Psalms 20:2

20:2 May he send you help from his temple; ¹ 

from Zion may he give you support!

Psalms 33:20

33:20 We ²  wait for the Lord;

he is our deliverer ³  and shield. ⁴ 

Psalms 115:9

115:9 O Israel, trust in the Lord!

He is their deliverer ⁵  and protector. ⁶ 

Psalms 121:2

121:2 My help comes from the Lord, ⁷ 

the Creator ⁸  of heaven and earth!

Psalms 124:8

124:8 Our deliverer is the Lord, ⁹ 

the Creator ¹⁰  of heaven and earth.

Psalms 115:10-11

115:10 O family ¹¹  of Aaron, trust in the Lord!

He is their deliverer ¹²  and protector. ¹³ 

115:11 You loyal followers of the Lord, ¹⁴  trust in the Lord!

He is their deliverer ¹⁵  and protector. ¹⁶ 

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,

Psalms 121:1

Psalm 121 ¹⁷ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁸ 

121:1 I look up ¹⁹  toward the hills.

From where ²⁰  does my help come?

Psalms 70:5

70:5 I am oppressed and needy! ²¹ 

O God, hurry to me! ²² 

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O Lord, ²³  do not delay!

Psalms 89:19

89:19 Then you ²⁴  spoke through a vision to your faithful followers ²⁵  and said:

“I have energized a warrior; ²⁶ 

I have raised up a young man ²⁷  from the people.

[20:2]  ¹ tc Heb “from [the] temple.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix (ן, nun) has probably been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word begins with a prefixed vav (ו). See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 184.

[33:20]  ² tn Or “our lives.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[33:20]  ³ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[33:20]  ⁴ tn Or “protector.”

[115:9]  ³ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[115:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and their shield.”

[121:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “my help [is] from with the Lord.”

[121:2]  ⁵ tn Or “Maker.”

[124:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “our help [is] in the name of the Lord.”

[124:8]  ⁶ tn Or “Maker.”

[115:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[115:10]  ⁷ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[115:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and their shield.”

[115:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “[you] fearers of the Lord.” See Ps 15:4.

[115:11]  ⁸ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[115:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “and their shield.”

[121:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 121. The psalm affirms that the Lord protects his people Israel. Unless the psalmist addresses an observer (note the second person singular forms in vv. 3-8), it appears there are two or three speakers represented in the psalm, depending on how one takes v. 3. The translation assumes that speaker one talks in vv. 1-2, that speaker two responds to him with a prayer in v. 3 (this assumes the verbs are true jussives of prayer), and that speaker three responds with words of assurance in vv. 4-8. If the verbs in v. 3 are taken as a rhetorical use of the jussive, then there are two speakers. Verses 3-8 are speaker two’s response to the words of speaker one. See the note on the word “sleep” at the end of v. 3.

[121:1]  ⁹ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[121:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[121:1]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term מֵאַיִן (me’ayin) is interrogative, not relative, in function. Rather than directly stating that his source of help descends from the hills, the psalmist is asking, “From where does my help come?” Nevertheless, the first line does indicate that he is looking toward the hills for help, probably indicating that he is looking up toward the sky in anticipation of supernatural intervention. The psalmist assumes the dramatic role of one needing help. He answers his own question in v. 2.

[70:5]  ⁹ sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

[70:5]  ¹⁰ tn Ps 40:17 has “may the Lord pay attention to me.”

[70:5]  ¹¹ tn Ps 40:17 has “my God” instead of “Lord.”

[89:19]  ¹⁰ tn The pronoun “you” refers to the Lord, who is addressed here. The quotation that follows further develops the announcement of vv. 3-4.

[89:19]  ¹¹ tc Many medieval mss read the singular here, “your faithful follower.” In this case the statement refers directly to Nathan’s oracle to David (see 2 Sam 7:17).

[89:19]  ¹² tn Heb “I have placed help upon a warrior.”

[89:19]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “a chosen one.”