Psalms 18:13-14

18:13 The Lord thundered ¹  in ²  the sky;

the sovereign One ³  shouted. ⁴ 

18:14 He shot his ⁵  arrows and scattered them, ⁶ 

many lightning bolts ⁷  and routed them. ⁸ 

Psalms 77:17-18

77:17 The clouds poured down rain; ⁹ 

the skies thundered. ¹⁰ 

Yes, your arrows ¹¹  flashed about.

77:18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;

the lightning bolts lit up the world;

the earth trembled and shook. ¹² 

Psalms 77:2

77:2 In my time of trouble I sought ¹³  the Lord.

I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. ¹⁴ 

I ¹⁵  refused to be comforted.

Psalms 22:12-15

22:12 Many bulls ¹⁶  surround me;

powerful bulls of Bashan ¹⁷  hem me in.

22:13 They ¹⁸  open their mouths to devour me ¹⁹ 

like a roaring lion that rips its prey. ²⁰ 

22:14 My strength drains away like water; ²¹ 

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart ²²  is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

22:15 The roof of my mouth ²³  is as dry as a piece of pottery;

my tongue sticks to my gums. ²⁴ 

You ²⁵  set me in the dust of death. ²⁶ 

[18:13]  ¹ sn Thunder is a common motif in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 179-83.

[18:13]  ² tn 2 Sam 22:14 has “from.”

[18:13]  ³ tn Heb “the Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[18:13]  ⁴ tc The text of Ps 18:13 adds at this point, “hail and coals of fire.” These words are probably accidentally added from v. 12b; they do not appear in 2 Sam 22:14.

[18:14]  ⁵ tn 2 Sam 22:15 omits the pronominal suffix (“his”).

[18:14]  ⁶ tn The pronominal suffixes on the verbs “scattered” and “routed” (see the next line) refer to the psalmist’s enemies. Some argue that the suffixes refer to the arrows, in which case one might translate “shot them far and wide” and “made them move noisily,” respectively. They argue that the enemies have not been mentioned since v. 4 and are not again mentioned until v. 17. However, usage of the verbs פוּץ (puts, “scatter”) and הָמַם (hamam, “rout”) elsewhere in Holy War accounts suggests the suffixes refer to enemies. Enemies are frequently pictured in such texts as scattered and/or routed (see Exod 14:24; 23:27; Num 10:35; Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15; 1 Sam 7:10; 11:11; Ps 68:1).

[18:14]  ⁷ sn Lightning is a common motif in in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 190-92.

[18:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “lightning bolts, many.” 2 Sam 22:15 has simply “lightning” (בָּרָק, baraq). The identity of the word רָב (rav) in Ps 18:14 is problematic. (1) It may be a form of a rare verb רָבַב (ravav, “to shoot”), perhaps attested in Gen 49:23 as well. In this case one might translate, “he shot lightning bolts and routed them.” Other options include (2) understanding רָב (rav) as an adverbial use of the adjective, “lightning bolts in abundance,” or (3) emending the form to רַבּוּ (rabbu), from רָבַב (ravav, “be many”) or to רָבוּ (ravu), from רָבָה (ravah, “be many”) – both a haplography of the vav (ו); note the initial vav on the immediately following form – and translating “lightning bolts were in abundance.”

[77:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “water.”

[77:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a sound the clouds gave.”

[77:17]  ¹¹ tn The lightning accompanying the storm is portrayed as the Lord’s “arrows” (see v. 18).

[77:18]  ¹² tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.

[77:2]  ¹³ tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.

[77:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.

[77:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[22:12]  ¹⁶ sn The psalmist figuratively compares his enemies to dangerous bulls.

[22:12]  ¹⁷ sn Bashan, located east of the Jordan River, was well-known for its cattle. See Ezek 39:18; Amos 4:1.

[22:13]  ¹⁸ tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”

[22:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).

[22:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”

[22:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”

[22:14]  ²² sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.

[22:15]  ²³ tc Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhiy), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khikiy, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.

[22:15]  ²⁴ tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”

[22:15]  ²⁵ sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).

[22:15]  ²⁶ sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.