Psalms 20:1

Psalm 20 1 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

20:1 May the Lord answer 2  you 3  when you are in trouble; 4 

may the God of Jacob 5  make you secure!

Psalms 50:15

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! 6 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” 7 

Psalms 59:16

59:16 As for me, I will sing about your strength;

I will praise your loyal love in the morning.

For you are my refuge 8 

and my place of shelter when I face trouble. 9 

Psalms 86:7

86:7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,

for you will answer me.

Psalms 91:15

91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.

I will be with him when he is in trouble;

I will rescue him and bring him honor.

Isaiah 37:3-4

37:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: 10  ‘This is a day of distress, insults, 11  and humiliation, 12  as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 13  37:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. 14  When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. 15  So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 16 

1 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.

2 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 Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.

3 sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.

4 tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”

5 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.

6 tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

7 sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

8 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

9 tn Heb “and my shelter in the day of my distress.”

10 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him” (cf. NRSV).

11 tn Or “rebuke” (KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “correction.”

12 tn Or “contempt”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “disgrace.”

13 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”

14 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”

15 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the Lord your God hears.”

16 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”