By David.
35:1 O Lord, fight 2 those who fight with me!
Attack those who attack me!
35:2 Grab your small shield and large shield, 3
and rise up to help me!
35:3 Use your spear and lance 4 against 5 those who chase me!
Assure me with these words: 6 “I am your deliverer!”
1 sn Psalm 35. The author, who faces ruthless enemies who seek his life for no reason, begs the Lord to fight his battles for him and to vindicate him by annihilating his adversaries.
2 tn Or “contend.”
3 tn Two different types of shields are mentioned here. See also Ezek 38:4. Many modern translations render the first term (translated here “small shield”) as “buckler” (cf. NASB “buckler and shield”; the order is often reversed in the translation, apparently for stylistic reasons: cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “shield and buckler”). The English term “buckler,” referring to a small round shield held on the arm to protect the upper body, is unfamiliar to many modern readers, so the term “small shield” was used in the present translation for clarity.
4 tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.
5 tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”
6 tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”