9:3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated 1 before you.
18:39 You give me strength 2 for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me. 3
18:44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me. 4
Foreigners are powerless 5 before me;
26:6 I maintain a pure lifestyle, 6
so I can appear before your altar, 7 O Lord,
39:13 Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy
before I pass away. 8
46:3 when its waves 9 crash 10 and foam,
and the mountains shake 11 before the surging sea. 12 (Selah)
61:7 May he reign 13 forever before God!
Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him. 14
68:3 But the godly 15 are happy;
they rejoice before God
and are overcome with joy. 16
72:9 Before him the coastlands 17 will bow down,
and his enemies will lick the dust. 18
73:22 I was ignorant 19 and lacked insight; 20
I was as senseless as an animal before you. 21
81:15 (May those who hate the Lord 22 cower in fear 23 before him!
May they be permanently humiliated!) 24
84:7 They are sustained as they travel along; 25
each one appears 26 before God in Zion.
89:23 I will crush his enemies before him;
I will strike down those who hate him.
89:36 His dynasty will last forever. 27
His throne will endure before me, like the sun, 28
96:9 Worship the Lord in holy attire! 29
Tremble before him, all the earth!
97:3 Fire goes before him;
on every side 30 it burns up his enemies.
99:5 Praise 31 the Lord our God!
Worship 32 before his footstool!
He is holy!
119:46 I will speak 33 about your regulations before kings
and not be ashamed.
119:67 Before I was afflicted I used to stray off, 34
but now I keep your instructions. 35
119:147 I am up before dawn crying for help.
I find hope in your word.
132:7 Let us go to his dwelling place!
Let us worship 36 before his footstool!
142:2 I pour out my lament before him;
I tell him about 37 my troubles.
143:2 Do not sit in judgment on 38 your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you. 39
1 tn Or “perish”; or “die.” The imperfect verbal forms in this line either emphasize what typically happens or describe vividly the aftermath of a recent battle in which the
2 tn Heb “clothed me.” See v. 32.
3 tn Heb “you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me.”
sn My foes kneel before me. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 268.
4 tn Heb “at a report of an ear they submit to me.” The report of the psalmist’s exploits is so impressive that those who hear it submit to his rulership without putting up a fight.
5 tn For the meaning “be weak, powerless” for כָּחַשׁ (kakhash), see Ps 109:24. The next line (see v. 45a), in which “foreigners” are also mentioned, favors this interpretation. Another option is to translate “cower in fear” (see Deut 33:29; Pss 66:3; 81:15; cf. NIV “cringe”; NRSV “came cringing”).
6 tn Heb “I wash my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The imperfect verbal emphasizes that this is his habit.
7 tn Heb “so I can go around your altar” (probably in ritual procession). Following the imperfect of the preceding line, the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
8 tn Heb “Gaze away from me and I will smile before I go and am not.” The precise identification of the initial verb form (הָשַׁע, hasha’) is uncertain. It could be from the root שָׁעָע (sha’a’, “smear”), but “your eyes” would be the expected object in this case (see Isa 6:10). The verb may be an otherwise unattested Hiphil form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “to gaze”) meaning “cause your gaze to be.” Some prefer to emend the form to the Qal שְׁעֵה (shÿ’eh, “gaze”; see Job 14:6). If one does read a form of the verb “to gaze,” the angry divine “gaze” of discipline would seem to be in view (see vv. 10-11). For a similar expression of this sentiment see Job 10:20-21.
9 tn Heb “its waters.”
10 tn Or “roar.”
11 tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the characteristic nature of the activity described.
12 tn Heb “at its swelling.” The Hebrew word often means “pride.” If the sea is symbolic of hostile nations, then this may be a case of double entendre. The surging, swelling sea symbolizes the proud, hostile nations. On the surface the psalmist appears to be depicting a major natural catastrophe, perhaps a tidal wave. If so, then the situation would be hypothetical. However, the repetition of the verbs הָמָה (hamah, “crash; roar,” v. 3) and מוֹט (mot, “shake,” v. 2) in v. 6, where nations/kingdoms “roar” and “shake,” suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).
13 tn Heb “sit [enthroned].” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive here, expressing the psalmist’s prayer.
14 tn Heb “loyal love and faithfulness appoint, let them protect him.”
15 tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).
16 tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)
17 tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.
18 sn As they bow down before him, it will appear that his enemies are licking the dust.
19 tn Or “brutish, stupid.”
20 tn Heb “and I was not knowing.”
21 tn Heb “an animal I was with you.”
22 tn “Those who hate the
23 tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 66:3 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “to be weak; to be powerless” (see also Ps 109:24). The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, parallel to the jussive form in the next line.
24 tc Heb “and may their time be forever.” The Hebrew term עִתָּם (’ittam, “their time”) must refer here to the “time” of the demise and humiliation of those who hate the
tn The verb form at the beginning of the line is jussive, indicating that this is a prayer. The translation assumes that v. 15 is a parenthetical “curse” offered by the psalmist. Having heard the reference to Israel’s enemies (v. 14), the psalmist inserts this prayer, reminding the Lord that they are God’s enemies as well.
25 tn Heb “they go from strength to strength.” The phrase “from strength to strength” occurs only here in the OT. With a verb of motion, the expression “from [common noun] to [same common noun]” normally suggests movement from one point to another or through successive points (see Num 36:7; 1 Chr 16:20; 17:5; Ps 105:13; Jer 25:32). Ps 84:7 may be emphasizing that the pilgrims move successively from one “place of strength” to another as they travel toward Jerusalem. All along the way they find adequate provisions and renewed energy for the trip.
26 tn The psalmist returns to the singular (see v. 5a), which he uses in either a representative or distributive (“each one” ) sense.
27 tn Heb “his offspring forever will be.”
28 tn Heb “and his throne like the sun before me.”
29 tn Or “in holy splendor.”
30 tn Heb “all around.”
31 tn Or “exalt.”
32 tn Or “bow down.”
33 tn The series of four cohortatives with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive in vv. 46-48 list further consequences of the anticipated positive divine response to the request made in v. 43.
34 tn Heb “before I suffered, I was straying off.”
35 tn Heb “your word.”
36 tn Or “bow down.”
37 tn Heb “my trouble before him I declare.”
38 tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”
39 tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”