¹ tn Heb “the God.” The prefixed article emphasizes the Lord’s distinctiveness as the one true God (cf. Deut 33:26). See v. 30.

² tn Heb “is the one who clothes.” For similar language see 1 Sam 2:4; Pss 65:6; 93:1. The psalmist employs a generalizing hymnic style in vv. 32-34; he uses participles in vv. 32a, 33a, and 34a to describe what God characteristically does on his behalf.

³ tn 2 Sam 22:33 reads, “the God is my strong refuge.”

sn Gives me strength. As the following context makes clear, this refers to physical and emotional strength for battle (see especially v. 39).

⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries along the generalizing force of the preceding participle.

⁵ tn Heb “he made my path smooth.” The Hebrew term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).

⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.

⁷ tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.

⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).

⁹ tn Heb “Who is this man, the one who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” The singular (note “man”) is representative here (see v. 14, where the plural is used), and has thus been translated as a plural (“followers…they”).

¹⁰ tn Heb “[may] this [be] the repayment to my accusers from the Lord.”

¹¹ tn Or “against.”

¹² tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being; soul”) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

¹³ tn Heb “look, indeed thus will the man, the fearer of the Lord, be blessed.”