Psalms 17:8-9

17:8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye! ¹ 

Hide me in the shadow of your wings! ² 

17:9 Protect me from ³  the wicked men who attack ⁴  me,

my enemies who crowd around me for the kill. ⁵ 

Psalms 31:13-15

31:13 For I hear what so many are saying, ⁶ 

the terrifying news that comes from every direction. ⁷ 

When they plot together against me,

they figure out how they can take my life.

31:14 But I trust in you, O Lord!

I declare, “You are my God!”

31:15 You determine my destiny! ⁸ 

Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.

Psalms 34:4

34:4 I sought the Lord’s help ⁹  and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

Psalms 56:2-4

56:2 Those who anticipate my defeat ¹⁰  attack me all day long.

Indeed, ¹¹  many are fighting against me, O Exalted One. ¹² 

56:3 When ¹³  I am afraid,

I trust in you.

56:4 In God – I boast in his promise ¹⁴  –

in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ¹⁵  do to me? ¹⁶ 

Acts 18:9-10

18:9 The Lord said to Paul by a vision ¹⁷  in the night, ¹⁸  “Do not be afraid, ¹⁹  but speak and do not be silent, 18:10 because I am with you, and no one will assault ²⁰  you to harm ²¹  you, because I have many people in this city.”

Acts 27:24

27:24 and said, ²²  ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before ²³  Caesar, ²⁴  and God has graciously granted you the safety ²⁵  of all who are sailing with you.’

[17:8]  ¹ 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]  ² sn Your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.

[17:9]  ³ tn Heb “from before”; or “because.” In the Hebrew text v. 9 is subordinated to v. 8. The words “protect me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “destroy.” The psalmist uses the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of danger. He describes the wicked as being already in the process of destroying him.

[17:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “my enemies, at the risk of life they surround me.” The Hebrew phrase בְּנֶפֶשׁ (bÿnefesh) sometimes has the nuance “at the risk of [one’s] life” (see 1 Kgs 2:23; Prov 7:23; Lam 5:9).

[31:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “the report of many.”

[31:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “the terror from all around.”

[31:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”

[34:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “I sought the Lord.”

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

[56:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[56:2]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “[in] a day.”

[56:4]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[18:9]  ¹⁷ sn Frequently in Acts such a vision will tell the reader where events are headed. See Acts 10:9-16 and 16:9-10 for other accounts of visions.

[18:9]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 682 s.v. νύξ 1.c has “W. prep. ἐν ν. at night, in the night…Ac 18:9.”

[18:9]  ¹⁹ tn The present imperative here (with negation) is used (as it normally is) of a general condition (BDF §335).

[18:10]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 2 has “to set upon, attack, lay a hand on” here, but “assault” is a contemporary English equivalent very close to the meaning of the original.

[18:10]  ²¹ tn Or “injure.”

[27:24]  ²² tn Grk “came to me saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[27:24]  ²³ tn BDAG 778 s.v. παρίστημι/παριστάνω 2.a.α states, “Also as a t.t. of legal usage appear before, come before…Καίσαρι σε δεῖ παραστῆναι you must stand before the Emperor (as judge) Ac 27:24.” See Acts 23:11. Luke uses the verb δεῖ (dei) to describe what must occur.

[27:24]  ²⁴ tn Or “before the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[27:24]  ²⁵ tn Grk “God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.” The words “the safety of” have been supplied to clarify the meaning of the verb κεχάρισται (kecaristai) in this context.