Psalms 18:2

18:2 The Lord is my high ridge, ¹  my stronghold, ²  my deliverer.

My God is my rocky summit where ³  I take shelter, ⁴ 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ⁵  and my refuge. ⁶ 

Psalms 55:19

55:19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,

will hear and humiliate them. ⁷  (Selah)

They refuse to change,

and do not fear God. ⁸ 

Psalms 68:35

68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! ⁹ 

It is the God of Israel ¹⁰  who gives the people power and strength.

God deserves praise! ¹¹ 

Psalms 78:8

78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,

who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation that was not committed

and faithful to God. ¹² 

Psalms 84:2

84:2 I desperately want to be ¹³ 

in the courts of the Lord’s temple. ¹⁴ 

My heart and my entire being ¹⁵  shout for joy

to the living God.

Psalms 85:8

85:8 I will listen to what God the Lord says. ¹⁶ 

For he will make ¹⁷  peace with his people, his faithful followers. ¹⁸ 

Yet they must not ¹⁹  return to their foolish ways.

[18:2]  ¹ sn My high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[18:2]  ² sn My stronghold. David often found safety in such strongholds. See 1 Sam 22:4-5; 24:22; 2 Sam 5:9, 17; 23:14.

[18:2]  ³ tn Or “in whom.”

[18:2]  ⁴ sn Take shelter. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[18:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “the horn of my salvation”; or “my saving horn.”

[18:2]  ⁶ tn Or “my elevated place.” The parallel version of this psalm in 2 Sam 22:3 adds at this point, “my refuge, my savior, [you who] save me from violence.”

[55:19]  ⁷ tc Heb “God will hear and answer them, even [the] one who sits [from] ancient times.” The prefixed verbal from with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the anticipatory force of the preceding imperfect. The verb appears to be a Qal form from עָנָה (’anah, “to answer”). If this reading is retained, the point would be that God “answered” them in judgment. The translation assumes an emendation to the Piel וַיְעַנֵּם (vay’annem; see 2 Kgs 17:20) and understands the root as עָנָה (’anah, “to afflict”; see also 1 Kgs 8:35).

[55:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “[the ones] for whom there are no changes, and they do not fear God.”

[68:35]  ¹³ tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).

[68:35]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”

[68:35]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”

[78:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).

[84:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”

[84:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the courts of the Lord” (see Ps 65:4).

[84:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.

[85:8]  ³¹ sn I will listen. Having asked for the Lord’s favor, the psalmist (who here represents the nation) anticipates a divine word of assurance.

[85:8]  ³² tn Heb “speak.” The idiom “speak peace” refers to establishing or maintaining peaceful relations with someone (see Gen 37:4; Zech 9:10; cf. Ps 122:8).

[85:8]  ³³ tn Heb “to his people and to his faithful followers.” The translation assumes that “his people” and “his faithful followers” are viewed as identical here.

[85:8]  ³⁴ tn Or “yet let them not.” After the negative particle אֵל (’el), the prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating the speaker’s desire or wish.