Psalms 31:20

31:20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks ¹  of men; ² 

you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks. ³ 

Psalms 90:1

Book 4
(Psalms 90-106)

Psalm 90 ⁴ 

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90:1 O Lord, you have been our protector ⁵  through all generations!

Psalms 91:1

Psalm 91 ⁶ 

91:1 As for you, the one who lives ⁷  in the shelter of the sovereign One, ⁸ 

and resides in the protective shadow ⁹  of the mighty king ¹⁰  –

Psalms 91:9-16

91:9 For you have taken refuge in the Lord,

my shelter, the sovereign One. ¹¹ 

91:10 No harm will overtake ¹²  you;

no illness ¹³  will come near your home. ¹⁴ 

91:11 For he will order his angels ¹⁵ 

to protect you in all you do. ¹⁶ 

91:12 They will lift you up in their hands,

so you will not slip and fall on a stone. ¹⁷ 

91:13 You will subdue ¹⁸  a lion and a snake; ¹⁹ 

you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.

91:14 The Lord says, ²⁰ 

“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;

I will protect him ²¹  because he is loyal to me. ²² 

91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.

I will be with him when he is in trouble;

I will rescue him and bring him honor.

91:16 I will satisfy him with long life, ²³ 

and will let him see my salvation.

Proverbs 18:10

18:10 The name of the Lord ²⁴  is like ²⁵  a strong tower; ²⁶ 

the righteous person runs ²⁷  to it and is set safely on high. ²⁸ 

Isaiah 4:5

4:5 Then the Lord will create

over all of Mount Zion ²⁹ 

and over its convocations

a cloud and smoke by day

and a bright flame of fire by night; ³⁰ 

indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence. ³¹ 

Isaiah 8:14

8:14 He will become a sanctuary, ³² 

but a stone that makes a person trip,

and a rock that makes one stumble –

to the two houses of Israel. ³³ 

He will become ³⁴  a trap and a snare

to the residents of Jerusalem. ³⁵ 

Jeremiah 26:7

26:7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah say these things in the Lord’s temple.

Jeremiah 26:11

26:11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said, ³⁶  “This man should be condemned to die ³⁷  because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so ³⁸  with your own ears.”

Jeremiah 42:11

42:11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear. ³⁹  Do not be afraid of him because I will be with you to save you and to rescue you from his power. I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁴⁰ 

[31:20]  ¹ tn The noun רֹכֶס (rokhes) occurs only here. Its meaning is debated; some suggest “snare,” while others propose “slander” or “conspiracy.”

[31:20]  ² tn Heb “you hide them in the hiding place of your face from the attacks of man.” The imperfect verbal forms in this verse draw attention to God’s typical treatment of the faithful.

[31:20]  ³ tn Heb “you conceal them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”

[90:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 90. In this communal lament the worship leader affirms that the eternal God and creator of the world has always been Israel’s protector. But God also causes men, who are as transient as grass, to die, and in his fierce anger he decimates his covenant community, whose brief lives are filled with suffering and end in weakness. The community asks for wisdom, the restoration of God’s favor, a fresh revelation of his power, and his blessing upon their labors.

[90:1]  ⁵ tn Or “place of safety.” See Ps 71:3.

[91:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “[O] one who lives.”

[91:1]  ⁸ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

[91:1]  ⁹ sn The Lord is compared here to a bird who protects its young under the shadow of its wings (see v. 4).

[91:1]  ¹⁰ 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.

[91:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for you, the Lord, my shelter, the Most High, you have made your dwelling place.”

[91:10]  ¹² tn Or “confront.”

[91:10]  ¹³ tn For this sense of the Hebrew term נגע see Ps 38:11.

[91:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your tent.”

[91:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for his angels he will command concerning you.”

[91:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in all your ways.”

[91:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “so your foot will not strike a stone.”

[91:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “walk upon.”

[91:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or perhaps “cobra” (see Ps 58:4).

[91:14]  ²⁰ tn The words “the Lord says” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the words which follow are the Lord’s oracle of assurance.

[91:14]  ²¹ tn Or “make him secure” (Heb “set him on high”).

[91:14]  ²² tn Heb “because he knows my name” (see Ps 9:10).

[91:16]  ²³ tn Heb “length of days.”

[18:10]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ 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.

[4:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. NLT “Jerusalem”; CEV “the whole city.”

[4:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a cloud by day, and smoke, and brightness of fire, a flame by night.” Though the accents in the Hebrew text suggest otherwise, it might be preferable to take “smoke” with what follows, since one would expect smoke to accompany fire.

[4:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “indeed (or “for”) over all the glory, a canopy.” This may allude to Exod 40:34-35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory.

[8:14]  ³² tn Because the metaphor of protection (“sanctuary”) does not fit the negative mood that follows in vv. 14b-15, some contend that מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “sanctuary”) is probably a corruption of an original מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), a word that appears in the next line (cf. NAB and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:355-56). If the MT reading is retained (as in the above translation), the fact that Yahweh is a sanctuary wraps up the point of v. 13 and stands in contrast to God’s treatment of those who rebel against him (the rest of v. 14).

[8:14]  ³³ sn The two “houses” of Israel (= the patriarch Jacob) are the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

[8:14]  ³⁴ tn These words are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. וְהָיָה (vÿhayah, “and he will be”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse.

[8:14]  ³⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[26:11]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the priests and prophets said to the leaders and the people….” The long sentence has been broken up to conform better with contemporary English style and the situational context is reflected in “laid their charges.”

[26:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”

[26:11]  ³⁸ tn Heb “it.”

[42:11]  ³⁹ sn See Jer 41:18 for their reason for fear.

[42:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”