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
18:19 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me. 4
18:20 The Lord repaid 5 me for my godly deeds; 6
he rewarded 7 my blameless behavior. 8
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.”
3 tn Or “delighted in me.”
4 tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.
5 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-24 make clear, the psalmist refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. In these verses the psalmist explains that the
6 tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 24) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.
7 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” “Hands” suggest activity and behavior.