22:19 They confronted 1 me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me. 2
For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; 4 a song.
46:1 God is our strong refuge; 5
he is truly our helper in times of trouble. 6
144:10 the one who delivers 7 kings,
and rescued David his servant from a deadly 8 sword.
1 tn The same verb is translated “trapped” in v. 6. In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect. Cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT “attacked.”
2 tn Heb “became my support.”
3 sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.
4 sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.
5 tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”
6 tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.
7 tn Heb “grants deliverance to.”
8 tn Heb “harmful.”