Genesis 48:16

48:16 the Angel ¹  who has protected me ² 

from all harm –

bless these boys.

May my name be named in them, ³ 

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.

May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”

Psalms 22:24

22:24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering ⁴  of the oppressed; ⁵ 

he did not ignore him; ⁶ 

when he cried out to him, he responded. ⁷ 

Psalms 34:17-19

34:17 The godly ⁸  cry out and the Lord hears;

he saves them from all their troubles. ⁹ 

34:18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;

he delivers ¹⁰  those who are discouraged. ¹¹ 

34:19 The godly ¹²  face many dangers, ¹³ 

but the Lord saves ¹⁴  them ¹⁵  from each one of them.

Psalms 37:40

37:40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;

he rescues them from evil men and delivers them, ¹⁶ 

for they seek his protection.

Psalms 40:1-3

Psalm 40 ¹⁷ 

For the music director; By David, a psalm.

40:1 I relied completely ¹⁸  on the Lord,

and he turned toward me

and heard my cry for help.

40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, ¹⁹ 

out of the slimy mud. ²⁰ 

He placed my feet on a rock

and gave me secure footing. ²¹ 

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ²² 

praising our God. ²³ 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ²⁴ 

Psalms 40:2

40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, ²⁵ 

out of the slimy mud. ²⁶ 

He placed my feet on a rock

and gave me secure footing. ²⁷ 

Psalms 4:1

Psalm 4 ²⁸ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.

4:1 When I call out, answer me,

O God who vindicates me! ²⁹ 

Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place. ³⁰ 

Have mercy on me ³¹  and respond to ³²  my prayer!

James 5:11

5:11 Think of how we regard ³³  as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. ³⁴ 

Revelation 7:14

7:14 So ³⁵  I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” ³⁶  Then ³⁷  he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They ³⁸  have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!

[48:16]  ¹ sn The Samaritan Pentateuch reads “king” here, but the traditional reading (“angel”) may be maintained. Jacob closely associates God with an angelic protective presence. This does not mean that Jacob viewed his God as a mere angel, but it does suggest that he was aware of an angelic presence sent by God to protect him. Here he so closely associates the two that they become virtually indistinguishable. In this culture messengers typically carried the authority of the one who sent them and could even be addressed as such. Perhaps Jacob thought that the divine blessing would be mediated through this angelic messenger.

[48:16]  ² tn The verb גָּאַל (ga’al) has the basic idea of “protect” as a near relative might do. It is used for buying someone out of bondage, marrying a deceased brother’s widow, paying off debts, avenging the family, and the like. The meanings of “deliver, protect, avenge” are most fitting when God is the subject (see A. R. Johnson, “The Primary Meaning of √גאל,” Congress Volume: Copenhagen, 1953 [VTSup], 67-77).

[48:16]  ³ tn Or “be recalled through them.”

[22:24]  ⁴ tn Or “affliction”; or “need.”

[22:24]  ⁵ sn In this verse the psalmist refers to himself in the third person and characterizes himself as oppressed.

[22:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “he did not hide his face from him.” For other uses of the idiom “hide the face” meaning “ignore,” see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9. Sometimes the idiom carries the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 27:9; 88:14).

[22:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “heard.”

[34:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “they” (i.e., the godly mentioned in v. 15).

[34:17]  ⁹ tn The three perfect verbal forms are taken in a generalizing sense in v. 17 and translated with the present tense (note the generalizing mood of vv. 18-22).

[34:18]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the oppressed and needy.

[34:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the crushed in spirit.”

[34:19]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text uses the singular form; the representative or typical godly person is envisioned.

[34:19]  ¹³ tn Or “trials.”

[34:19]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the Lord typically delivers the godly.

[34:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “him,” agreeing with the singular form in the preceding line.

[37:40]  ¹⁶ tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry on the generalizing tone of the preceding verse.

[40:1]  ¹⁷ sn Psalm 40. The psalmist combines a song of thanksgiving for a recent act of divine deliverance (vv. 1-11) with a confident petition for renewed divine intervention (vv. 12-17).

[40:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “relying, I relied.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the verbal idea. The emphasis is reflected in the translation through the adverb “completely.” Another option is to translate, “I waited patiently” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[40:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (sha’on, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).

[40:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[40:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”

[40:3]  ²² sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

[40:3]  ²³ tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

[40:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

[40:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (sha’on, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).

[40:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[40:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”

[4:1]  ²⁸ sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.

[4:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “God of my righteousness.”

[4:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in distress (or “a narrow place”) you make (a place) large for me.” The function of the Hebrew perfect verbal form here is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the psalmist is expressing his certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm (vv. 3, 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“lead me”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[4:1]  ³¹ tn Or “show me favor.”

[4:1]  ³² tn Heb “hear.”

[5:11]  ³³ tn Grk “Behold! We regard…”

[5:11]  ³⁴ sn An allusion to Exod 34:6; Neh 9:17; Ps 86:15; 102:13; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2.

[7:14]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.

[7:14]  ³⁶ tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.

[7:14]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[7:14]  ³⁸ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.