Discovery BoxPsalms 18:16 
Context18:16 He reached down 1 from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water. 2
Psalms 93:4
Context93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, 3
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. 4
Psalms 144:7
Context144:7 Reach down 5 from above!
Grab me and rescue me from the surging water, 6
from the power of foreigners, 7
1 tn Heb “stretched.” Perhaps “his hand” should be supplied by ellipsis (see Ps 144:7). In this poetic narrative context the three prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.
2 tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 4 and Ps 144:7).
3 tn Heb “mighty waters.”
sn The surging waters here symbolizes the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy the order he has established in the world (see Pss 18:17; 29:3; 32:6; 77:20; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). But the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over these raging waters.
4 tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the
5 tn Heb “stretch out your hands.”
6 tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful foreign enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see the next line and Ps 18:16-17).
7 tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”
