Psalms 18:10

18:10 He mounted ¹  a winged angel ²  and flew;

he glided ³  on the wings of the wind. ⁴ 

Psalms 78:21

78:21 When ⁵  the Lord heard this, he was furious.

A fire broke out against Jacob,

and his anger flared up ⁶  against Israel,

Psalms 107:26

107:26 They ⁷  reached up to the sky,

then dropped into the depths.

The sailors’ strength ⁸  left them ⁹  because the danger was so great. ¹⁰ 

[18:10]  ¹ tn Or “rode upon.”

[18:10]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[78:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “therefore.”

[78:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “and also anger went up.”

[107:26]  ⁹ tn That is, the waves (see v. 25).

[107:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their being”; traditionally “their soul” (referring to that of the sailors). This is sometimes translated “courage” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[107:26]  ¹¹ tn Or “melted.”

[107:26]  ¹² tn Heb “from danger.”