Genesis 31:42

31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ¹  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ²  and he rebuked you last night.”

Psalms 9:4

9:4 For you defended my just cause; ³ 

from your throne you pronounced a just decision. ⁴ 

Psalms 26:1

Psalm 26 ⁵ 

By David.

26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have integrity, ⁶ 

and I trust in the Lord without wavering.

Psalms 35:1

Psalm 35 ⁷ 

By David.

35:1 O Lord, fight ⁸  those who fight with me!

Attack those who attack me!

Psalms 35:23

35:23 Rouse yourself, wake up ⁹  and vindicate me! ¹⁰ 

My God and Lord, defend my just cause! ¹¹ 

Psalms 43:1

Psalm 43 ¹² 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ¹³  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ¹⁴  from deceitful and evil men! ¹⁵ 

Psalms 43:1

Psalm 43 ¹⁶ 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ¹⁷  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ¹⁸  from deceitful and evil men! ¹⁹ 

Psalms 2:1

Psalm 2 ²⁰ 

2:1 Why ²¹  do the nations rebel? ²² 

Why ²³  are the countries ²⁴  devising ²⁵  plots that will fail? ²⁶ 

[31:42]  ¹ tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42,53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.

[31:42]  ² tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”

[9:4]  ³ tn Heb “for you accomplished my justice and my legal claim.”

[9:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “you sat on a throne [as] one who judges [with] righteousness.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 4 probably allude to a recent victory (see vv. 5-7). Another option is to understand the verbs as describing what is typical (“you defend…you sit on a throne”).

[26:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.

[26:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”

[35:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 35. The author, who faces ruthless enemies who seek his life for no reason, begs the Lord to fight his battles for him and to vindicate him by annihilating his adversaries.

[35:1]  ⁸ tn Or “contend.”

[35:23]  ⁹ sn Though he is confident that the Lord is aware of his situation (see v. 22a), the psalmist compares the Lord’s inactivity to sleep and urges him to wake up.

[35:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for my justice.”

[35:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for my cause.”

[43:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

[43:1]  ¹³ tn Or “argue my case.”

[43:1]  ¹⁴ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

[43:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.

[43:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

[43:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “argue my case.”

[43:1]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

[43:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.

[2:1]  ²⁰ sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.

[2:1]  ²¹ tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.

[2:1]  ²² tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.

[2:1]  ²³ tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[2:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).

[2:1]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).

[2:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.