Psalms 30:10

30:10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me!

O Lord, deliver me!” ¹ 

Psalms 89:41

89:41 All who pass by ²  have robbed him;

he has become an object of disdain to his neighbors.

Psalms 22:14

22:14 My strength drains away like water; ³ 

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart ⁴  is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

Psalms 71:3

71:3 Be my protector and refuge, ⁵ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ⁶ 

For you are my high ridge ⁷  and my stronghold.

Psalms 31:2

31:2 Listen to me! ⁸ 

Quickly deliver me!

Be my protector and refuge, ⁹ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 53:5

53:5 They are absolutely terrified, ¹¹ 

even by things that do not normally cause fear. ¹² 

For God annihilates ¹³  those who attack you. ¹⁴ 

You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them. ¹⁵ 

[30:10]  ¹ tn Heb “be a helper to me.”

[89:41]  ² tn Heb “all the passersby on the road.”

[22:14]  ³ tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”

[22:14]  ⁴ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.

[71:3]  ⁴ tc Heb “become for me a rocky summit of a dwelling place.” The Hebrew term מָעוֹן (ma’on, “dwelling place”) should probably be emended to מָעוֹז (ma’oz, “refuge”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ⁵ tc Heb “to enter continually, you commanded to deliver me.” The Hebrew phrase לָבוֹא תָּמִיד צִוִּיתָ (lavo’ tamid tsivvita, “to enter continually, you commanded”) should be emended to לְבֵית מְצוּדוֹת (lÿvet mÿtsudot, “a house of strongholds”; see Ps 31:2).

[71:3]  ⁶ sn You are my high ridge. This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[31:2]  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.”

[53:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror (“absolutely”).

[53:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “there is no fear.” Apparently this means the evildoers are so traumatized with panic (see v. 5b) that they now jump with fear at everything, even those things that would not normally cause fear. Ps 14:5 omits this line.

[53:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “scatters the bones.” The perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. Scattering the bones alludes to the aftermath of a battle. God annihilates his enemies, leaving their carcasses spread all over the battlefield. As the bodies are devoured by wild animals and decay, the bones of God’s dead enemies are exposed. See Ps 141:7.

[53:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “[those who] encamp [against] you.” The second person masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to God’s people viewed as a collective whole. Instead of “for God scatters the bones of those who encamp against you,” Ps 14:5 reads, “for God is with a godly generation.”

[53:5]  ¹⁰ tn Once again the perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. As in the previous line, God’s people are probably addressed. The second person singular verb form is apparently collective, suggesting that the people are viewed here as a unified whole. Ps 14:6 reads here “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame, even though God is his shelter,” the words being addressed to the wicked.