73:23 But I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
80:15 the root 1 your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow! 2
89:13 Your arm is powerful,
your hand strong,
your right hand 3 victorious. 4
89:25 I will place his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers. 5
118:15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly. 6
The Lord’s right hand conquers, 7
121:5 The Lord is your protector;
the Lord is the shade at your right hand.
137:5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand be crippled! 8
139:10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
1 tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here in the OT. HALOT 483 s.v. III כֵּן emends the form to כַּנָּהּ (kannah, “its shoot”).
2 tn Heb “and upon a son you strengthened for yourself.” In this context, where the extended metaphor of the vine dominates, בֵּן (ben, “son”) probably refers to the shoots that grow from the vine. Cf. Gen 49:22.
3 sn The Lord’s arm, hand, and right hand all symbolize his activities, especially his exploits in war.
4 tn Heb “is lifted up.” The idiom “the right hand is lifted up” refers to victorious military deeds (see Pss 89:42; 118:16).
5 tn Some identify “the sea” as the Mediterranean and “the rivers” as the Euphrates and its tributaries. However, it is more likely that “the sea” and “the rivers” are symbols for hostile powers that oppose God and the king (see v. 9, as well as Ps 93:3-4).
6 tn Heb “the sound of a ringing shout and deliverance [is] in the tents of the godly.”
7 tn Heb “does valiantly.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 108:13).
8 tn Heb “may my right hand forget.” In this case one must supply an object, such as “how to move.” The elliptical nature of the text has prompted emendations (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 236). The translation assumes an emendation to תִּכְשַׁח (tikhshakh), from an otherwise unattested root כשׁח, meaning “to be crippled; to be lame.” See HALOT 502 s.v. כשׁח, which cites Arabic cognate evidence in support of the proposal. The corruption of the MT can be explained as an error of transposition facilitated by the use of שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”) just before this.