Psalms 18:31

18:31 Indeed, ¹  who is God besides the Lord?

Who is a protector ²  besides our God? ³ 

Psalms 44:20

44:20 If we had rejected our God, ⁴ 

and spread out our hands in prayer to another god, ⁵ 

Psalms 48:14

48:14 For God, our God, is our defender forever! ⁶ 

He guides ⁷  us! ⁸ 

Psalms 50:7

50:7 He says: ⁹ 

“Listen my people! I am speaking!

Listen Israel! I am accusing you! ¹⁰ 

I am God, your God!

Psalms 53:2

53:2 God looks down from heaven ¹¹  at the human race, ¹² 

to see if there is anyone who is wise ¹³  and seeks God. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 59:17

59:17 You are my source of strength! I will sing praises to you! ¹⁵ 

For God is my refuge, ¹⁶  the God who loves me. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 68:28

68:28 God has decreed that you will be powerful. ¹⁸ 

O God, you who have acted on our behalf, demonstrate your power,

Psalms 71:19

71:19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above; ¹⁹ 

you have done great things. ²⁰ 

O God, who can compare to you? ²¹ 

Psalms 78:19

78:19 They insulted God, saying, ²² 

“Is God really able to give us food ²³  in the wilderness?

Psalms 81:9

81:9 There must be ²⁴  no other ²⁵  god among you.

You must not worship a foreign god.

Psalms 82:1

Psalm 82 ²⁶ 

A psalm of Asaph.

82:1 God stands in ²⁷  the assembly of El; ²⁸ 

in the midst of the gods ²⁹  he renders judgment. ³⁰ 

Psalms 84:8

84:8 O Lord, sovereign God, ³¹ 

hear my prayer!

Listen, O God of Jacob! (Selah)

Psalms 99:9

99:9 Praise ³²  the Lord our God!

Worship on his holy hill,

for the Lord our God is holy!

Psalms 118:28

118:28 You are my ³³  God and I will give you thanks!

You are my God and I will praise you!

Psalms 146:5

146:5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

[18:31]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[18:31]  ² 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]  ³ tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “No one.” In this way the psalmist indicates that the Lord is the only true God and reliable source of protection. See also Deut 32:39, where the Lord affirms that he is the only true God. Note as well the emphasis on his role as protector (Heb “rocky cliff,” צוּר, tsur) in Deut 32:4, 15, 17-18, 30.

[44:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “If we had forgotten the name of our God.” To “forget the name” here refers to rejecting the Lord’s authority (see Jer 23:27) and abandoning him as an object of prayer and worship (see the next line).

[44:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “and spread out your hands to another god.” Spreading out the hands was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). In its most fundamental sense זר (“another; foreign; strange”) refers to something that is outside one’s circle, often making association with it inappropriate. A “strange” god is an alien deity, an “outside god” (see L. A. Snijders, TDOT 4:54-55).

[48:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “for this is God, our God, forever and ever.” “This” might be paraphrased, “this protector described and praised in the preceding verses.”

[48:14]  ⁸ tn The imperfect highlights the characteristic nature of the generalizing statement.

[48:14]  ⁹ tn In the Hebrew text the psalm ends with the words עַל־מוּת (’al-mut, “upon [unto?] dying”), which make little, if any, sense. M. Dahood (Psalms [AB], 1:293) proposes an otherwise unattested plural form עֹלָמוֹת (’olamot; from עוֹלָם, ’olam, “eternity”). This would provide a nice parallel to עוֹלָם וָעֶד (’olam va’ed, “forever”) in the preceding line, but elsewhere the plural of עוֹלָם appears as עֹלָמִים (’olamim). It is preferable to understand the phrase as a musical direction of some sort (see עַל־מוּת [’al-mut] in the superscription of Ps 9) or to emend the text to עַל־עֲלָמוֹת (’al-’alamot, “according to the alamoth style”; see the heading of Ps 46). In either case it should be understood as belonging with the superscription of the following psalm.

[50:7]  ¹⁰ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. God’s charges against his people follow.

[50:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Israel, and I will testify against you.” The imperative “listen” is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[53:2]  ¹³ sn The picture of the Lord looking down from heaven draws attention to his sovereignty over the world.

[53:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”

[53:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.

[53:2]  ¹⁶ tn That is, who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.

[59:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my strength, to you I will sing praises.”

[59:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[59:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the God of my loyal love.”

[68:28]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “God has commanded your strength.” The statement is apparently addressed to Israel (see v. 26).

[71:19]  ²² tn Heb “your justice, O God, [is] unto the height.” The Hebrew term מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) is here a title for the sky/heavens.

[71:19]  ²³ tn Heb “you who have done great things.”

[71:19]  ²⁴ tn Or “Who is like you?”

[78:19]  ²⁵ tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”

[78:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”

[81:9]  ²⁸ tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 have a modal function, expressing what is obligatory.

[81:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “different”; “illicit.”

[82:1]  ³¹ sn Psalm 82. The psalmist pictures God standing in the “assembly of El” where he accuses the “gods” of failing to promote justice on earth. God pronounces sentence upon them, announcing that they will die like men. Having witnessed the scene, the psalmist then asks God to establish his just rule over the earth.

[82:1]  ³² tn Or “presides over.”

[82:1]  ³³ tn The phrase עֲדַת אֵל (’adat ’el, “assembly of El”) appears only here in the OT. (1) Some understand “El” to refer to God himself. In this case he is pictured presiding over his own heavenly assembly. (2) Others take אֵל as a superlative here (“God stands in the great assembly”), as in Pss 36:6 and 80:10. (3) The present translation assumes this is a reference to the Canaanite high god El, who presided over the Canaanite divine assembly. (See Isa 14:13, where El’s assembly is called “the stars of El.”) In the Ugaritic myths the phrase ’dt ’ilm refers to the “assembly of the gods,” who congregate in King Kirtu’s house, where Baal asks El to bless Kirtu’s house (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 91). If the Canaanite divine assembly is referred to here in Ps 82:1, then the psalm must be understood as a bold polemic against Canaanite religion. Israel’s God invades El’s assembly, denounces its gods as failing to uphold justice, and announces their coming demise. For an interpretation of the psalm along these lines, see W. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” EBC 5:533-36.

[82:1]  ³⁴ sn The present translation assumes that the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “gods”) here refers to the pagan gods who supposedly comprise El’s assembly according to Canaanite religion. Those who reject the polemical view of the psalm prefer to see the referent as human judges or rulers (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to officials appointed by God, see Exod 21:6; 22:8-9; Ps 45:6) or as angelic beings (אֱלֹהִים sometimes refers to angelic beings, see Gen 3:5; Ps 8:5).

[82:1]  ³⁵ sn The picture of God rendering judgment among the gods clearly depicts his sovereign authority as universal king (see v. 8, where the psalmist boldly affirms this truth).

[84:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9) but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת in Pss 59:5 and 80:4, 19 as well.

[99:9]  ³⁷ tn Or “exalt.”

[118:28]  ⁴⁰ sn You are my God. The psalmist speaks again (see v. 21), responding to the words of the worshipers (vv. 22-27).