72:12 For he will rescue the needy 1 when they cry out for help,
and the oppressed 2 who have no defender.
72:13 He will take pity 3 on the poor and needy;
the lives of the needy he will save.
72:14 From harm and violence he will defend them; 4
he will value their lives. 5
113:7 He raises the poor from the dirt,
and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile, 6
116:6 The Lord protects 7 the untrained; 8
I was in serious trouble 9 and he delivered me.
142:6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble! 10
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
A well-written song 12 by David, when he was in the cave; 13 a prayer.
142:1 To the Lord I cry out; 14
to the Lord I plead for mercy. 15
2:7 The king says, 16 “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: 17
‘You are my son! 18 This very day I have become your father!
2:8 Ask me,
and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, 19
the ends of the earth as your personal property.
1 tn The singular is representative. The typical needy individual here represents the entire group.
2 tn The singular is representative. The typical oppressed individual here represents the entire group.
3 tn The prefixed verb form is best understood as a defectively written imperfect (see Deut 7:16).
4 tn Or “redeem their lives.” The verb “redeem” casts the
5 tn Heb “their blood will be precious in his eyes.”
6 sn The language of v. 7 is almost identical to that of 1 Sam 2:8.
7 tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the
8 tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Ps 19:7.
9 tn Heb “I was low.”
10 tn Heb “for I am very low.”
11 sn Psalm 142. The psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.
12 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
13 sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm while in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3. See the superscription of Ps 57.
14 tn Heb “[with] my voice to the
15 tn Heb “[with] my voice to the
16 tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.
17 tn Or “I will relate the decree. The
18 sn ‘You are my son!’ The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.
19 sn I will give you the nations. The