45:4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious! 1
Ride forth for the sake of what is right, 2
on behalf of justice! 3
Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts! 4
74:19 Do not hand the life of your dove 5 over to a wild animal!
Do not continue to disregard 6 the lives of your oppressed people!
77:2 In my time of trouble I sought 7 the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. 8
I 9 refused to be comforted.
78:61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured; 10
he gave the symbol of his splendor 11 into the hand of the enemy. 12
A psalm.
98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, 14
for he performs 15 amazing deeds!
His right hand and his mighty arm
accomplish deliverance. 16
A psalm of David.
110:1 Here is the Lord’s proclamation 18 to my lord: 19
“Sit down at my right hand 20 until I make your enemies your footstool!” 21
138:7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger, 22 you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies, 23
and your right hand delivers me.
1 tn Heb “and your majesty, be successful.” The syntax is awkward. The phrase “and your majesty” at the beginning of the verse may be accidentally repeated (dittography); it appears at the end of v. 3.
2 tn Or “for the sake of truth.”
3 tc The precise meaning of the MT is uncertain. The form עַנְוָה (’anvah) occurs only here. One could emend the text to עֲנָוָה וְצֶדֶק (’anavah vÿtsedeq, “[for the sake of truth], humility, and justice”). In this case “humility” would perhaps allude to the king’s responsibility to “serve” his people by promoting justice (cf. NIV “in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness”). The present translation assumes an emendation to יַעַן (ya’an, “because; on account of”) which would form a suitable parallel to עַל־דְּבַר (’al-dÿvar, “because; for the sake of”) in the preceding line.
4 tn Heb “and your right hand will teach you mighty acts”; or “and may your right hand teach you mighty acts.” After the imperatives in the first half of the verse, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive likely indicates purpose (“so that your right hand might teach you mighty acts”) or result (see the present translation). The “right hand” here symbolizes the king’s military strength. His right hand will “teach” him mighty acts by performing them and thereby causing him to experience their magnificence.
5 sn Your dove. The psalmist compares weak and vulnerable Israel to a helpless dove.
6 tn Heb “do not forget forever.”
7 tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.
8 tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.
9 tn Or “my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
10 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.
11 tn Heb “and his splendor into the hand of an enemy.” The expression “his splendor” also refers metonymically to the ark of the covenant.
12 sn Verses 60-61 refer to the Philistines’ capture of the ark in the days of Eli (1 Sam 4:1-11).
13 sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.
14 sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.
15 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.
16 tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.
17 sn Psalm 110. In this royal psalm the psalmist announces God’s oracle to the Davidic king. The first part of the oracle appears in v. 1, the second in v. 4. In vv. 2-3 the psalmist addresses the king, while in vv. 5-7 he appears to address God.
18 tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is used frequently in the OT of a formal divine announcement through a prophet.
19 sn My lord. In the psalm’s original context the speaker is an unidentified prophetic voice in the royal court. In the course of time the psalm is applied to each successive king in the dynasty and ultimately to the ideal Davidic king. NT references to the psalm understand David to be speaking about his “lord,” the Messiah. (See Matt 22:43-45; Mark 12:36-37; Luke 20:42-44; Acts 2:34-35).
20 tn To sit at the “right hand” of the king was an honor (see 1 Kgs 2:19). In Ugaritic myth (CTA 4 v. 108-10) the artisan god Kothar-and Khasis is described as sitting at the right hand of the storm god Baal. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 61-62.
sn The Lord’s invitation to the Davidic king to sit down at his right hand reflects the king’s position as the Lord’s vice-regent.
21 sn When the Lord made his covenant with David, he promised to subdue the king’s enemies (see 2 Sam 7:9-11; Ps 89:22-23).
22 tn Or “distress.”
23 tn Heb “against the anger of my enemies you extend your hand.”