71:4 My God, rescue me from the power 1 of the wicked,
from the hand of the cruel oppressor!
72:4 He will defend 2 the oppressed among the people;
he will deliver 3 the children 4 of the poor
and crush the oppressor.
89:22 No enemy will be able to exact tribute 5 from him; 6
a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him. 7
1 tn Heb “hand.”
2 tn Heb “judge [for].”
3 tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.
4 tn Heb “sons.”
5 tn Heb “an enemy will not exact tribute.” The imperfect is understood in a modal sense, indicating capability or potential.
6 tn The translation understands the Hiphil of נָשַׁא (nasha’) in the sense of “act as a creditor.” This may allude to the practice of a conqueror forcing his subjects to pay tribute in exchange for “protection.” Another option is to take the verb from a homonymic verbal root meaning “to deceive,” “to trick.” Still another option is to emend the form to יִשָּׂא (yisa’), a Qal imperfect from נָאַשׂ (na’as, “rise up”) and to translate “an enemy will not rise up against him” (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 2:317).
7 tn Heb “and a son of violence will not oppress him.” The imperfect is understood in a modal sense, indicating capability or potential. The reference to a “son of violence” echoes the language of God’s promise to David in 2 Sam 7:10 (see also 1 Chr 17:9).