18:33 He gives me the agility of a deer; 1
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. 2
18:38 I beat them 3 to death; 4
they fall at my feet. 5
31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand 6 in a wide open place.
73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my feet almost slid out from under me. 7
94:18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.
119:101 I stay away 8 from the evil path,
so that I might keep your instructions. 9
1 tn Heb “[the one who] makes my feet like [those of ] a deer.”
2 tn Heb “and on my high places he makes me walk.” The imperfect verbal form emphasizes God’s characteristic provision. The psalmist compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.
3 tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”
4 tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”
5 sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.
5 tn Heb “you cause my feet to stand.”
7 tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”
9 tn Heb “I hold back my feet.”
10 tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew