18:16 He reached down 1 from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water. 2
144:7 Reach down 3 from above!
Grab me and rescue me from the surging water, 4
from the power of foreigners, 5
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 “stretch out your hands.”
4 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).
5 tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”