Psalms 31:2-3

31:2 Listen to me! ¹ 

Quickly deliver me!

Be my protector and refuge, ² 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ³ 

31:3 For you are my high ridge ⁴  and my stronghold;

for the sake of your own reputation ⁵  you lead me and guide me. ⁶ 

Psalms 91:1-2

Psalm 91 ⁷ 

91:1 As for you, the one who lives ⁸  in the shelter of the sovereign One, ⁹ 

and resides in the protective shadow ¹⁰  of the mighty king ¹¹  –

91:2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,

my God in whom I trust –

Proverbs 18:10

18:10 The name of the Lord ¹²  is like ¹³  a strong tower; ¹⁴ 

the righteous person runs ¹⁵  to it and is set safely on high. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 33:16

33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; ¹⁷ 

he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; ¹⁸ 

he will have food

and a constant supply of water.

¹ tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”

² tn Heb “become for me a rocky summit of refuge.”

³ tn Heb “a house of strongholds to deliver me.”

⁴ sn The metaphor of the high ridge pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

⁵ tn Heb “name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the Lord’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.)

⁶ tn The present translation assumes that the imperfect verbal forms are generalizing, “you lead me and guide me.” Other options are to take them as an expression of confidence about the future, “you will lead me and guide me” (cf. NASB), or as expressing a prayer, “lead me and guide me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

⁷ sn Psalm 91. In this psalm an individual (perhaps a priest) addresses one who has sought shelter in the Lord and assures him that God will protect him from danger (vv. 1-13). In vv. 14-16 God himself promises to keep his loyal follower safe.

⁸ tn Heb “[O] one who lives.”

⁹ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

¹⁰ sn The Lord is compared here to a bird who protects its young under the shadow of its wings (see v. 4).

¹¹ sn The divine name used here is “Shaddai” (שַׁדַּי, shadday; see also Ps 68:14). Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is the mighty king (sovereign judge) of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness.

¹² sn The “name of the Lord” is a metonymy of subject. The “name” here signifies not the personal name “Yahweh,” for that would be redundant in the expression “the name of Yahweh,” but the attributes of the Lord (cf. Exod 34:5-7) – here his power to protect.

¹³ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

¹⁴ tn Heb “a tower of strength,” with “strength” regarded as attributive by most English versions. The metaphor “strong tower” indicates that God is a secure refuge. The figure is qualified in the second colon.

¹⁵ sn The metaphor of “running” to the Lord refers to a whole-hearted and unwavering trust in God’s protection (e.g., Isa 40:31).

¹⁶ tn Heb “is high” or “is inaccessible.” This military-type expression stresses the effect of the trust – security, being out of danger (see HALOT 1305 s.v. שׂגב). Other scriptures will supply the ways that God actually protects people who trust him.

¹⁷ tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”