Psalms 20:9

20:9 The Lord will deliver the king; ¹ 

he will answer us ²  when we call to him for help! ³ 

Psalms 22:21

22:21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion, ⁴ 

and from the horns of the wild oxen! ⁵ 

You have answered me! ⁶ 

Psalms 69:1

Psalm 69 ⁷ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ⁸  by David.

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck. ⁹ 

Psalms 69:13

69:13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me! ¹⁰ 

O God, because of your great loyal love,

answer me with your faithful deliverance! ¹¹ 

[20:9]  ¹ tc This translation assumes an emendation of the verbal form הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshi’ah). As it stands, the form is an imperative. In this case the people return to the petitionary mood with which the psalm begins (“O Lord, deliver”). But the immediate context is one of confidence (vv. 6-8), not petition (vv. 1-5). If one takes the final he on the verb “deliver” as dittographic (note the initial he (ה) on the following phrase, “the king”), one can repoint the verbal form as a perfect and understand it as expressing the people’s confidence, “the Lord will deliver the king” (see v. 6). The Hebrew scribal tradition takes “the king” with the following line, in which case it would be best interpreted as a divine title, “may the King answer us” or “the king will answer us” (see Pss 98:6; 145:1). However, the poetic parallelism is better balanced if “the king” is taken with the first line. In this case the referent is the Davidic king, who is earlier called the Lord’s “anointed one” (cf. note on “chosen king” in v. 6; see Pss 21:7; 45:5, 11; 63:11).

[20:9]  ² tn If the imperative is retained in the preceding line, then the prefixed verbal form is best taken as a jussive of prayer, “may he answer us.” However, if the imperative in the previous line is emended to a perfect, the prefixed form is best taken as imperfect, “he will answer us” (see the note on the word “king” at the end of the previous line).

[20:9]  ³ tn Heb “in the day we call.”

[22:21]  ⁴ sn The psalmist again compares his enemies to vicious dogs and ferocious lions (see vv. 13, 16).

[22:21]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term רֵמִים (remim) appears to be an alternate spelling of רְאֵמִים (rÿ’emim, “wild oxen”; see BDB 910 s.v. רְאֵם).

[22:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “and from the horns of the wild oxen you answer me.” Most take the final verb with the preceding prepositional phrase. Some understand the verb form as a relatively rare precative perfect, expressing a wish or request (see IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d). However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew. (See the discussion at Ps 3:7.) Others prefer to take the perfect in its usual indicative sense. The psalmist, perhaps in response to an oracle of salvation, affirms confidently that God has answered him, assuring him that deliverance is on the way. The present translation takes the prepositional phrase as parallel to the preceding “from the mouth of the lion” and as collocated with the verb “rescue” at the beginning of the verse. “You have answered me” is understood as a triumphant shout which marks a sudden shift in tone and introduces the next major section of the psalm. By isolating the statement syntactically, the psalmist highlights the declaration.

[69:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.

[69:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.

[69:1]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.

[69:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O Lord, [in] a time of favor.”

[69:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”