Psalms 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ¹ 

they flatter and deceive. ² 

Psalms 17:13

17:13 Rise up, Lord!

Confront him! ³  Knock him down! ⁴ 

Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man! ⁵ 

Psalms 35:3

35:3 Use your spear and lance ⁶  against ⁷  those who chase me!

Assure me with these words: ⁸  “I am your deliverer!”

Psalms 56:5

56:5 All day long they cause me trouble; ⁹ 

they make a habit of plotting my demise. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 60:5

60:5 Deliver by your power ¹¹  and answer me, ¹² 

so that the ones you love may be safe. ¹³ 

Psalms 76:10

76:10 Certainly ¹⁴  your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise; ¹⁵ 

you reveal your anger in full measure. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 79:11

79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! ¹⁷ 

Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! ¹⁸ 

Psalms 88:10

88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?

Do the departed spirits ¹⁹  rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)

Psalms 92:12

92:12 The godly ²⁰  grow like a palm tree;

they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon. ²¹ 

Psalms 99:4

99:4 The king is strong;

he loves justice. ²² 

You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; ²³ 

you promote justice and equity in Jacob.

Psalms 107:12

107:12 So he used suffering to humble them; ²⁴ 

they stumbled and no one helped them up.

Psalms 108:6

108:6 Deliver by your power ²⁵  and answer me,

so that the ones you love may be safe. ²⁶ 

Psalms 129:7

129:7 which cannot fill the reaper’s hand,

or the lap of the one who gathers the grain!

Psalms 144:1

Psalm 144 ²⁷ 

By David.

144:1 The Lord, my protector, ²⁸  deserves praise ²⁹  –

the one who trains my hands for battle, ³⁰ 

and my fingers for war,

[12:2]  ¹ tn Heb “falsehood they speak, a man with his neighbor.” The imperfect verb forms in v. 2 describe what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.

[12:2]  ² tn Heb “[with] a lip of smoothness, with a heart and a heart they speak.” Speaking a “smooth” word refers to deceptive flattery (cf. Ps 5:9; 55:21; Prov 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21; 26:28; 28:23; Isa 30:10). “Heart” here refers to their mind, from which their motives and intentions originate. The repetition of the noun indicates diversity (see GKC 396 §123.f, IBHS 116 §7.2.3c, and Deut 25:13, where the phrase “weight and a weight” refers to two different measuring weights). These people have two different types of “hearts.” Their flattering words seem to express kind motives and intentions, but this outward display does not really reflect their true motives. Their real “heart” is filled with evil thoughts and destructive intentions. The “heart” that is seemingly displayed through their words is far different from the real “heart” they keep disguised. (For the idea see Ps 28:3.) In 1 Chr 12:33 the phrase “without a heart and a heart” means “undivided loyalty.”

[17:13]  ³ tn Heb “Be in front of his face.”

[17:13]  ⁴ tn Or “bring him to his knees.”

[17:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “rescue my life from the wicked [one] [by] your sword.”

[35:3]  ⁵ tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.

[35:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”

[35:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”

[56:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “my affairs they disturb.” For other instances of דָּבָר (davar) meaning “affairs, business,” see BDB 183 s.v.. The Piel of עָצַב (’atsav, “to hurt”) occurs only here and in Isa 63:10, where it is used of “grieving” (or “offending”) the Lord’s holy Spirit. Here in Ps 56:5, the verb seems to carry the nuance “disturb, upset,” in the sense of “cause trouble.”

[56:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “against me [are] all their thoughts for harm.”

[60:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “right hand.”

[60:5]  ¹⁰ tn The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”

[60:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text, “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[76:10]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[76:10]  ¹² tn Heb “the anger of men will praise you.” This could mean that men’s anger (subjective genitive), when punished by God, will bring him praise, but this interpretation does not harmonize well with the next line. The translation assumes that God’s anger is in view here (see v. 7) and that “men” is an objective genitive. God’s angry judgment against men brings him praise because it reveals his power and majesty (see vv. 1-4).

[76:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “the rest of anger you put on.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear. Perhaps the idea is that God, as he prepares for battle, girds himself with every last ounce of his anger, as if it were a weapon.

[79:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”

[79:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[88:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Rephaim,” a term that refers to those who occupy the land of the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14, 19).

[92:12]  ¹⁷ tn The singular is used in a representative sense, with the typical godly person being in view.

[92:12]  ¹⁸ sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size.

[99:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (’oz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (’az, “strong”).

[99:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you establish fairness.”

[107:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he subdued with suffering their heart.”

[108:6]  ²³ tn Heb “right hand.”

[108:6]  ²⁴ tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text: “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[144:1]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord, my rocky summit.”

[144:1]  ²⁸ 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.