Psalms 35:1

Psalm 35 ¹ 

By David.

35:1 O Lord, fight ²  those who fight with me!

Attack those who attack me!

Psalms 78:25

78:25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones. ³ 

He sent them more than enough to eat. ⁴ 

Psalms 80:5

80:5 You have given them tears as food; ⁵ 

you have made them drink tears by the measure. ⁶ 

Psalms 105:16

105:16 He called down a famine upon the earth;

he cut off all the food supply. ⁷ 

Psalms 136:25

136:25 to the one who gives food to all living things, ⁸ 

for his loyal love endures.

[35:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 35. The author, who faces ruthless enemies who seek his life for no reason, begs the Lord to fight his battles for him and to vindicate him by annihilating his adversaries.

[35:1]  ² tn Or “contend.”

[78:25]  ³ sn Because of the reference to “heaven” in the preceding verse, it is likely that mighty ones refers here to the angels of heaven. The LXX translates “angels” here, as do a number of modern translations (NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[78:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “provision he sent to them to satisfaction.”

[80:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “you have fed them the food of tears.”

[80:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “[by] the third part [of a measure].” The Hebrew term שָׁלִישׁ (shalish, “third part [of a measure]”) occurs only here and in Isa 40:12.

[105:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “and every staff of food he broke.” The psalmist refers to the famine that occurred in Joseph’s time (see v. 17 and Gen 41:53-57).

[136:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “to all flesh,” which can refer to all people (see Pss 65:2; 145:21) or more broadly to mankind and animals. Elsewhere the psalms view God as the provider for all living things (see Pss 104:27-28; 145:15).