Psalms 22:5

22:5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;

in you they trusted and they were not disappointed. ¹ 

Psalms 25:2-3

25:2 My God, I trust in you.

Please do not let me be humiliated;

do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!

25:3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.

Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted ²  and humiliated.

Psalms 31:1-3

Psalm 31 ³ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!

Never let me be humiliated!

Vindicate me by rescuing me! ⁴ 

31:2 Listen to me! ⁵ 

Quickly deliver me!

Be my protector and refuge, ⁶ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ⁷ 

31:3 For you are my high ridge ⁸  and my stronghold;

for the sake of your own reputation ⁹  you lead me and guide me. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 125:1

Psalm 125 ¹¹ 

A song of ascents. ¹² 

125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;

it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

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 146:2

146:2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live!

I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist!

Psalms 18:5

18:5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me, ¹³ 

the snares of death trapped me. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 18:1

Psalm 18 ¹⁵ 

For the music director; by the Lord’s servant David, who sang ¹⁶  to the Lord the words of this song when ¹⁷  the Lord rescued him from the power ¹⁸  of all his enemies, including Saul. ¹⁹ 

18:1 He said: ²⁰ 

“I love ²¹  you, Lord, my source of strength! ²² 

Psalms 5:1

Psalm 5 ²³ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; ²⁴  a psalm of David.

5:1 Listen to what I say, ²⁵  Lord!

Carefully consider my complaint! ²⁶ 

Romans 9:33

9:33 just as it is written,

“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble

and a rock that will make them fall, ²⁷ 

yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ²⁸ 

Romans 9:1

Israel’s Rejection Considered

9:1 ²⁹ I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me ³⁰  in the Holy Spirit –

Romans 2:6

2:6 He ³¹  will reward ³²  each one according to his works: ³³ 

[22:5]  ¹ tn Or “were not ashamed.”

[25:3]  ² tn Heb “those who deal in treachery in vain.” The adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “in vain”) probably refers to the failure (or futility) of their efforts. Another option is to understand it as meaning “without cause” (cf. NIV “without excuse”; NRSV “wantonly treacherous”).

[31:1]  ³ sn Psalm 31. The psalmist confidently asks the Lord to protect him. Enemies threaten him and even his friends have abandoned him, but he looks to the Lord for vindication. In vv. 19-24, which were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18, the psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him.

[31:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”

[31:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”

[31:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “become for me a rocky summit of refuge.”

[31:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “a house of strongholds to deliver me.”

[31:3]  ⁸ sn The metaphor of the high ridge pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[31:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the Lord’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.)

[31:3]  ¹⁰ tn The present translation assumes that the imperfect verbal forms are generalizing, “you lead me and guide me.” Other options are to take them as an expression of confidence about the future, “you will lead me and guide me” (cf. NASB), or as expressing a prayer, “lead me and guide me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[125:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.

[125:1]  ¹² 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.

[18:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[18:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “confronted me.”

[18:1]  ¹⁵ sn Psalm 18. In this long song of thanks, the psalmist (a Davidic king, traditionally understood as David himself) affirms that God is his faithful protector. He recalls in highly poetic fashion how God intervened in awesome power and delivered him from death. The psalmist’s experience demonstrates that God vindicates those who are blameless and remain loyal to him. True to his promises, God gives the king victory on the battlefield and enables him to subdue nations. A parallel version of the psalm appears in 2 Sam 22:1-51.

[18:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “spoke.”

[18:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in the day,” or “at the time.”

[18:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “hand.”

[18:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and from the hand of Saul.”

[18:1]  ²⁰ tn A number of translations (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV) assign the words “he said” to the superscription, in which case the entire psalm is in first person. Other translations (e.g., NAB) include the introductory “he said” at the beginning of v. 1.

[18:1]  ²¹ tn The verb רָחַם (rakham) elsewhere appears in the Piel (or Pual) verbal stem with the basic meaning, “have compassion.” The verb occurs only here in the basic (Qal) stem. The basic stem of the verbal root also occurs in Aramaic with the meaning “love” (see DNWSI 2:1068-69; Jastrow 1467 s.v. רָחַם; G. Schmuttermayr, “rhm: eine lexikalische Studie,” Bib 51 [1970]: 515-21). Since this introductory statement does not appear in the parallel version in 2 Sam 22:1-51, it is possible that it is a later addition to the psalm, made when the poem was revised for use in worship.

[18:1]  ²² tn Heb “my strength.” “Strength” is metonymic here, referring to the Lord as the one who bestows strength to the psalmist; thus the translation “my source of strength.”

[5:1]  ²³ sn Psalm 5. Appealing to God’s justice and commitment to the godly, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from evildoers.

[5:1]  ²⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (nÿkhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).

[5:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “my words.”

[5:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.

[9:33]  ²⁷ tn Grk “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

[9:33]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 28:16; 8:14.

[9:1]  ²⁹ sn Rom 9:1–11:36. These three chapters are among the most difficult and disputed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans. One area of difficulty is the relationship between Israel and the church, especially concerning the nature and extent of Israel’s election. Many different models have been constructed to express this relationship. For a representative survey, see M. Barth, The People of God (JSNTSup), 22-27. The literary genre of these three chapters has been frequently identified as a diatribe, a philosophical discussion or conversation evolved by the Cynic and Stoic schools of philosophy as a means of popularizing their ideas (E. Käsemann, Romans, 261 and 267). But other recent scholars have challenged the idea that Rom 9–11 is characterized by diatribe. Scholars like R. Scroggs and E. E. Ellis have instead identified the material in question as midrash. For a summary and discussion of the rabbinic connections, see W. R. Stegner, “Romans 9.6-29 – A Midrash,” JSNT 22 (1984): 37-52.

[9:1]  ³⁰ tn Or “my conscience bears witness to me.”

[2:6]  ³¹ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:6]  ³² tn Or “will render,” “will recompense.” In this context Paul is setting up a hypothetical situation, not stating that salvation is by works.

[2:6]  ³³ sn A quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; a close approximation to Matt 16:27.