1 Chronicles 19:13-14

19:13 Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!” ¹  19:14 So Joab and his men ²  marched toward the Arameans to do battle, and they fled before him.

Psalms 18:32

18:32 The one true God ³  gives ⁴  me strength; ⁵ 

he removes ⁶  the obstacles in my way. ⁷ 

Psalms 33:16

33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;

a warrior is not saved by his great might.

Psalms 46:11

46:11 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ⁸ 

The God of Jacob ⁹  is our protector! ¹⁰  (Selah)

¹ tn Heb “and the Lord, what is good in his eyes, he will do.”

² tn Heb “and the army which was with him.”

³ tn Heb “the God.” The prefixed article emphasizes the Lord’s distinctiveness as the one true God (cf. Deut 33:26). See v. 30.

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn 2 Sam 22:33 reads, “the God is my strong refuge.”

⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries along the generalizing force of the preceding participle.

⁷ 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).

⁸ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

⁹ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

¹⁰ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).