28:2 King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I wanted to build a temple where the ark of the Lord’s covenant could be placed as a footstool for our God. 3 I have made the preparations for building it.
9:1 When the news reached all the kings on the west side of the Jordan 6 – in the hill country, the lowlands, 7 and all along the Mediterranean coast 8 as far as 9 Lebanon (including the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) –
20:4 May he grant your heart’s desire; 12
may he bring all your plans to pass! 13
For the music director; a psalm of David.
20:1 May the Lord answer 15 you 16 when you are in trouble; 17
may the God of Jacob 18 make you secure!
1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, 19 have not ceased praying for you and asking God 20 to fill 21 you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
1 tn Heb “I was with my heart.”
2 tn Heb “for the name of.”
3 tn Heb “I, with my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the
4 tn Heb “took.” This probably means they tasted some of the food to make sure it was stale.
5 tn Heb “but they did not ask the mouth of the
6 tn Heb “When all the kings who were beyond the Jordan heard.”
7 tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”
8 tn Heb “all the coast of the Great Sea.” The “Great Sea” was the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
9 tn Heb “in front of.”
10 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
11 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “may he give to you according to your heart.” This probably refers to the king’s prayer for protection and victory in battle. See vv. 5-6.
13 sn May he bring all your plans to pass. This probably refers to the king’s strategy for battle.
14 sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.
15 tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the
16 sn May the
17 tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”
18 tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.
19 tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.
20 tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.
21 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.