1 Samuel 18:7

18:7 The women who were playing the music sang,

“Saul has struck down his thousands,

but David his tens of thousands!”

1 Samuel 18:2

18:2 Saul retained David ¹  on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house.

1 Samuel 5:1

The Ark Causes Trouble for the Philistines

5:1 Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

Psalms 24:7-10

24:7 Look up, ²  you gates!

Rise up, ³  you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king ⁴  will enter! ⁵ 

24:8 Who is this majestic king? ⁶ 

The Lord who is strong and mighty!

The Lord who is mighty in battle!

24:9 Look up, you gates!

Rise up, you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king will enter!

24:10 Who is this majestic king?

The Lord who commands armies! ⁷ 

He is the majestic king! (Selah)

Psalms 134:1-3

Psalm 134 ⁸ 

A song of ascents. ⁹ 

134:1 Attention! ¹⁰  Praise the Lord,

all you servants of the Lord,

who serve ¹¹  in the Lord’s temple during the night.

134:2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary

and praise the Lord!

134:3 May the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth,

bless you ¹²  from Zion! ¹³ 

[18:2]  ¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:7]  ² tn Heb “lift up your heads.” The gates of the Lord’s dwelling place are here personified. The idiom “lift up the head” often means “be confident, bold” (see Judg 8:28; Job 10:15; Ps 83:2; Zech 1:21).

[24:7]  ³ tn Heb “lift yourselves up.”

[24:7]  ⁴ tn Or “king of glory.”

[24:7]  ⁵ tn Following the imperatives of the preceding lines, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.

[24:8]  ⁶ sn Who is this majestic king? Perhaps the personified gates/doors ask this question, in response to the command given in v. 7.

[24:10]  ⁷ tn Traditionally, “the Lord of hosts,” a title which here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle.

[134:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 134. The psalmist calls on the temple servants to praise God (vv. 1-2). They in turn pronounce a blessing on the psalmist (v. 3).

[134:1]  ⁹ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[134:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Look!”

[134:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stand.”

[134:3]  ¹² tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine singular, suggesting that the servants addressed in vv. 1-2 are responding to the psalmist.

[134:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “may the Lord bless you from Zion, the maker of heaven and earth.”