97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects 1 the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power 2 of the wicked.
146:9 The Lord protects those residing outside their native land;
he lifts up the fatherless and the widow, 3
but he opposes the wicked. 4
1 tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the
2 tn Heb “hand.”
3 sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by resident aliens, the fatherless, and widows.
4 tn Heb “he makes the way of the wicked twisted.” The “way of the wicked” probably refers to their course of life (see Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1). God makes their path tortuous in the sense that he makes them pay the harmful consequences of their actions.