Psalms 139:9

139:9 If I were to fly away ¹  on the wings of the dawn, ² 

and settle down on the other side ³  of the sea,

Psalms 148:10

148:10 you animals and all you cattle,

you creeping things and birds,

Psalms 17:8

17:8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye! ⁴ 

Hide me in the shadow of your wings! ⁵ 

Psalms 61:4

61:4 I will be a permanent guest in your home; ⁶ 

I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. ⁷  (Selah)

Psalms 63:7

63:7 For you are my deliverer; ⁸ 

under your wings ⁹  I rejoice.

Psalms 78:27

78:27 He rained down meat on them like dust,

birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 18:10

18:10 He mounted ¹¹  a winged angel ¹²  and flew;

he glided ¹³  on the wings of the wind. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 36:7

36:7 How precious ¹⁵  is your loyal love, O God!

The human race finds shelter under your wings. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 68:13

68:13 When ¹⁷  you lie down among the sheepfolds, ¹⁸ 

the wings of the dove are covered with silver

and with glittering gold. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 91:4

91:4 He will shelter you ²⁰  with his wings; ²¹ 

you will find safety under his wings.

His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall. ²² 

Psalms 104:3

104:3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. ²³ 

He makes the clouds his chariot,

and travels along on the wings of the wind. ²⁴ 

Psalms 57:1

Psalm 57 ²⁵ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ²⁶  a prayer ²⁷  of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave. ²⁸ 

57:1 Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me!

For in you I have taken shelter. ²⁹ 

In the shadow of your wings ³⁰  I take shelter

until trouble passes.

[139:9]  ¹ tn Heb “rise up.”

[139:9]  ² sn On the wings of the dawn. This personification of the “dawn” may find its roots in mythological traditions about the god Shachar, whose birth is described in an Ugaritic myth (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 126) and who is mentioned in Isa 14:12 as the father of Helel.

[139:9]  ³ tn Heb “at the end.”

[17:8]  ⁴ tc Heb “Protect me like the pupil, a daughter of an eye.” The noun בַּת (bat, “daughter”) should probably be emended to בָּבַת (bavat, “pupil”). See Zech 2:12 HT (2:8 ET) and HALOT 107 s.v. *בָּבָה.

[17:8]  ⁵ sn Your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.

[61:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will live as a resident alien in your tent permanently.” The cohortative is understood here as indicating resolve. Another option is to take it as expressing a request, “please let me live” (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[61:4]  ⁸ sn I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.

[63:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[63:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the shadow of your wings.”

[78:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “and like the sand of the seas winged birds.”

[18:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or “rode upon.”

[18:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a cherub.” Because of the typical associations of the word “cherub” in English with chubby winged babies, the term has been rendered “winged angel” in the translation.

[18:10]  ¹⁸ tc 2 Sam 22:11 reads “appeared” (from רָאָה, ra’ah); the relatively rare verb דָאָה (da’ah, “glide”) is more difficult and probably the original reading here in Ps 18.

[18:10]  ¹⁹ sn The wings of the wind. Verse 10 may depict (1) the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option (2) is that two different vehicles (a cherub and the wind) are envisioned. Yet another option (3) is that the wind is personified as a cherub. For a discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in v. 10, see M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[36:7]  ¹⁹ tn Or “valuable.”

[36:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and the sons of man in the shadow of your wings find shelter.” The preservation of physical life is in view, as the next verse makes clear.

[68:13]  ²² tn Or “if.”

[68:13]  ²³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “sheepfolds” is uncertain. There may be an echo of Judg 5:16 here.

[68:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and her pinions with the yellow of gold.”

[91:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “put a cover over you” (see Ps 5:11).

[91:4]  ²⁶ tc The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural should be read. The final yod (י) of the suffix, which indicates the plural, has dropped off by haplography (note the yod [י] at the beginning of the next word).

[91:4]  ²⁷ tn Traditionally the Hebrew term סֹחֵרָה (sokherah), which occurs only here in the OT, has been understood to refer to a buckler or small shield (see BDB 695 s.v.). But HALOT 750 s.v., on the basis of evidence from the cognate languages, proposes the meaning “wall.”

[104:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.

[104:3]  ²⁹ sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[57:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 57. The psalmist asks for God’s protection and expresses his confidence that his ferocious enemies will be destroyed by their own schemes.

[57:1]  ³² tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the heading to Pss 58-59, 75.

[57:1]  ³³ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56, 58-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[57:1]  ³⁴ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm on the occasion when he fled from Saul and hid in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3.

[57:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “my life has taken shelter.” The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

[57:1]  ³⁶ sn In the shadow of your wings. The metaphor likens God to a protective mother bird (see also Pss 17:8; 36:7).