Psalms 18:40-41

18:40 You make my enemies retreat; 1 

I destroy those who hate me. 2 

18:41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; 3 

they cry out to the Lord, 4  but he does not answer them.

1 tn Heb “and [as for] my enemies, you give to me [the] back [or “neck”].” The idiom “give [the] back” means “to cause [one] to turn the back and run away.” Cf. Exod 23:27.

2 sn Those who hate me. See v. 17, where it is the Lord who delivered the psalmist from those who hated him.

3 tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”

4 tn Heb “to the Lord.” The words “they cry out” are supplied in the translation because they are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).