Discovery BoxPsalms 144:1-2 
ContextBy David.
144:1 The Lord, my protector, 2 deserves praise 3 –
the one who trains my hands for battle, 4
and my fingers for war,
144:2 who loves me 5 and is my stronghold,
my refuge 6 and my deliverer,
my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,
who makes nations submit to me. 7
1 sn Psalm 144. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God, asks for a mighty display of divine intervention in an upcoming battle, and anticipates God’s rich blessings on the nation in the aftermath of military victory.
2 tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The
3 tn Heb “blessed [be] the
4 sn The one who trains my hands for battle. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement (see Ps 18:34). Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.
5 tn Heb “my loyal love,” which is probably an abbreviated form of “the God of my loyal love” (see Ps 59:10, 17).
6 tn Or “my elevated place.”
7 tn Heb “the one who subdues nations beneath me.”
