Psalms 44:5

44:5 By your power¹ we will drive back² our enemies;

by your strength³ we will trample down⁴ our foes!⁵

Psalms 44:13

44:13 You made us⁶ an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.⁷

Psalms 46:7

46:7 The Lord who commands armies is on our side!⁸

The God of Jacob⁹ is our protector!¹⁰ (Selah)

Psalms 46:11

46:11 The Lord who commands armies is on our side!¹¹

The God of Jacob¹² is our protector!¹³ (Selah)

Psalms 79:4

79:4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;

those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.¹⁴

Psalms 90:9

90:9 Yes,¹⁵ throughout all our days we experience your raging fury;¹⁶

the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.¹⁷

Psalms 90:17

90:17 May our sovereign God extend his favor to us!¹⁸

Make our endeavors successful!

Yes, make them successful!¹⁹

Psalms 99:9

99:9 Praise²⁰ the Lord our God!

Worship on his holy hill,

for the Lord our God is holy!

Psalms 103:10

103:10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;²¹

he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.²²

¹tn Heb “by you.”

²tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”

sn The Hebrew verb translated “drive back” is literally “gore”; the imagery is that of a powerful wild ox that “gores” its enemies and tramples them underfoot.

³tn Heb “in your name.” The Lord’s “name” refers here to his revealed character or personal presence. Specifically in this context his ability to deliver, protect, and energize for battle is in view (see Ps 54:1).

⁴sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.

⁵tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”

⁶tn The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

⁷tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.”

⁸tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

⁹tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

¹⁰tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

¹¹tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

¹²tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

¹³tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

¹⁴tn Heb “an [object of] taunting and [of] mockery to those around us.” See Ps 44:13.

¹⁵tn Or “for.”

¹⁶tn Heb “all our days pass by in your anger.”

¹⁷tn Heb “we finish our years like a sigh.” In Ezek 2:10 the word הֶגֶה (hegeh) elsewhere refers to a grumbling or moaning sound. Here a brief sigh or moan is probably in view. If so, the simile pictures one’s lifetime as transient. Another option is that the simile alludes to the weakness that characteristically overtakes a person at the end of one’s lifetime. In this case the phrase could be translated, “we end our lives with a painful moan.”

¹⁸tn Heb “and may the delight of the Master, our God, be on us.” The Hebrew term נֹעַם (no’am, “delight”) is used in Ps 27:4 of the Lord’s “beauty,” but here it seems to refer to his favor (see BDB 653 s.v.) or kindness (HALOT 706 s.v.).

¹⁹tn Heb “and the work of our hands establish over us, and the work of our hands, establish it.”

²⁰tn Or “exalt.”

²¹tn Heb “not according to our sins does he do to us.”

²²tn Heb “and not according to our misdeeds does he repay us.”