Psalms 44:3-6

44:3 For they did not conquer ¹  the land by their swords,

and they did not prevail by their strength, ² 

but rather by your power, ³  strength ⁴  and good favor, ⁵ 

for you were partial to ⁶  them.

44:4 You are my ⁷  king, O God!

Decree ⁸  Jacob’s ⁹  deliverance!

44:5 By your power ¹⁰  we will drive back ¹¹  our enemies;

by your strength ¹²  we will trample down ¹³  our foes! ¹⁴ 

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

and I do not prevail by my sword.

[44:3]  ¹ tn Or “take possession of.”

[44:3]  ² tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.

[44:3]  ³ tn 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “your arm.”

[44:3]  ⁵ tn 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]  ⁶ tn Or “favorable toward.”

[44:4]  ⁷ sn 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]  ⁸ tc 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]  ⁹ tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.

[44:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “by you.”

[44:5]  ¹¹ tn 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]  ¹² tn 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]  ¹³ sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.

[44:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”