Psalms 44:2-7

Context

44:2 You, by your power,¹ defeated nations and settled our fathers on their land;²

you crushed³ the people living there⁴ and enabled our ancestors to occupy it.⁵

44:3 For they did not conquer⁶ the land by their swords,

and they did not prevail by their strength,⁷

but rather by your power,⁸ strength⁹ and good favor,¹⁰

for you were partial to¹¹ them.

44:4 You are my¹² king, O God!

Decree¹³ Jacob’s¹⁴ deliverance!

44:5 By your power¹⁵ we will drive back¹⁶ our enemies;

by your strength¹⁷ we will trample down¹⁸ our foes!¹⁹

44:6 For I do not trust in my bow,

and I do not prevail by my sword.

44:7 For you deliver²⁰ us from our enemies;

you humiliate²¹ those who hate us.

Psalms 121:7-8

Context

121:7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;

he will protect your life.

121:8 The Lord will protect you in all you do,²²

now and forevermore.

[44:2] ¹tn Heb “you, your hand.”

[44:2] ²tn Heb “dispossessed nations and planted them.” The third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v. 1). See Ps 80:8, 15.

[44:2] ³tn The verb form in the Hebrew text is a Hiphil preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive) from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil; be bad”). If retained it apparently means, “you injured; harmed.” Some prefer to derive the verb from רָעַע (“break”; cf. NEB “breaking up the peoples”), in which case the form must be revocalized as Qal (since this verb is unattested in the Hiphil).

[44:2] ⁴tn Or “peoples.”

[44:2] ⁵tn Heb “and you sent them out.” The translation assumes that the third masculine plural pronoun “them” refers to the fathers (v. 1), as in the preceding parallel line. See Ps 80:11, where Israel, likened to a vine, “spreads out” its tendrils to the west and east. Another option is to take the “peoples” as the referent of the pronoun and translate, “and you sent them away,” though this does not provide as tight a parallel with the corresponding line.

[44:3] ⁶tn Or “take possession of.”

[44:3] ⁷tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.

[44:3] ⁸tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7; 20:6; 21:8).

[44:3] ⁹tn Heb “your arm.”

[44:3] ¹⁰tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[44:3] ¹¹tn Or “favorable toward.”

[44:4] ¹²sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.

[44:4] ¹³tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [mÿtsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (’elohay mÿtsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).

[44:4] ¹⁴tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.

[44:5] ¹⁵tn Heb “by you.”

[44:5] ¹⁶tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”

[44:5] ¹⁷tn Heb “in your name.” The Lord’s “name” refers here to his revealed character or personal presence. Specifically in this context his ability to deliver, protect, and energize for battle is in view (see Ps 54:1).

[44:5] ¹⁸sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.

[44:5] ¹⁹tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”

[44:7] ²⁰tn Or “have delivered,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).

[44:7] ²¹tn Or “have humiliated,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).

[121:8] ²²tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.”