Psalms 20:1

Psalm 20 ¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

20:1 May the Lord answer ²  you ³  when you are in trouble; ⁴ 

may the God of Jacob ⁵  make you secure!

Psalms 46:7

46:7 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ⁶ 

The God of Jacob ⁷  is our protector! ⁸  (Selah)

¹ sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.

² tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.

³ sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.

⁴ tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”

⁵ tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.

⁶ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

⁷ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

⁸ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).