Psalms 18:17-18

18:17 He rescued me from my strong enemy, ¹ 

from those who hate me,

for they were too strong for me.

18:18 They confronted ²  me in my day of calamity,

but the Lord helped me. ³ 

Psalms 56:1-3

Psalm 56 ⁴ 

For the music director; according to the yonath-elem-rechovim style; ⁵  a prayer ⁶  of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath. ⁷ 

56:1 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me! ⁸ 

All day long hostile enemies ⁹  are tormenting me. ¹⁰ 

56:2 Those who anticipate my defeat ¹¹  attack me all day long.

Indeed, ¹²  many are fighting against me, O Exalted One. ¹³ 

56:3 When ¹⁴  I am afraid,

I trust in you.

Psalms 56:1

Psalm 56 ¹⁵ 

For the music director; according to the yonath-elem-rechovim style; ¹⁶  a prayer ¹⁷  of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath. ¹⁸ 

56:1 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me! ¹⁹ 

All day long hostile enemies ²⁰  are tormenting me. ²¹ 

Psalms 20:3

20:3 May he take notice ²²  of your offerings;

may he accept ²³  your burnt sacrifice! (Selah)

Psalms 25:1-2

Psalm 25 ²⁴ 

By David.

25:1 O Lord, I come before you in prayer. ²⁵ 

25:2 My God, I trust in you.

Please do not let me be humiliated;

do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!

Psalms 17:1-3

Psalm 17 ²⁶ 

A prayer of David.

17:1 Lord, consider my just cause! ²⁷ 

Pay attention to my cry for help!

Listen to the prayer

I sincerely offer! ²⁸ 

17:2 Make a just decision on my behalf! ²⁹ 

Decide what is right! ³⁰ 

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ³¹ 

you have examined me during the night. ³² 

You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ³³ 

Micah 7:8

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ³⁴  do not gloat ³⁵  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ³⁶ 

Matthew 4:1-11

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness ³⁷  to be tempted by the devil. 4:2 After he fasted forty days and forty nights he was famished. ³⁸  4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” ³⁹  4:4 But he answered, ⁴⁰  “It is written, ‘Man ⁴¹  does not live ⁴²  by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ⁴³  4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, ⁴⁴  had him stand ⁴⁵  on the highest point ⁴⁶  of the temple, 4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ ⁴⁷  and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ⁴⁸  4:7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written: ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’” ⁴⁹  4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur. ⁵⁰  4:9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship ⁵¹  me.” 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, ⁵²  Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” ⁵³  4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels ⁵⁴  came and began ministering to his needs.

Hebrews 2:14

2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in ⁵⁵  their humanity, ⁵⁶  so that through death he could destroy ⁵⁷  the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

[18:17]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “became my support.”

[56:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 56. Despite the threats of his enemies, the psalmist is confident the Lord will keep his promise to protect and deliver him.

[56:1]  ⁵ tn The literal meaning of this phrase is “silent dove, distant ones.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a type of musical instrument.

[56:1]  ⁶ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 57-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[56:1]  ⁷ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm when the Philistines seized him and took him to King Achish of Gath (see 1 Sam 21:11-15).

[56:1]  ⁸ tn According to BDB 983 s.v. II שָׁאַף, the verb is derived from שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to trample, crush”) rather than the homonymic verb “pant after.”

[56:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “a fighter.” The singular is collective for his enemies (see vv. 5-6). The Qal of לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) also occurs in Ps 35:1.

[56:1]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the continuing nature of the enemies’ attacks.

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

[56:2]  ¹² tn Or “for.”

[56:2]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[in] a day.”

[56:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 56. Despite the threats of his enemies, the psalmist is confident the Lord will keep his promise to protect and deliver him.

[56:1]  ¹⁶ tn The literal meaning of this phrase is “silent dove, distant ones.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a type of musical instrument.

[56:1]  ¹⁷ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16 and 57-60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[56:1]  ¹⁸ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm when the Philistines seized him and took him to King Achish of Gath (see 1 Sam 21:11-15).

[56:1]  ¹⁹ tn According to BDB 983 s.v. II שָׁאַף, the verb is derived from שָׁאַף (sha’af, “to trample, crush”) rather than the homonymic verb “pant after.”

[56:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a fighter.” The singular is collective for his enemies (see vv. 5-6). The Qal of לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) also occurs in Ps 35:1.

[56:1]  ²¹ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the continuing nature of the enemies’ attacks.

[20:3]  ²² tn Or “remember.” For other examples of the verb זָכַר (zakhar) carrying the nuance “take notice of,” see Pss 8:4 and 9:12.

[20:3]  ²³ tc Heb “consider as fat.” The verbal form should probably be emended to יְדַשְּׁנֶהָ (yÿdashÿneha), the final he (ה) being understood as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix referring back to the feminine noun “burnt sacrifice.”

[25:1]  ²⁴ sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme.

[25:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to you, O Lord, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. See Pss 86:4; 143:8.

[17:1]  ²⁶ sn Psalm 17. The psalmist asks God to intervene on his behalf because his life is threatened by dangerous enemies. He appeals to divine justice, for he is certain of his own innocence. Because he is innocent, he expects to encounter God and receive an assuring word.

[17:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “hear, Lord, what is just.”

[17:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”

[17:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “From before you may my justice come out.” The prefixed verbal form יָצָא (yatsa’) could be taken as an imperfect, but following the imperatives in v. 1, it is better understood as a jussive of prayer.

[17:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “May your eyes look at what is right.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as jussive. (See also the preceding note on the word “behalf.”)

[17:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ³² tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ³³ tc Heb “you tested me, you do not find, I plan, my mouth will not cross over.” The Hebrew verbal form זַמֹּתִי (zammotiy) is a Qal perfect, first person singular from the root זָמַם (zamam, “plan, plan evil”). Some emend the form to a suffixed form of the noun, זִמָּתִי (zimmatiy, “my plan/evil plan”), and take it as the object of the preceding verb “find.” However, the suffix seems odd, since the psalmist is denying that he has any wrong thoughts. If one takes the form with what precedes, it might make better sense to read זִמּוֹת (zimmot, “evil plans”). However, this emendation leaves an unclear connection with the next line. The present translation maintains the verbal form found in the MT and understands it in a neutral sense, “I have decided” (see Jer 4:28). The words “my mouth will not cross over” (i.e., “transgress, sin”) can then be taken as a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb.

[7:8]  ³⁴ tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ³⁵ tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ³⁶ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.

[4:1]  ³⁷ tn Or “desert.”

[4:2]  ³⁸ tn Grk “and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry.”

[4:3]  ³⁹ tn Grk “say that these stones should become bread.”

[4:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been changed for clarity.

[4:4]  ⁴¹ tn Or “a person.” Greek ὁ ἄνθρωπος (Jo anqrwpo") is used generically for humanity. The translation “man” is used because the emphasis in Jesus’ response seems to be on his dependence on God as a man.

[4:4]  ⁴² tn Grk “will not live.” The verb in Greek is a future tense, but it is unclear whether it is meant to be taken as a command (also known as an imperatival future) or as a statement of reality (predictive future).

[4:4]  ⁴³ sn A quotation from Deut 8:3.

[4:5]  ⁴⁴ sn The order of the second and third temptations differs in Luke’s account (4:5-12) from the order given in Matthew.

[4:5]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “and he stood him.”

[4:5]  ⁴⁶ sn The highest point of the temple probably refers to the point on the temple’s southeast corner where it looms directly over a cliff some 450 ft (135 m) high. However, some have suggested the reference could be to the temple’s high gate.

[4:6]  ⁴⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 91:11. This was not so much an incorrect citation as a use in a wrong context (a misapplication of the passage).

[4:6]  ⁴⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 91:12.

[4:7]  ⁴⁹ sn A quotation from Deut 6:16.

[4:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “glory.”

[4:9]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “if, falling down, you will worship.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[4:10]  ⁵² tc The majority of later witnesses (C² D L Z 33 Ï) have “behind me” (ὀπίσω μου; opisw mou) after “Go away.” But since this is the wording in Matt 16:23, where the text is certain, scribes most likely added the words here to conform to the later passage. Further, the shorter reading has superior support (א B C*^vid K P W Δ 0233 Ë^1,13 565 579* 700 al). Thus, both externally and internally, the shorter reading is strongly preferred.

[4:10]  ⁵³ sn A quotation from Deut 6:13. The word “only” is an interpretive expansion not found in either the Hebrew or Greek (LXX) text of the OT.

[4:11]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “and behold, angels.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “partook of” (this is a different word than the one in v. 14a).

[2:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “the same.”

[2:14]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “break the power of,” “reduce to nothing.”