Psalms 18:1-2

Psalm 18 ¹ 

For the music director; by the Lord’s servant David, who sang ²  to the Lord the words of this song when ³  the Lord rescued him from the power ⁴  of all his enemies, including Saul. ⁵ 

18:1 He said: ⁶ 

“I love ⁷  you, Lord, my source of strength! ⁸ 

18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, ⁹  my stronghold, ¹⁰  my deliverer.

My God is my rocky summit where ¹¹  I take shelter, ¹² 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ¹³  and my refuge. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 27:5

27:5 He will surely ¹⁵  give me shelter ¹⁶  in the day of danger; ¹⁷ 

he will hide me in his home; ¹⁸ 

he will place me ¹⁹  on an inaccessible rocky summit. ²⁰ 

Psalms 62:6-8

62:6 He alone is my protector ²¹  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ²²  I will not be upended. ²³ 

62:7 God delivers me and exalts me;

God is my strong protector and my shelter. ²⁴ 

62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people!

Pour out your hearts before him! ²⁵ 

God is our shelter! (Selah)

Psalms 71:3

71:3 Be my protector and refuge, ²⁶ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ²⁷ 

For you are my high ridge ²⁸  and my stronghold.

Psalms 84:11

84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. ²⁹ 

The Lord bestows favor ³⁰  and honor;

he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. ³¹ 

Psalms 91:1-2

Psalm 91 ³² 

91:1 As for you, the one who lives ³³  in the shelter of the sovereign One, ³⁴ 

and resides in the protective shadow ³⁵  of the mighty king ³⁶  –

91:2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,

my God in whom I trust –

Psalms 144:1-2

Psalm 144 ³⁷ 

By David.

144:1 The Lord, my protector, ³⁸  deserves praise ³⁹  –

the one who trains my hands for battle, ⁴⁰ 

and my fingers for war,

144:2 who loves me ⁴¹  and is my stronghold,

my refuge ⁴²  and my deliverer,

my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,

who makes nations submit to me. ⁴³ 

Proverbs 18:10

18:10 The name of the Lord ⁴⁴  is like ⁴⁵  a strong tower; ⁴⁶ 

the righteous person runs ⁴⁷  to it and is set safely on high. ⁴⁸ 

Isaiah 25:4

25:4 For you are a protector for the poor,

a protector for the needy in their distress,

a shelter from the rainstorm,

a shade from the heat.

Though the breath of tyrants ⁴⁹  is like a winter rainstorm, ⁵⁰ 

Isaiah 26:1-4

Judah Will Celebrate

26:1 At that time ⁵¹  this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city!

The Lord’s ⁵²  deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. ⁵³ 

26:2 Open the gates so a righteous nation can enter –

one that remains trustworthy.

26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,

for they trust in you. ⁵⁴ 

26:4 Trust in the Lord from this time forward, ⁵⁵ 

even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector! ⁵⁶ 

Isaiah 32:2

32:2 Each of them ⁵⁷  will be like a shelter from the wind

and a refuge from a rainstorm;

like streams of water in a dry region

and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.

[18:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 18. In this long song of thanks, the psalmist (a Davidic king, traditionally understood as David himself) affirms that God is his faithful protector. He recalls in highly poetic fashion how God intervened in awesome power and delivered him from death. The psalmist’s experience demonstrates that God vindicates those who are blameless and remain loyal to him. True to his promises, God gives the king victory on the battlefield and enables him to subdue nations. A parallel version of the psalm appears in 2 Sam 22:1-51.

[18:1]  ² tn Heb “spoke.”

[18:1]  ³ tn Heb “in the day,” or “at the time.”

[18:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “hand.”

[18:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and from the hand of Saul.”

[18:1]  ⁶ tn A number of translations (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV) assign the words “he said” to the superscription, in which case the entire psalm is in first person. Other translations (e.g., NAB) include the introductory “he said” at the beginning of v. 1.

[18:1]  ⁷ tn The verb רָחַם (rakham) elsewhere appears in the Piel (or Pual) verbal stem with the basic meaning, “have compassion.” The verb occurs only here in the basic (Qal) stem. The basic stem of the verbal root also occurs in Aramaic with the meaning “love” (see DNWSI 2:1068-69; Jastrow 1467 s.v. רָחַם; G. Schmuttermayr, “rhm: eine lexikalische Studie,” Bib 51 [1970]: 515-21). Since this introductory statement does not appear in the parallel version in 2 Sam 22:1-51, it is possible that it is a later addition to the psalm, made when the poem was revised for use in worship.

[18:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “my strength.” “Strength” is metonymic here, referring to the Lord as the one who bestows strength to the psalmist; thus the translation “my source of strength.”

[18:2]  ⁹ sn My high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[18:2]  ¹⁰ sn My stronghold. David often found safety in such strongholds. See 1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22; 2 Sam 5:9, 17; 23:14.

[18:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “in whom.”

[18:2]  ¹² sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[18:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “the horn of my salvation”; or “my saving horn.”

[18:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “my elevated place.” The parallel version of this psalm in 2 Sam 22:3 adds at this point, “my refuge, my savior, [you who] save me from violence.”

[27:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “for he will.” The translation assumes the כִּי (ki) is asseverative here, rather than causal.

[27:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he will hide me in his hut.”

[27:5]  ¹⁷ tn Or “trouble.”

[27:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “tent.”

[27:5]  ¹⁹ tn The three imperfect verb forms in v. 5 anticipate a positive response to the prayer offered in vv. 7-12.

[27:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “on a rocky summit he lifts me up.” The Lord places the psalmist in an inaccessible place where his enemies cannot reach him. See Ps 18:2.

[62:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:6]  ²² tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:6]  ²³ sn The wording is identical to that of v. 2, except that רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) does not appear in v. 6.

[62:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “upon God [is] my deliverance and my glory, the high rocky summit of my strength, my shelter [is] in God.”

[62:8]  ²⁵ tn To “pour out one’s heart” means to offer up to God intense, emotional lamentation and petitionary prayers (see Lam 2:19).

[71:3]  ²⁶ tc Heb “become for me a rocky summit of a dwelling place.” The Hebrew term מָעוֹן (ma’on, “dwelling place”) should probably be emended to מָעוֹז (ma’oz, “refuge”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ²⁷ tc Heb “to enter continually, you commanded to deliver me.” The Hebrew phrase לָבוֹא תָּמִיד צִוִּיתָ (lavo’ tamid tsivvita, “to enter continually, you commanded”) should be emended to לְבֵית מְצוּדוֹת (lÿvet mÿtsudot, “a house of strongholds”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ²⁸ sn You are my high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[84:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.

[84:11]  ³⁰ tn Or “grace.”

[84:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”

[91:1]  ³² sn Psalm 91. In this psalm an individual (perhaps a priest) addresses one who has sought shelter in the Lord and assures him that God will protect him from danger (vv. 1-13). In vv. 14-16 God himself promises to keep his loyal follower safe.

[91:1]  ³³ tn Heb “[O] one who lives.”

[91:1]  ³⁴ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

[91:1]  ³⁵ sn The Lord is compared here to a bird who protects its young under the shadow of its wings (see v. 4).

[91:1]  ³⁶ sn The divine name used here is “Shaddai” (שַׁדַּי, shadday; see also Ps 68:14). Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is the mighty king (sovereign judge) of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness.

[144:1]  ³⁷ sn Psalm 144. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God, asks for a mighty display of divine intervention in an upcoming battle, and anticipates God’s rich blessings on the nation in the aftermath of military victory.

[144:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[144:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord, my rocky summit.”

[144:1]  ⁴⁰ sn The one who trains my hands for battle. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement (see Ps 18:34). Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

[144:2]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “my loyal love,” which is probably an abbreviated form of “the God of my loyal love” (see Ps 59:10, 17).

[144:2]  ⁴² tn Or “my elevated place.”

[144:2]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the one who subdues nations beneath me.”

[18:10]  ⁴⁴ sn The “name of the Lord” is a metonymy of subject. The “name” here signifies not the personal name “Yahweh,” for that would be redundant in the expression “the name of Yahweh,” but the attributes of the Lord (cf. Exod 34:5-7) – here his power to protect.

[18:10]  ⁴⁵ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[18:10]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “a tower of strength,” with “strength” regarded as attributive by most English versions. The metaphor “strong tower” indicates that God is a secure refuge. The figure is qualified in the second colon.

[18:10]  ⁴⁷ sn The metaphor of “running” to the Lord refers to a whole-hearted and unwavering trust in God’s protection (e.g., Isa 40:31).

[18:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “is high” or “is inaccessible.” This military-type expression stresses the effect of the trust – security, being out of danger (see HALOT 1305 s.v. שׂגב). Other scriptures will supply the ways that God actually protects people who trust him.

[25:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; NIV, NRSV “the ruthless.”

[25:4]  ⁵⁰ tc The Hebrew text has, “like a rainstorm of a wall,” which might be interpreted to mean, “like a rainstorm battering against a wall.” The translation assumes an emendation of קִיר (qir, “wall”) to קֹר (qor, “cold, winter”; cf. Gen 8:22). See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:457, n. 6, for discussion.

[26:1]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).

[26:1]  ⁵² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:1]  ⁵³ tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”

[26:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.

[26:4]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “forevermore.” For other uses of the phrase עֲדֵי־עַד (’ade-’ad) see Isa 65:18 and Pss 83:17; 92:7.

[26:4]  ⁵⁶ tc The Hebrew text has “for in Yah, the Lord, an everlasting rock.” Some have suggested that the phrase בְּיָהּ (beyah, “in Yah”) is the result of dittography. A scribe seeing כִּי יְהוָה (ki yÿhvah) in his original text would somehow have confused the letters and accidentally inserted בְּיָהּ between the words (bet and kaf [ב and כ] can be confused in later script phases). A number of English versions retain both divine names for emphasis (ESV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). One of the Qumran texts (1QIsa^a) confirms the MT reading as well.

[32:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “a man,” but אִישׁ (’ish) probably refers here to “each” of the officials mentioned in the previous verse.