Psalms 26:12

26:12 I am safe, ¹ 

and among the worshipers I will praise the Lord.

Psalms 119:59

119:59 I consider my actions ² 

and follow ³  your rules.

Psalms 18:33

18:33 He gives me the agility of a deer; ⁴ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ⁵ 

Psalms 18:38

18:38 I beat them ⁶  to death; ⁷ 

they fall at my feet. ⁸ 

Psalms 31:8

31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;

you enable me to stand ⁹  in a wide open place.

Psalms 73:2

73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my feet almost slid out from under me. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 94:18

94:18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”

your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.

Psalms 119:101

119:101 I stay away ¹¹  from the evil path,

so that I might keep your instructions. ¹² 

Psalms 25:15

25:15 I continually look to the Lord for help, ¹³ 

for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 38:16

38:16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me; ¹⁵ 

when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 40:2

40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, ¹⁷ 

out of the slimy mud. ¹⁸ 

He placed my feet on a rock

and gave me secure footing. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 116:8

116:8 Yes, ²⁰  Lord, ²¹  you rescued my life from death,

and kept my feet from stumbling.

Psalms 56:13

56:13 when you deliver ²²  my life from death.

You keep my feet from stumbling, ²³ 

so that I might serve ²⁴  God as I enjoy life. ²⁵ 

[26:12]  ¹ tn Heb “my foot stands in a level place.”

[119:59]  ² tn Heb “my ways.”

[119:59]  ³ tn Heb “and I turn my feet toward.”

[18:33]  ³ tn Heb “[the one who] makes my feet like [those of ] a deer.”

[18:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “and on my high places he makes me walk.” The imperfect verbal form emphasizes God’s characteristic provision. The psalmist compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.

[18:38]  ⁴ tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”

[18:38]  ⁵ tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”

[18:38]  ⁶ sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.

[31:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “you cause my feet to stand.”

[73:2]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb normally means “to pour out,” but here it must have the nuance “to slide.”

[119:101]  ⁷ tn Heb “I hold back my feet.”

[119:101]  ⁸ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural.

[25:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “my eyes continually [are] toward the Lord.”

[25:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “for he will bring out from a net my feet.” The hostility of the psalmist’s enemies is probably in view (see v. 19).

[38:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “For I said, ‘Lest they rejoice over me.’” The psalmist recalls the motivating argument of his petition. He probably prefaced this statement with a prayer for deliverance (see Pss 7:1-2; 13:3-4; 28:1).

[38:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they will magnify against me.” See Pss 35:26; 55:13.

[40:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (sha’on, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).

[40:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[40:2]  ¹² tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”

[116:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[116:8]  ¹² tn “Lord” is supplied here in the translation for clarification.

[56:13]  ¹² tn The perfect verbal form is probably future perfect; the psalmist promises to make good on his vows once God has delivered him (see Pss 13:5; 52:9). (2) Another option is to understand the final two verses as being added later, after the Lord intervened on the psalmist’s behalf. In this case one may translate, “for you have delivered.” Other options include taking the perfect as (3) generalizing (“for you deliver”) or (4) rhetorical (“for you will”).

[56:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “are not my feet [kept] from stumbling?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they are!” The question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarification of meaning.

[56:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “walk before.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254; cf. the same idiom in 2 Kgs 20:3; Isa 38:3.

[56:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the light of life.” The phrase is used here and in Job 33:30.