Psalms 27:1

Psalm 27 ¹ 

By David.

27:1 The Lord delivers and vindicates me! ² 

I fear no one! ³ 

The Lord protects my life!

I am afraid of no one! ⁴ 

Psalms 112:7-8

112:7 He does not fear bad news.

He ⁵  is confident; he trusts ⁶  in the Lord.

112:8 His resolve ⁷  is firm; he will not succumb to fear

before he looks in triumph on his enemies.

Isaiah 51:7-8

51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,

you people who are aware of my law! ⁸ 

Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;

don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!

51:8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;

a clothes moth will devour them like wool.

But the vindication I provide ⁹  will be permanent;

the deliverance I give will last.”

Isaiah 51:12-13

51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. ¹⁰ 

Why are you afraid of mortal men,

of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ¹¹ 

51:13 Why do you forget ¹²  the Lord, who made you,

who stretched out the sky ¹³ 

and founded the earth?

Why do you constantly tremble all day long ¹⁴ 

at the anger of the oppressor,

when he makes plans to destroy?

Where is the anger of the oppressor? ¹⁵ 

[27:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.

[27:1]  ² tn Heb “the Lord [is] my light and my deliverance.” “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).

[27:1]  ³ tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[27:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

[112:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “his heart,” viewed here as the seat of the volition and emotions (see Ps 108:1).

[112:7]  ⁶ tn The passive participle בָּטֻחַ [בָּטוּחַ] (batuakh [batuakh]) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action. See Isa 26:3.

[112:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “his heart,” viewed here as the seat of the volition.

[51:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”

[51:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”

[51:12]  ¹⁰ tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.

[51:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.

[51:13]  ¹² tn Heb “and that you forget.”

[51:13]  ¹³ tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[51:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”

[51:13]  ¹⁵ tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.