Psalms 27:1

Psalm 27 1 

By David.

27:1 The Lord delivers and vindicates me! 2 

I fear no one! 3 

The Lord protects my life!

I am afraid of no one! 4 

Psalms 46:1

Psalm 46 5 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; 6  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; 7 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. 8 

Psalms 112:6-8

112:6 For he will never be upended;

others will always remember one who is just. 9 

112:7 He does not fear bad news.

He 10  is confident; he trusts 11  in the Lord.

112:8 His resolve 12  is firm; he will not succumb to fear

before he looks in triumph on his enemies.

Proverbs 14:26

14:26 In the fear of the Lord one has 13  strong confidence, 14 

and it will be a refuge 15  for his children.

Proverbs 28:1

28:1 The wicked person flees when there is no one pursuing, 16 

but the righteous person is as confident 17  as a lion.

1 sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.

2 tn Heb “the Lord [is] my light and my deliverance.” “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).

3 tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

4 tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

5 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.

6 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.

7 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.”

8 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.

9 tn Heb “for an eternal memorial a just [one] will be.”

10 tn Heb “his heart,” viewed here as the seat of the volition and emotions (see Ps 108:1).

11 tn The passive participle בָּטֻחַ [בָּטוּחַ] (batuakh [batuakh]) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action. See Isa 26:3.

12 tn Heb “his heart,” viewed here as the seat of the volition.

13 tn Heb “In the fear of the Lord [is] confidence of strength.” The phrase “one has” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

14 tn Heb “confidence of strength.” This construct phrase features an attributive genitive: “strong confidence” (so most English versions; NIV “a secure fortress”).

15 sn The fear of the Lord will not only provide security for the parent but will also be a refuge for children. The line recalls Exod 20:5-6 where children will reap the benefits of the righteous parents. The line could also be read as “he [= God] will be a refuge for the children.”

16 sn The line portrays the insecurity of a guilty person – he flees because he has a guilty conscience, or because he is suspicious of others around him, or because he fears judgment.

17 tn The verb בָּטַח (batakh) means “to trust; to be secure; to be confident.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “bold.”