Psalms 18:16

18:16 He reached down ¹  from above and took hold of me;

he pulled me from the surging water. ² 

Psalms 49:15

49:15 But ³  God will rescue ⁴  my life ⁵  from the power ⁶  of Sheol;

certainly ⁷  he will pull me to safety. ⁸  (Selah)

[18:16]  ¹ 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]  ² 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).

[49:15]  ³ tn Or “certainly.”

[49:15]  ⁴ tn Or “redeem.”

[49:15]  ⁵ tn Or “me.” 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).

[49:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[49:15]  ⁷ tn Or “for.”

[49:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “he will take me.” To improve the poetic balance of the verse, some move the words “from the power of Sheol” to the following line. The verse would then read: “But God will rescue my life; / from the power of Sheol he will certainly deliver me” (cf. NEB).