Psalms 26:1

Psalm 26 ¹ 

By David.

26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,

for I have integrity, ² 

and I trust in the Lord without wavering.

Psalms 35:24

35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!

Do not let them gloat ³  over me!

Psalms 43:1

Psalm 43 ⁴ 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ⁵  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ⁶  from deceitful and evil men! ⁷ 

Genesis 31:53

31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ⁸  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ⁹ 

Genesis 31:2

31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 20:12

20:12 What’s more, ¹¹  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife.

[26:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.

[26:1]  ² tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”

[35:24]  ³ tn Heb “rejoice.”

[43:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

[43:1]  ⁵ tn Or “argue my case.”

[43:1]  ⁶ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

[43:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.

[31:53]  ⁸ tn The God of Abraham and the god of Nahor. The Hebrew verb translated “judge” is plural, suggesting that Laban has more than one “god” in mind. The Samaritan Pentateuch and the LXX, apparently in an effort to make the statement monotheistic, have a singular verb. In this case one could translate, “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” However, Laban had a polytheistic world view, as evidenced by his possession of household idols (cf. 31:19). The translation uses “God” when referring to Abraham’s God, for Genesis makes it clear that Abraham worshiped the one true God. It employs “god” when referring to Nahor’s god, for in the Hebrew text Laban refers to a different god here, probably one of the local deities.

[31:53]  ⁹ tn Heb “by the fear of his father Isaac.” See the note on the word “fears” in v. 42.

[31:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata.

[20:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “but also.”