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 60:5

60:5 Deliver by your power ⁴  and answer me, ⁵ 

so that the ones you love may be safe. ⁶ 

Psalms 108:6

108:6 Deliver by your power ⁷  and answer me,

so that the ones you love may be safe. ⁸ 

Psalms 118:25

118:25 Please Lord, deliver!

Please Lord, grant us success! ⁹ 

Psalms 28:9

28:9 Deliver your people!

Empower ¹⁰  the nation that belongs to you! ¹¹ 

Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms ¹²  at all times! ¹³ 

[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.”

[60:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “right hand.”

[60:5]  ⁵ tn The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”

[60:5]  ⁶ tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text, “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[108:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “right hand.”

[108:6]  ⁸ tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text: “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[118:25]  ¹⁰ sn A petition for deliverance and success seems odd in a psalm thanking God for deliverance, but it is not unique (see Ps 9:19-20). The people ask God to continue to intervene for them as he has for the psalmist.

[28:9]  ¹³ tn Or “bless.”

[28:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your inheritance.” The parallelism (note “your people”) indicates that Israel is in view.

[28:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “shepherd them and lift them up.”

[28:9]  ¹⁶ tn Or “forever.”