A musical composition 2 by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning 3 a Benjaminite named Cush. 4
7:1 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. 5
Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!
18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, 6 my stronghold, 7 my deliverer.
My God is my rocky summit where 8 I take shelter, 9
my shield, the horn that saves me, 10 and my refuge. 11
For the music director; according to the tune “Morning Doe;” 13 a psalm of David.
22:1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? 14
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away. 15
22:5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed. 16
22:8 They say, 17
“Commit yourself 18 to the Lord!
Let the Lord 19 rescue him!
Let the Lord 20 deliver him, for he delights in him.” 21
For the music director; a psalm of David.
31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!
Never let me be humiliated!
Vindicate me by rescuing me! 23
34:8 Taste 24 and see that the Lord is good!
How blessed 25 is the one 26 who takes shelter in him! 27
37:40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from evil men and delivers them, 28
for they seek his protection.
71:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!
Never let me be humiliated!
26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,
for they trust in you. 30
28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says:
“Look, I am laying 31 a stone in Zion,
an approved 32 stone,
set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. 33
The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 34
41:16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;
the wind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
49:23 Kings will be your children’s 35 guardians;
their princesses will nurse your children. 36
With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you
and they will lick the dirt on 37 your feet.
Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;
those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.
10:1 Brothers and sisters, 41 my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites 42 is for their salvation.
1 sn Psalm 7. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from his enemies. He protests his innocence and declares his confidence in God’s justice.
2 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שִׁגָּיוֹן (shiggayon; translated here “musical composition”) is uncertain. Some derive the noun from the verbal root שָׁגָה (shagah, “swerve, reel”) and understand it as referring to a “wild, passionate song, with rapid changes of rhythm” (see BDB 993 s.v. שִׁגָּיוֹן). But this proposal is purely speculative. The only other appearance of the noun is in Hab 3:1, where it occurs in the plural.
3 tn Or “on account of.”
4 sn Apparently this individual named Cush was one of David’s enemies.
5 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.
6 sn My high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.
7 sn My stronghold. David often found safety in such strongholds. See 1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22; 2 Sam 5:9, 17; 23:14.
8 tn Or “in whom.”
9 sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).
10 tn Heb “the horn of my salvation”; or “my saving horn.”
11 tn Or “my elevated place.” The parallel version of this psalm in 2 Sam 22:3 adds at this point, “my refuge, my savior, [you who] save me from violence.”
12 sn Psalm 22. The psalmist cries out to the Lord for deliverance from his dangerous enemies, who have surrounded him and threaten his life. Confident that the Lord will intervene, he then vows to thank the Lord publicly for his help and anticipates a time when all people will recognize the Lord’s greatness and worship him.
13 tn Heb “according to the doe of the dawn.” Apparently this refers to a particular musical tune or style.
14 sn From the psalmist’s perspective it seems that God has abandoned him, for he fails to answer his cry for help (vv. 1b-2).
15 tn Heb “far from my deliverance [are] the words of my groaning.” The Hebrew noun שְׁאָגָה (shÿ’agah) and its related verb שָׁאַג (sha’ag) are sometimes used of a lion’s roar, but they can also describe human groaning (see Job 3:24 and Pss 32:3 and 38:8.
16 tn Or “were not ashamed.”
17 tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.
18 tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גלל here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the
19 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
20 tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the
21 tn That is, “for he [the
22 sn Psalm 31. The psalmist confidently asks the Lord to protect him. Enemies threaten him and even his friends have abandoned him, but he looks to the Lord for vindication. In vv. 19-24, which were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18, the psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him.
23 tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”
24 tn This verb is normally used of tasting or savoring food. The metaphor here appears to compare the
25 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
26 tn Heb “man.” The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the more neutral “one.”
27 tn “Taking shelter” in the
28 tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry on the generalizing tone of the preceding verse.
29 sn Psalm 71. The psalmist prays for divine intervention and expresses his confidence that God will protect and vindicate him. The first three verses are very similar to Ps 31:1-3a.
30 tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.
31 tc The Hebrew text has a third person verb form, which does not agree with the first person suffix that precedes. The form should be emended to יֹסֵד (yosed), a Qal active participle used in a present progressive or imminent future sense.
32 tn Traditionally “tested,” but the implication is that it has passed the test and stands approved.
33 sn The reality behind the metaphor is not entirely clear from the context. The stone appears to represent someone or something that gives Zion stability. Perhaps the ideal Davidic ruler is in view (see 32:1). Another option is that the image of beginning a building project by laying a precious cornerstone suggests that God is about to transform Zion through judgment and begin a new covenant community that will experience his protection (see 4:3-6; 31:5; 33:20-24; 35:10).
34 tn Heb “will not hurry,” i.e., act in panic.
35 tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).
36 tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.
37 tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”
38 tn The phrase ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ (Jh agaph tou qeou, “the love of God”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“our love for God”), subjective genitive (“God’s love for us”), or both (M. Zerwick’s “general” genitive [Biblical Greek, §§36-39]; D. B. Wallace’s “plenary” genitive [ExSyn 119-21]). The immediate context, which discusses what God has done for believers, favors a subjective genitive, but the fact that this love is poured out within the hearts of believers implies that it may be the source for believers’ love for God; consequently an objective genitive cannot be ruled out. It is possible that both these ideas are meant in the text and that this is a plenary genitive: “The love that comes from God and that produces our love for God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (ExSyn 121).
39 sn On the OT background of the Spirit being poured out, see Isa 32:15; Joel 2:28-29.
40 sn A quotation from Isa 28:16.
41 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
42 tn Grk “on behalf of them”; the referent (Paul’s fellow Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
43 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
44 tn Or “will render,” “will recompense.” In this context Paul is setting up a hypothetical situation, not stating that salvation is by works.
45 sn A quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; a close approximation to Matt 16:27.