Psalms 12:7

12:7 You, Lord, will protect them; ¹ 

you will continually shelter each one from these evil people, ² 

Psalms 32:7

32:7 You are my hiding place;

you protect me from distress.

You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance. ³  (Selah)

Psalms 40:11

40:11 O Lord, you do not withhold ⁴  your compassion from me.

May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me! ⁵ 

Psalms 61:7

61:7 May he reign ⁶  forever before God!

Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him. ⁷ 

Psalms 64:1

Psalm 64 ⁸ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

64:1 Listen to me, ⁹  O God, as I offer my lament!

Protect ¹⁰  my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks. ¹¹ 

Psalms 78:7

78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God.

They will not forget the works of God,

and they will obey ¹²  his commands.

Psalms 119:69

119:69 Arrogant people smear my reputation with lies, ¹³ 

but I observe your precepts with all my heart.

Psalms 140:1

Psalm 140 ¹⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! ¹⁵ 

Protect me from violent men, ¹⁶ 

Psalms 140:4

140:4 O Lord, shelter me from the power ¹⁷  of the wicked!

Protect me from violent men,

who plan to knock me over. ¹⁸ 

[12:7]  ¹ tn The third person plural pronominal suffix on the verb is masculine, referring back to the “oppressed” and “needy” in v. 5 (both of those nouns are plural in form), suggesting that the verb means “protect” here. The suffix does not refer to אִמֲרוֹת (’imarot, “words”) in v. 6, because that term is feminine gender.

[12:7]  ² tn Heb “you will protect him from this generation permanently.” The third masculine singular suffix on the verb “protect” is probably used in a distributive sense, referring to each one within the group mentioned previously (the oppressed/needy, referred to as “them” in the preceding line). On this grammatical point see GKC 396 §123.f (where the present text is not cited). (Some Hebrew mss and ancient textual witnesses read “us,” both here and in the preceding line.) The noun דוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the psalmist’s contemporaries, who were characterized by deceit and arrogance (see vv. 1-2). See BDB 189-90 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[32:7]  ³ tn Heb “[with] shouts of joy of deliverance you surround me.”

[40:11]  ⁵ tn Some (cf. NIV, NRSV) translate the verb as a request (“do not withhold”), but elsewhere in the psalms the second masculine singular prefixed form, when addressed to God and preceded by לֹא (lo’), is always indicative in mood and never has the force of a prayer (see Pss 16:10; 22:2; 44:9 51:16-17; 60:10; 108:11; cf. NEB, NASB).

[40:11]  ⁶ tn In this line the psalmist makes the transition from confidence to petition (see v. 13). Since the prefixed verbal form in the preceding line is imperfect/indicative, one could take the verb in this line as imperfect as well and translate, “your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me” (cf. NEB). However, the כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the next verse, if causal (“because”), is best understood as introducing a motivating argument in support of a petition. For this reason v. 11b is best taken as a prayer with the prefixed form being understood as jussive (cf. NIV, NRSV). For parallels to the proposed construction (jussive followed by כִּי + perfect introducing motivating argument), see Ps 25:21, as well as Pss 10:2-3; 22:8.

[61:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “sit [enthroned].” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive here, expressing the psalmist’s prayer.

[61:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “loyal love and faithfulness appoint, let them protect him.”

[64:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 64. The psalmist asks God to protect him from his dangerous enemies and then confidently affirms that God will destroy his enemies and demonstrate his justice in the sight of all observers.

[64:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my voice.”

[64:1]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.

[64:1]  ¹² tn Heb “from the terror of [the] enemy.” “Terror” is used here metonymically for the enemy’s attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist’s life.

[78:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “keep.”

[119:69]  ¹³ tn Heb “smear over me a lie.”

[140:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

[140:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[140:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[140:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “hands.”

[140:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to push down my steps.”