Psalms 20:1

Psalm 20 ¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

20:1 May the Lord answer ²  you ³  when you are in trouble; ⁴ 

may the God of Jacob ⁵  make you secure!

Psalms 22:11

22:11 Do not remain far away from me,

for trouble is near and I have no one to help me. ⁶ 

Psalms 31:7

31:7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,

because you notice my pain

and you are aware of how distressed I am. ⁷ 

Psalms 34:6

34:6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;

he saved him ⁸  from all his troubles.

Psalms 71:20

71:20 Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress, ⁹ 

revive me once again! ¹⁰ 

Bring me up once again ¹¹  from the depths of the earth!

Psalms 78:49

78:49 His raging anger lashed out against them, ¹² 

He sent fury, rage, and trouble

as messengers who bring disaster. ¹³ 

Psalms 81:7

81:7 In your distress you called out and I rescued you.

I answered you from a dark thundercloud. ¹⁴ 

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. ¹⁵  (Selah)

Psalms 116:3

116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, ¹⁶ 

the snares ¹⁷  of Sheol confronted me.

I was confronted ¹⁸  with trouble and sorrow.

Psalms 138:7

138:7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger, ¹⁹  you revive me.

You oppose my angry enemies, ²⁰ 

and your right hand delivers me.

[20:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.

[20:1]  ² tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.

[20:1]  ³ sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.

[20:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”

[20:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.

[22:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and there is no helper.”

[31:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you know the distresses of my life.”

[34:6]  ¹⁶ tn The pronoun refers back to “this oppressed man,” namely, the psalmist.

[71:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “you who have caused me to see many harmful distresses.”

[71:20]  ²² tn Heb “you return, you give me life.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will revive me once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[71:20]  ²³ tn Heb “you return, you bring me up.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will bring me up once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[78:49]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he sent against them the rage of his anger.” The phrase “rage of his anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[78:49]  ²⁷ tn Heb “fury and indignation and trouble, a sending of messengers of disaster.”

[81:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “I answered you in the hidden place of thunder.” This may allude to God’s self-revelation at Mount Sinai, where he appeared in a dark cloud accompanied by thunder (see Exod 19:16).

[81:7]  ³² sn The name Meribah means “strife.” Two separate but similar incidents at the place called Meribah are recorded in the Pentateuch (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13). In both cases the Israelites complained about lack of water and the Lord miraculously provided for them.

[116:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[116:3]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew noun מצר (“straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.

[116:3]  ³⁸ tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.

[138:7]  ⁴¹ tn Or “distress.”

[138:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “against the anger of my enemies you extend your hand.”