Psalms 18:21
Context18:21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; 1
I have not rebelled against my God. 2
Psalms 18:32
Context18:32 The one true God 3 gives 4 me strength; 5
he removes 6 the obstacles in my way. 7
Psalms 119:168
Context119:168 I keep your precepts and rules,
for you are aware of everything I do. 8


[18:21] 1 tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the
[18:21] 2 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.”
[18:32] 3 tn Heb “the God.” The prefixed article emphasizes the
[18:32] 4 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] 5 tn 2 Sam 22:33 reads, “the God is my strong refuge.”
[18:32] 6 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries along the generalizing force of the preceding participle.
[18:32] 7 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).