3:7 Rise up, 1 Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Yes, 2 you will strike 3 all my enemies on the jaw;
you will break the teeth 4 of the wicked. 5
10:14 You have taken notice, 6
for 7 you always see 8 one who inflicts pain and suffering. 9
The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you; 10
you deliver 11 the fatherless. 12
For the music director; according to the sheminith style; 14 a psalm of David.
12:1 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly 15 have disappeared; 16
people of integrity 17 have vanished. 18
22:8 They say, 19
“Commit yourself 20 to the Lord!
Let the Lord 21 rescue him!
Let the Lord 22 deliver him, for he delights in him.” 23
28:9 Deliver your people!
Empower 24 the nation that belongs to you! 25
Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms 26 at all times! 27
31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand 28 in a wide open place.
56:13 when you deliver 29 my life from death.
You keep my feet from stumbling, 30
so that I might serve 31 God as I enjoy life. 32
57:3 May he send help from heaven and deliver me 33
from my enemies who hurl insults! 34 (Selah)
May God send his loyal love and faithfulness!
For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” 36 by David.
69:1 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck. 37
69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!
Deliver me 38 from those who hate me,
from the deep water!
69:35 For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his people 39 will again live in them and possess Zion. 40
91:14 The Lord says, 41
“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;
I will protect him 42 because he is loyal to me. 43
98:3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel. 44
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us. 45
106:47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!
Gather us from among the nations!
Then we will give thanks 46 to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds. 47
109:21 O sovereign Lord,
intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation! 48
Because your loyal love is good, deliver me!
1 tn In v. 2 the psalmist describes his enemies as those who “confront” him (קָמִים [qamim], literally, “rise up against him”). Now, using the same verbal root (קוּם, qum) he asks the
2 tn Elsewhere in the psalms the particle כִּי (ki), when collocated with a perfect verbal form and subordinated to a preceding imperative directed to God, almost always has an explanatory or causal force (“for, because”) and introduces a motivating argument for why God should respond positively to the request (see Pss 5:10; 6:2; 12:1; 16:1; 41:4; 55:9; 56:1; 57:1; 60:2; 69:1; 74:20; 119:94; 123:3; 142:6; 143:8). (On three occasions the כִּי is recitative after a verb of perception [“see/know that,” see Pss 4:3; 25:19; 119:159]). If כִּי is taken as explanatory here, then the psalmist is arguing that God should deliver him now because that is what God characteristically does. However, such a motivating argument is not used in the passages cited above. The motivating argument usually focuses on the nature of the psalmist’s dilemma or the fact that he trusts in the Lord. For this reason it is unlikely that כִּי has its normal force here. Most scholars understand the particle כִּי as having an asseverative (emphasizing) function here (“indeed, yes”; NEB leaves the particle untranslated).
3 tn If the particle כִּי (ki) is taken as explanatory, then the perfect verbal forms in v. 7b would describe God’s characteristic behavior. However, as pointed out in the preceding note on the word “yes,” the particle probably has an asseverative force here. If so, the perfects may be taken as indicating rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s assault on his enemies as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm, as expressed before (vv. 3-6) and after this (v. 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“Strike all my enemies on the jaw, break the teeth of the wicked”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
4 sn The expression break the teeth may envision violent hand-to hand combat, though it is possible that the enemies are pictured here as a dangerous animal (see Job 29:17).
5 tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.
6 tn Heb “you see.” One could translate the perfect as generalizing, “you do take notice.”
7 tn If the preceding perfect is taken as generalizing, then one might understand כִּי (ki) as asseverative: “indeed, certainly.”
8 tn Here the imperfect emphasizes God’s typical behavior.
9 tn Heb “destruction and suffering,” which here refers metonymically to the wicked, who dish out pain and suffering to their victims.
10 tn Heb “to give into your hand, upon you, he abandons, [the] unfortunate [one].” The syntax is awkward and the meaning unclear. It is uncertain who or what is being given into God’s hand. Elsewhere the idiom “give into the hand” means to deliver into one’s possession. If “to give” goes with what precedes (as the accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests), then this may refer to the wicked man being delivered over to God for judgment. The present translation assumes that “to give” goes with what follows (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). The verb יַעֲזֹב (ya’azov) here has the nuance “entrust” (see Gen 39:6; Job 39:11); the direct object (“[his] cause”) is implied.
11 tn Or “help.”
12 tn Heb “[for] one who is fatherless, you are a deliverer.” The noun יָתוֹם (yatom) refers to one who has lost his father (not necessarily his mother, see Ps 109:9).
sn The fatherless. Because they were so vulnerable and were frequently exploited, fatherless children are often mentioned as epitomizing the oppressed (see Pss 68:5; 82:3; 94:6; 146:9; as well as Job 6:27; 22:9; 24:3, 9; 29:12; 31:17, 21).
13 sn Psalm 12. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene, for society is overrun by deceitful, arrogant oppressors and godly individuals are a dying breed. When the Lord announces his intention to defend the oppressed, the psalmist affirms his confidence in the divine promise.
14 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.
15 tn The singular form is collective or representative. Note the plural form “faithful [ones]” in the following line. A “godly [one]” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
16 tn Or “have come to an end.”
17 tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”
18 tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”
19 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.
20 tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גלל here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the
21 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
22 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
23 tn That is, “for he [the
sn This statement does not necessarily reflect the enemies’ actual belief, but it does reflect the psalmist’s confession. The psalmist’s enemies sarcastically appeal to God to help him, because he claims to be an object of divine favor. However, they probably doubted the reality of his claim.
24 tn Or “bless.”
25 tn Heb “your inheritance.” The parallelism (note “your people”) indicates that Israel is in view.
26 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).
27 tn Or “forever.”
28 tn Heb “you cause my feet to stand.”
29 tn The perfect verbal form is probably future perfect; the psalmist promises to make good on his vows once God has delivered him (see Pss 13:5; 52:9). (2) Another option is to understand the final two verses as being added later, after the
30 tn Heb “are not my feet [kept] from stumbling?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they are!” The question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarification of meaning.
31 tn Heb “walk before.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254; cf. the same idiom in 2 Kgs 20:3; Isa 38:3.
32 tn Heb “in the light of life.” The phrase is used here and in Job 33:30.
33 tn Heb “may he send from heaven and deliver me.” The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. The second verb, which has a vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, probably indicates purpose. Another option is to take the forms as imperfects expressing confidence, “he will send from heaven and deliver me” (cf. NRSV).
34 tn Heb “he hurls insults, one who crushes me.” The translation assumes that this line identifies those from whom the psalmist seeks deliverance. (The singular is representative; the psalmist is surrounded by enemies, see v. 4.) Another option is to understand God as the subject of the verb חָרַף (kharaf), which could then be taken as a homonym of the more common root חָרַף (“insult”) meaning “confuse.” In this case “one who crushes me” is the object of the verb. One might translate, “he [God] confuses my enemies.”
35 sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.
36 tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.
37 tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.
38 tn Heb “let me be delivered.”
39 tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
40 tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to “Zion” (see Pss 48:12; 102:14); thus the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
41 tn The words “the
42 tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).
43 tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).
44 tn Heb “he remembers his loyal love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.”
45 tn Heb “the deliverance of our God,” with “God” being a subjective genitive (= God delivers).
46 tn Heb “to give thanks.” The infinitive construct indicates result after the imperative.
47 tn Heb “to boast in your praise.”
48 tn Heb “but you,