18:17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, 1
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
18:18 They confronted 2 me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me. 3
1 tn The singular refers either to personified death or collectively to the psalmist’s enemies. The following line, which refers to “those [plural] who hate me,” favors the latter.
2 tn The same verb is translated “trapped” in v. 5. In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.
3 tn Heb “became my support.”