Psalms 20:7

20:7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, ¹ 

but we ²  depend on ³  the Lord our God.

Psalms 44:5-9

44:5 By your power ⁴  we will drive back ⁵  our enemies;

by your strength ⁶  we will trample down ⁷  our foes! ⁸ 

44:6 For I do not trust in my bow,

and I do not prevail by my sword.

44:7 For you deliver ⁹  us from our enemies;

you humiliate ¹⁰  those who hate us.

44:8 In God I boast all day long,

and we will continually give thanks to your name. (Selah)

44:9 But ¹¹  you rejected and embarrassed us!

You did not go into battle with our armies. ¹² 

Psalms 118:9-10

118:9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord

than to trust in princes.

118:10 All the nations surrounded me. ¹³ 

Indeed, in the name of the Lord ¹⁴  I pushed them away. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 8:17

8:17 I will wait patiently for the Lord,

who has rejected the family of Jacob; ¹⁶ 

I will wait for him.

Isaiah 12:1-2

12:1 At that time ¹⁷  you will say:

“I praise you, O Lord,

for even though you were angry with me,

your anger subsided, and you consoled me.

12:2 Look, God is my deliverer! ¹⁸ 

I will trust in him ¹⁹  and not fear.

For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; ²⁰ 

he has become my deliverer.” ²¹ 

[20:7]  ¹ tn Heb “these in chariots and these in horses.” No verb appears; perhaps the verb “invoke” is to be supplied from the following line. In this case the idea would be that some “invoke” (i.e., trust in) their military might for victory (cf. NEB “boast”; NIV “trust”; NRSV “take pride”). Verse 8 suggests that the “some/others” mentioned here are the nation’s enemies.

[20:7]  ² tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronominal subject) highlights the contrast between God’s faithful people and the others mentioned in the previous line.

[20:7]  ³ tn Heb “we invoke the name of.” The Hiphil of זָכַר (zakhar), when combined with the phrase “in the name,” means “to invoke” (see Josh 23:7; Isa 48:1; Amos 6:10). By invoking the Lord’s name in prayer, the people demonstrate their trust in him.

[44:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “by you.”

[44:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”

[44:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “in your name.” The Lord’s “name” refers here to his revealed character or personal presence. Specifically in this context his ability to deliver, protect, and energize for battle is in view (see Ps 54:1).

[44:5]  ⁷ sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.

[44:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”

[44:7]  ⁹ tn Or “have delivered,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).

[44:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “have humiliated,” if past successes are in view. Another option is to take the perfect as rhetorical, emphasizing that victory is certain (note the use of the imperfect in vv. 5-6).

[44:9]  ¹¹ tn The particle אַף (’af, “but”) is used here as a strong adversative contrasting the following statement with what precedes.

[44:9]  ¹² tn Heb “you did not go out with our armies.” The prefixed verbal form is a preterite (without vav [ו] consecutive).

[118:10]  ¹³ sn The reference to an attack by the nations suggests the psalmist may have been a military leader.

[118:10]  ¹⁴ tn In this context the phrase “in the name of the Lord” means “by the Lord’s power.”

[118:10]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally the verb has been derived from מוּל (mul, “to circumcise”) and translated “[I] cut [them] off” (see BDB 557-58 s.v. II מוּל). However, it is likely that this is a homonym meaning “to fend off” (see HALOT 556 s.v. II מול) or “to push away.” In this context, where the psalmist is reporting his past experience, the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite. The phrase also occurs in vv. 11, 12.

[8:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “who hides his face from the house of Jacob.”

[12:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[12:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “salvation” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[12:2]  ¹⁹ tn The words “in him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:2]  ²⁰ tc The Hebrew text has, “for my strength and protection [is] the Lord, the Lord (Heb “Yah, Yahweh).” The word יְהוָה (yehvah) is probably dittographic or explanatory here (note that the short form of the name [יָהּ, yah] precedes, and that the graphically similar וַיְהִי [vayÿhi] follows). Exod 15:2, the passage from which the words of v. 2b are taken, has only יָהּ. The word זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song,” in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing); note that in v. 5 the verb זָמַר (zamar, “sing”) appears. Many recent commentators, however, have argued that the noun is here instead a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v. III *זמר.

[12:2]  ²¹ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “my savior.”