Psalms 11:1

Psalm 11 ¹ 

For the music director; by David.

11:1 In the Lord I have taken shelter. ² 

How can you say to me, ³ 

“Flee to a mountain like a bird! ⁴ 

Psalms 46:1-2

Psalm 46 ⁵ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; ⁶  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; ⁷ 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. ⁸ 

46:2 For this reason we do not fear ⁹  when the earth shakes, ¹⁰ 

and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, ¹¹ 

Psalms 56:2-4

56:2 Those who anticipate my defeat ¹²  attack me all day long.

Indeed, ¹³  many are fighting against me, O Exalted One. ¹⁴ 

56:3 When ¹⁵  I am afraid,

I trust in you.

56:4 In God – I boast in his promise ¹⁶  –

in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ¹⁷  do to me? ¹⁸ 

Psalms 118:6

118:6 The Lord is on my side, ¹⁹  I am not afraid!

What can people do to me? ²⁰ 

Matthew 8:26

8:26 But ²¹  he said to them, “Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked ²²  the winds and the sea, ²³  and it was dead calm.

Romans 8:31

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Hebrews 13:6

13:6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, and ²⁴  I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” ²⁵ 

[11:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 11. The psalmist rejects the advice to flee from his dangerous enemies. Instead he affirms his confidence in God’s just character and calls down judgment on evildoers.

[11:1]  ² tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

[11:1]  ³ tn The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

[11:1]  ⁴ tc The MT is corrupt here. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads: “flee [masculine plural!] to your [masculine plural!] mountain, bird.” The Qere (marginal reading) has “flee” in a feminine singular form, agreeing grammatically with the addressee, the feminine noun “bird.” Rather than being a second masculine plural pronominal suffix, the ending כֶם- (-khem) attached to “mountain” is better interpreted as a second feminine singular pronominal suffix followed by an enclitic mem (ם). “Bird” may be taken as vocative (“O bird”) or as an adverbial accusative of manner (“like a bird”). Either way, the psalmist’s advisers compare him to a helpless bird whose only option in the face of danger is to fly away to an inaccessible place.

[46:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.

[46:1]  ⁶ sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.

[46:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”

[46:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.

[46:2]  ⁹ tn The imperfect is taken in a generalizing sense (cf. NEB) because the situation described in vv. 2-3 is understood as symbolizing typical world conditions. In this case the imperfect draws attention to the typical nature of the response. The covenant community characteristically responds with confidence, not fear. Another option is to take the situation described as purely hypothetical. In this case one might translate, “We will not fear, even though the earth should shake” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[46:2]  ¹⁰ tn The Hiphil infinitival form is normally taken to mean “when [the earth] is altered,” being derived from מוּר (mur, “to change”). In this case the Hiphil would be intransitive, as in Ps 15:4. HALOT 560 s.v. II מור emends the form to a Niphal and derives it from a homonymic root מוּר attested in Arabic with the meaning “shake.”

[46:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “heart of the seas.” The plural may be used for emphasis, pointing to the deepest sea. Note that the next verse uses a singular pronoun (“its waters,” “its swelling”) in referring back to the plural noun.

[56:2]  ¹² tn Heb “to those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 54:5; 59:10.

[56:2]  ¹³ tn Or “for.”

[56:2]  ¹⁴ tn Some take the Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “on high; above”) as an adverb modifying the preceding participle and translate, “proudly” (cf. NASB; NIV “in their pride”). The present translation assumes the term is a divine title here. The Lord is pictured as enthroned “on high” in Ps 92:8. (Note the substantival use of the term in Isa 24:4 and see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:34), who prefer to place the term at the beginning of the next verse.)

[56:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[in] a day.”

[56:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in God I boast, his word.” The syntax in the Hebrew text is difficult. (1) The line could be translated, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” Such a translation assumes that the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and that “his word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. Another option (2) is to translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” is a song of praise. (In this view the pronominal suffix “his” must be omitted as in v. 10.) The present translation reflects yet another option (3): In this case “I praise his word” is a parenthetical statement, with “his word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in the next line, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.

[56:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “flesh,” which refers by metonymy to human beings (see v. 11, where “man” is used in this same question), envisioned here as mortal and powerless before God.

[56:4]  ¹⁸ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[118:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for me.”

[118:6]  ²⁰ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential. See Ps 56:11.

[8:26]  ²¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[8:26]  ²² tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

[8:26]  ²³ sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.

[13:6]  ²⁴ tc Some important mss (א* C* P 0285^vid 33 1175 1739 pc lat) lack καί (kai), but because the omission conforms to the wording of Ps 118:6 (117:6 LXX), it is suspect.

[13:6]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 118:6.