Psalms 17:13

17:13 Rise up, Lord!

Confront him! ¹  Knock him down! ² 

Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man! ³ 

Psalms 18:43

18:43 You rescue me from a hostile army; ⁴ 

you make me ⁵  a leader of nations;

people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. ⁶ 

Psalms 18:48

18:48 He delivers me ⁷  from my enemies;

you snatch me away ⁸  from those who attack me; ⁹ 

you rescue me from violent men.

Psalms 22:8

22:8 They say, ¹⁰ 

“Commit yourself ¹¹  to the Lord!

Let the Lord ¹²  rescue him!

Let the Lord ¹³  deliver him, for he delights in him.” ¹⁴ 

Psalms 31:1

Psalm 31 ¹⁵ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!

Never let me be humiliated!

Vindicate me by rescuing me! ¹⁶ 

Psalms 43:1

Psalm 43 ¹⁷ 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ¹⁸  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ¹⁹  from deceitful and evil men! ²⁰ 

Psalms 144:2

144:2 who loves me ²¹  and is my stronghold,

my refuge ²²  and my deliverer,

my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,

who makes nations submit to me. ²³ 

[17:13]  ¹ tn Heb “Be in front of his face.”

[17:13]  ² tn Or “bring him to his knees.”

[17:13]  ³ tn Heb “rescue my life from the wicked [one] [by] your sword.”

[18:43]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the strivings of a people.” In this context the Hebrew term רִיב (riv, “striving”) probably has a militaristic sense (as in Judg 12:2; Isa 41:11), and עָם (’am, “people”) probably refers more specifically to an army (for other examples, see the verses listed in BDB 766 s.v. I עַם, עָם 2.d). Some understand the phrase as referring to attacks by the psalmist’s own countrymen, the “nation” being Israel. However, foreign enemies appear to be in view; note the reference to “nations” in the following line.

[18:43]  ⁵ tn 2 Sam 22:44 reads, “you keep me.”

[18:43]  ⁶ tn Heb “a people whom I did not know serve me.” In this context “know” (יָדַע, yada’) probably refers to formal recognition by treaty. People who were once not under the psalmist’s authority now willingly submit to his rulership to avoid being conquered militarily (see vv. 44-45). The language may recall the events recorded in 2 Sam 8:9-10 and 10:19.

[18:48]  ⁷ tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”

[18:48]  ⁸ tn Heb “lifts me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רום probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt, elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given the psalmist victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[18:48]  ⁹ tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”

[22:8]  ¹⁰ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. The psalmist here quotes the sarcastic taunts of his enemies.

[22:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “roll [yourself].” The Hebrew verb גלל here has the sense of “commit” (see Prov 16:3). The imperatival form in the Hebrew text indicates the enemies here address the psalmist. Since they refer to him in the third person in the rest of the verse, some prefer to emend the verb to a perfect, “he commits himself to the Lord.”

[22:8]  ¹² tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “Let him”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:8]  ¹⁴ tn That is, “for he [the Lord] delights in him [the psalmist].” For other cases where the expression “delight in” refers to God’s delight in a person, see Num 14:8; 1 Kgs 10:9; Pss 18:19; 40:8.

[31:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 31. The psalmist confidently asks the Lord to protect him. Enemies threaten him and even his friends have abandoned him, but he looks to the Lord for vindication. In vv. 19-24, which were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18, the psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him.

[31:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”

[43:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

[43:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “argue my case.”

[43:1]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

[43:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.

[144:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “my loyal love,” which is probably an abbreviated form of “the God of my loyal love” (see Ps 59:10, 17).

[144:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “my elevated place.”

[144:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “the one who subdues nations beneath me.”