָמוֹ (lamo, “to them/him”) is probably a corruption of an original לְעַמוֹ (lÿ’amo, “to his people”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 236), perhaps due to quiescence of the letter ayin (ע; see P. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 55). Note the reference to the Lord’s “people” in the next verse.

2 tn Heb “he [is] a refuge of help for his anointed one.” The noun מָשִׁיחַ (mashiakh, “anointed one”) refers to the Davidic king, who perhaps speaks as representative of the nation in this psalm. See Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 84:9; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17.

3 tn Or “bless.”

4 tn Heb “your inheritance.” The parallelism (note “your people”) indicates that Israel is in view.

5 tn Heb “shepherd them and lift them up.”

sn The shepherd metaphor is sometimes associated with royal responsibility. See 2 Sam 5:2; 7:7; Mic 5:2-4).

6 tn Or “forever.”