118:6 The Lord is on my side, 1 I am not afraid!
What can people do to me? 2
118:7 The Lord is on my side 3 as my helper. 4
I look in triumph on those who hate me.
118:13 “You aggressively attacked me 5 and tried to knock me down, 6
but the Lord helped me.
118:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures! 8
For the music director; according to the sheminith style; 10 a psalm of David.
12:1 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly 11 have disappeared; 12
people of integrity 13 have vanished. 14
41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!
Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! 15
I strengthen you –
yes, I help you –
yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! 16
42:1 17 “Here is my servant whom I support,
my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.
I have placed my spirit on him;
he will make just decrees 18 for the nations. 19
50:7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,
so I am not humiliated.
For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; 20
I know I will not be put to shame.
50:8 The one who vindicates me is close by.
Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! 21
Who is my accuser? 22 Let him challenge me! 23
50:9 Look, the sovereign Lord helps me.
Who dares to condemn me?
Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;
a moth will eat away at them.
8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
1 tn Heb “for me.”
2 tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential. See Ps 56:11.
3 tn Heb “for me.”
4 tn Heb “among my helpers.” The preposition may indicate identity here, while the plural may be one of majesty or respect.
5 tn Heb “pushing, you pushed me.” The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following verbal idea. The psalmist appears to address the nations as if they were an individual enemy. Some find this problematic and emend the verb form (which is a Qal perfect second masculine singular with a first person singular suffix) to נִדְחֵיתִי (nidkheti), a Niphal perfect first common singular, “I was pushed.”
6 tn Heb “to fall,” i.e., “that [I] might fall.”
7 sn Psalm 118. The psalmist thanks God for his deliverance and urges others to join him in praise.
8 tn Or “is forever.”
9 sn Psalm 12. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene, for society is overrun by deceitful, arrogant oppressors and godly individuals are a dying breed. When the Lord announces his intention to defend the oppressed, the psalmist affirms his confidence in the divine promise.
10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.
11 tn The singular form is collective or representative. Note the plural form “faithful [ones]” in the following line. A “godly [one]” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
12 tn Or “have come to an end.”
13 tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”
14 tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”
15 tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).
16 tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).
17 sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.
18 tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).
19 sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.
20 tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”
21 tn Heb “Let us stand together!”
22 tn Heb “Who is the master of my judgment?”
23 tn Heb “let him approach me”; NAB, NIV “Let him confront me.”
24 tc Some important
25 sn A quotation from Ps 118:6.