Discovery BoxPsalms 18:13-50
Context18:13 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
18:15 The depths 9 of the sea 10 were exposed;
the inner regions 11 of the world were uncovered
by 12 your battle cry, 13 Lord,
by the powerful breath from your nose. 14
18:16 He reached down 15 from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water. 16
18:17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, 17
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
18:18 They confronted 18 me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me. 19
18:19 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me. 20
18:20 The Lord repaid 21 me for my godly deeds; 22
he rewarded 23 my blameless behavior. 24
18:21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; 25
I have not rebelled against my God. 26
18:22 For I am aware of all his regulations, 27
and I do not reject his rules. 28
18:23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning. 29
18:24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; 30
he took notice of my blameless behavior. 31
18:25 You prove to be loyal 32 to one who is faithful; 33
you prove to be trustworthy 34 to one who is innocent. 35
18:26 You prove to be reliable 36 to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive 37 to one who is perverse. 38
18:27 For you deliver oppressed 39 people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look. 40
18:28 Indeed, 41 you are my lamp, Lord. 42
My God 43 illuminates the darkness around me. 44
18:29 Indeed, 45 with your help 46 I can charge against 47 an army; 48
by my God’s power 49 I can jump over a wall. 50
18:30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner; 51
the Lord’s promise 52 is reliable; 53
he is a shield to all who take shelter 54 in him.
18:31 Indeed, 55 who is God besides the Lord?
Who is a protector 56 besides our God? 57
18:32 The one true God 58 gives 59 me strength; 60
he removes 61 the obstacles in my way. 62
18:33 He gives me the agility of a deer; 63
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. 64
18:34 He trains my hands for battle; 65
my arms can bend even the strongest bow. 66
18:35 You give me your protective shield; 67
your right hand supports me; 68
your willingness to help 69 enables me to prevail. 70
my feet 72 do not slip.
18:37 I chase my enemies and catch 73 them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
18:38 I beat them 74 to death; 75
they fall at my feet. 76
18:39 You give me strength 77 for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me. 78
18:40 You make my enemies retreat; 79
I destroy those who hate me. 80
18:41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; 81
they cry out to the Lord, 82 but he does not answer them.
18:42 I grind them as fine windblown dust; 83
I beat them underfoot 84 like clay 85 in the streets.
18:43 You rescue me from a hostile army; 86
you make me 87 a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects. 88
18:44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me. 89
Foreigners are powerless 90 before me;
18:45 foreigners lose their courage; 91
they shake with fear 92 as they leave 93 their strongholds. 94
My protector 96 is praiseworthy! 97
The God who delivers me 98 is exalted as king! 99
18:47 The one true God 100 completely vindicates me; 101
he makes nations submit to me. 102
18:48 He delivers me 103 from my enemies;
you snatch me away 104 from those who attack me; 105
you rescue me from violent men.
18:49 So I will give you thanks before the nations, 106 O Lord!
I will sing praises to you! 107
18:50 He 108 gives his chosen king magnificent victories; 109
[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.”
[18:15] 10 tc Ps 18:15 reads “water” (cf. Ps 42:1); “sea” is the reading of 2 Sam 22:16.
[18:15] 11 tn Or “foundations.”
[18:15] 12 tn Heb “from.” The preposition has a causal sense here.
[18:15] 13 tn The noun is derived from the verb גָּעַר (ga’ar), which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
[18:15] 14 tn 2 Sam 22:16 reads “by the battle cry of the
[18:16] 15 tn Heb “stretched.” Perhaps “his hand” should be supplied by ellipsis (see Ps 144:7). In this poetic narrative context the three prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.
[18:16] 16 tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 4 and Ps 144:7).
[18:17] 17 tn The singular refers either to personified death or collectively to the psalmist’s enemies. The following line, which refers to “those [plural] who hate me,” favors the latter.
[18:18] 18 tn The same verb is translated “trapped” in v. 5. In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.
[18:18] 19 tn Heb “became my support.”
[18:19] 20 tn Or “delighted in me.”
[18:20] 21 tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.
[18:20] 22 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-24 make clear, the psalmist refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. In these verses the psalmist explains that the
[18:20] 23 tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 24) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.
[18:20] 24 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” “Hands” suggest activity and behavior.
[18:21] 25 tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the
[18:21] 26 tn Heb “I have not acted wickedly from my God.” The statement is elliptical; the idea is, “I have not acted wickedly and, in so doing, departed from my God.”
[18:22] 27 tn Heb “for all his regulations [are] before me.” The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, “regulations”) refers to God’s covenantal requirements, especially those which the king is responsible to follow (cf. Deut 17:18-20). See also Pss 19:9 (cf. vv. 7-8); 89:30; 147:20 (cf. v. 19), as well as the numerous uses of the term in Ps 119.
[18:22] 28 tn Heb “and his rules I do not turn aside from me.” 2 Sam 22:23 reads, “and his rules, I do not turn aside from it.” The prefixed verbal form is probably an imperfect; the psalmist here generalizes about his loyalty to God’s commands. The Lord’s “rules” are the stipulations of the covenant which the king was responsible to obey (see Ps 89:31; cf. v. 30 and Deut 17:18-20).
[18:23] 29 tn Heb “from my sin,” that is, from making it my own in any way.
[18:24] 30 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.”
[18:24] 31 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.” 2 Sam 22:25 reads “according to my purity before his eyes.” The verbal repetition (compare vv. 20 and 24) sets off vv. 20-24 as a distinct sub-unit within the psalm.
[18:25] 32 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 25-29 draw attention to God’s characteristic actions. Based on his experience, the psalmist generalizes about God’s just dealings with people (vv. 25-27) and about the way in which God typically empowers him on the battlefield (vv. 28-29). The Hitpael stem is used in vv. 26-27 in a reflexive resultative (or causative) sense. God makes himself loyal, etc. in the sense that he conducts or reveals himself as such. On this use of the Hitpael stem, see GKC 149-50 §54.e.
[18:25] 33 tn Or “to a faithful follower.” A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
[18:25] 35 tn Heb “a man of innocence.”
[18:26] 37 tn The Hebrew verb פָתַל (patal) is used in only three other texts. In Gen 30:8 it means literally “to wrestle,” or “to twist.” In Job 5:13 it refers to devious individuals, and in Prov 8:8 to deceptive words.
[18:26] 38 tn The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted, crooked,” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse. It appears frequently in Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6). A righteous king opposes such people (Ps 101:4).
[18:27] 39 tn Or perhaps, “humble” (note the contrast with those who are proud).
[18:27] 40 tn Heb “but proud eyes you bring low.” 2 Sam 22:28 reads, “your eyes [are] upon the proud, [whom] you bring low.”
[18:28] 41 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki)is asseverative here.
[18:28] 42 tn Ps 18:28 reads literally, “you light my lamp,
[18:28] 43 tn 2 Sam 22:29 repeats the name “
[18:28] 44 tn Heb “my darkness.”
[18:29] 45 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.
[18:29] 47 tn Heb “I will run.” The imperfect verbal forms in v. 29 indicate the subject’s potential or capacity to perform an action. Though one might expect a preposition to follow the verb here, this need not be the case with the verb רוּץ (ruts; see 1 Sam 17:22). Some emend the Qal to a Hiphil form of the verb and translate, “I put to flight [Heb “cause to run”] an army.”
[18:29] 48 tn More specifically, the noun גְּדוּד (gÿdud) refers to a raiding party or to a contingent of troops.
[18:29] 49 tn Heb “and by my God.”
[18:29] 50 sn I can jump over a wall. The psalmist uses hyperbole to emphasize his God-given military superiority.
[18:30] 51 tn Heb “[As for] the God, his way is blameless.” The term הָאֵל (ha’el, “the God”) stands as a nominative (or genitive) absolute in apposition to the resumptive pronominal suffix on “way.” The prefixed article emphasizes his distinctiveness as the one true God (cf. Deut 33:26). God’s “way” in this context refers to his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 103:7; 138:5; 145:17).
[18:30] 52 sn The
[18:30] 53 tn Heb “the word of the
[18:30] 54 sn Take shelter. See the note on the word “shelter” in v. 2.
[18:31] 56 tn Heb “rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor of divine protection. See v. 2, where the Hebrew term צוּר (tsur) is translated “rocky summit.”
[18:31] 57 tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “No one.” In this way the psalmist indicates that the
[18:32] 58 tn Heb “the God.” The prefixed article emphasizes the
[18:32] 59 tn Heb “is the one who clothes.” For similar language see 1 Sam 2:4; Pss 65:6; 93:1. The psalmist employs a generalizing hymnic style in vv. 32-34; he uses participles in vv. 32a, 33a, and 34a to describe what God characteristically does on his behalf.
[18:32] 60 tn 2 Sam 22:33 reads, “the God is my strong refuge.”
[18:32] 61 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries along the generalizing force of the preceding participle.
[18:32] 62 tn Heb “he made my path smooth.” The Hebrew term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).
[18:33] 63 tn Heb “[the one who] makes my feet like [those of ] a deer.”
[18:33] 64 tn Heb “and on my high places he makes me walk.” The imperfect verbal form emphasizes God’s characteristic provision. The psalmist compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.
[18:34] 65 sn He trains my hands. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement. Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.
[18:34] 66 tn Heb “and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms”; or “my arms bend a bow of bronze.” The verb נָחַת (nakhat) apparently means “pull back, bend” here (see HALOT 692 s.v. נחת). The third feminine singular verbal form appears to agree with the feminine singular noun קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”). In this case the verb must be taken as Niphal (passive). However, it is possible that “my arms” is the subject of the verb and “bow” the object. In this case the verb is Piel (active). For other examples of a feminine singular verb being construed with a plural noun, see GKC 464 §145.k.
[18:35] 67 tn Heb “and you give to me the shield of your deliverance.”
[18:35] 68 tc 2 Sam 22:36 omits this line, perhaps due to homoioarcton. A scribe’s eye may have jumped from the vav (ו) prefixed to “your right hand” to the vav prefixed to the following “and your answer,” causing the copyist to omit by accident the intervening words (“your right hand supports me and”).
[18:35] 69 tn The MT of Ps 18:35 appears to read, “your condescension,” apparently referring to God’s willingness to intervene (cf. NIV “you stoop down”). However, the noun עֲנָוָה (’anavah) elsewhere means “humility” and is used only here of God. The form עַנְוַתְךָ (’anvatÿkha) may be a fully written form of the suffixed infinitive construct of עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”; a defectively written form of the infinitive appears in 2 Sam 22:36). In this case the psalmist refers to God’s willingness to answer his prayer; one might translate, “your favorable response.”
[18:35] 70 tn Heb “makes me great.”
[18:36] 71 tn Heb “you make wide my step under me.” “Step” probably refers metonymically to the path upon which the psalmist walks. Another option is to translate, “you widen my stride.” This would suggest that God gives the psalmist the capacity to run quickly.
[18:36] 72 tn Heb “lower legs.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun, which occurs only here, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 112. A cognate Akkadian noun means “lower leg.”
[18:37] 73 tn 2 Sam 22:38 reads “destroy.”
[18:38] 74 tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”
[18:38] 75 tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”
[18:38] 76 sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.
[18:39] 77 tn Heb “clothed me.” See v. 32.
[18:39] 78 tn Heb “you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me.”
[18:40] 79 tn Heb “and [as for] my enemies, you give to me [the] back [or “neck”].” The idiom “give [the] back” means “to cause [one] to turn the back and run away.” Cf. Exod 23:27.
[18:40] 80 sn Those who hate me. See v. 17, where it is the
[18:41] 81 tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”
[18:41] 82 tn Heb “to the
[18:42] 83 tn Heb “I pulverize them like dust upon the face of the wind.” The phrase “upon the face of” here means “before.” 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “like dust of the earth.”
[18:42] 84 tc Ps 18:42 reads, “I empty them out” (Hiphil of ריק), while 2 Sam 22:43 reads, “I crush them, I stomp on them” (juxtaposing the synonyms דקק and רקע). It is likely that the latter is a conflation of variants. One, but not both, of the verbs in 2 Sam 22:43 is probably original; “empty out” does not form as good a parallel with “grind, pulverize” in the parallel line.
[18:43] 86 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] 87 tn 2 Sam 22:44 reads, “you keep me.”
[18:43] 88 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.
[18:44] 89 tn Heb “at a report of an ear they submit to me.” The report of the psalmist’s exploits is so impressive that those who hear it submit to his rulership without putting up a fight.
[18:44] 90 tn For the meaning “be weak, powerless” for כָּחַשׁ (kakhash), see Ps 109:24. The next line (see v. 45a), in which “foreigners” are also mentioned, favors this interpretation. Another option is to translate “cower in fear” (see Deut 33:29; Pss 66:3; 81:15; cf. NIV “cringe”; NRSV “came cringing”).
[18:45] 91 tn Heb “wither, wear out.”
[18:45] 92 tn The meaning of חָרַג (kharag, “shake”) is established on the basis of cognates in Arabic and Aramaic. 2 Sam 22:46 reads חָגַר (khagar), which might mean here, “[they] come limping” (on the basis of a cognate in postbiblical Hebrew). The normal meaning for חָגַר (“gird”) makes little sense here.
[18:45] 94 tn Heb “their prisons.” The besieged cities of the foreigners are compared to prisons.
[18:46] 95 tn Elsewhere the construction חַי־יְהוָה (khay-yÿhvah) is used exclusively as an oath formula, “as surely as the
[18:46] 96 tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection. See similar phrases in vv. 2, 31.
[18:46] 97 tn Or “blessed [i.e., praised] be.”
[18:46] 98 tn Heb “the God of my deliverance.” 2 Sam 22:48 reads, “the God of the rocky cliff of my deliverance.”
[18:46] 99 tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Elsewhere in the psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 46:10; 57:5, 11).
[18:47] 100 tn Heb “the God.” See v. 32.
[18:47] 101 tn Heb “is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication.
[18:47] 102 tn Heb “he subdues nations beneath me.” On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue,” a homonym of דָּבַר, davar, “speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 47:3 and 2 Chr 22:10. 2 Sam 22:48 reads “and [is the one who] brings down nations beneath me.”
[18:48] 103 tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”
[18:48] 104 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
[18:48] 105 tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”
[18:49] 106 sn I will give you thanks before the nations. This probably alludes to the fact that the psalmist will praise the
[18:49] 107 tn Heb “to your name.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case “
[18:50] 108 tn Or “the one who.”
[18:50] 109 tn Heb “magnifies the victories of his king.” “His king” refers to the psalmist, the Davidic king whom God has chosen to rule Israel.
[18:50] 110 tn Heb “[the one who] does loyalty.”
[18:50] 111 tn Heb “his anointed [one],” i.e., the psalmist/Davidic king. See Ps 2:2.
[18:50] 112 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
[18:50] 113 sn If David is the author of the psalm (see the superscription), then he here anticipates that God will continue to demonstrate loyalty to his descendants who succeed him. If the author is a later Davidic king, then he views the divine favor he has experienced as the outworking of God’s faithful promises to David his ancestor.
