Deuteronomy 20:4

20:4 for the Lord your God goes with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies to give you victory.” ¹ 

Joshua 1:9

1:9 I repeat, ²  be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, ³  for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” ⁴ 

Psalms 18:32-34

18:32 The one true God ⁵  gives ⁶  me strength; ⁷ 

he removes ⁸  the obstacles in my way. ⁹ 

18:33 He gives me the agility of a deer; ¹⁰ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ¹¹ 

18:34 He trains my hands for battle; ¹² 

my arms can bend even the strongest bow. ¹³ 

Psalms 46:1

Psalm 46 ¹⁴ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; ¹⁵  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; ¹⁶ 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 46:11

46:11 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ¹⁸ 

The God of Jacob ¹⁹  is our protector! ²⁰  (Selah)

[20:4]  ¹ tn Or “to save you” (so KJV, NASB, NCV); or “to deliver you.”

[1:9]  ² tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

[1:9]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

[1:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “in all which you go.”

[18:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “the God.” The prefixed article emphasizes the Lord’s distinctiveness as the one true God (cf. Deut 33:26). See v. 30.

[18:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “is the one who clothes.” For similar language see 1 Sam 2:4; Pss 65:6; 93:1. The psalmist employs a generalizing hymnic style in vv. 32-34; he uses participles in vv. 32a, 33a, and 34a to describe what God characteristically does on his behalf.

[18:32]  ⁷ tn 2 Sam 22:33 reads, “the God is my strong refuge.”

[18:32]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries along the generalizing force of the preceding participle.

[18:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “he made my path smooth.” The Hebrew term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).

[18:33]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[the one who] makes my feet like [those of ] a deer.”

[18:33]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and on my high places he makes me walk.” The imperfect verbal form emphasizes God’s characteristic provision. The psalmist compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.

[18:34]  ¹² sn He trains my hands. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement. Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

[18:34]  ¹³ tn Heb “and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms”; or “my arms bend a bow of bronze.” The verb נָחַת (nakhat) apparently means “pull back, bend” here (see HALOT 692 s.v. נחת). The third feminine singular verbal form appears to agree with the feminine singular noun קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”). In this case the verb must be taken as Niphal (passive). However, it is possible that “my arms” is the subject of the verb and “bow” the object. In this case the verb is Piel (active). For other examples of a feminine singular verb being construed with a plural noun, see GKC 464 §145.k.

[46:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.

[46:1]  ¹⁵ sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.

[46:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”

[46:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.

[46:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

[46:11]  ¹⁹ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).