Psalms 35:2

35:2 Grab your small shield and large shield, ¹ 

and rise up to help me!

Psalms 38:22

38:22 Hurry and help me, ²  O Lord, my deliverer!

Psalms 22:19

22:19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away!

You are my source of strength! ³  Hurry and help me! ⁴ 

Psalms 40:13

40:13 Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me!

O Lord, hurry and help me! ⁵ 

Psalms 44:26

44:26 Rise up and help us!

Rescue us ⁶  because of your loyal love!

Psalms 60:11

60:11 Give us help against the enemy,

for any help men might offer is futile. ⁷ 

Psalms 63:7

63:7 For you are my deliverer; ⁸ 

under your wings ⁹  I rejoice.

Psalms 70:1

Psalm 70 ¹⁰ 

For the music director; by David; written to get God’s attention. ¹¹ 

70:1 O God, please be willing to rescue me! ¹² 

O Lord, hurry and help me! ¹³ 

Psalms 71:12

71:12 O God, do not remain far away from me!

My God, hurry and help me! ¹⁴ 

Psalms 94:17

94:17 If the Lord had not helped me,

I would have laid down in the silence of death. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 108:12

108:12 Give us help against the enemy,

for any help men might offer is futile. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 27:9

27:9 Do not reject me! ¹⁷ 

Do not push your servant away in anger!

You are my deliverer! ¹⁸ 

Do not forsake or abandon me,

O God who vindicates me!

Psalms 40:17

40:17 I am oppressed and needy! ¹⁹ 

May the Lord pay attention to me! ²⁰ 

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O my God, do not delay!

Psalms 46:1

Psalm 46 ²¹ 

For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; ²²  a song.

46:1 God is our strong refuge; ²³ 

he is truly our helper in times of trouble. ²⁴ 

[35:2]  ¹ tn Two different types of shields are mentioned here. See also Ezek 38:4. Many modern translations render the first term (translated here “small shield”) as “buckler” (cf. NASB “buckler and shield”; the order is often reversed in the translation, apparently for stylistic reasons: cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV “shield and buckler”). The English term “buckler,” referring to a small round shield held on the arm to protect the upper body, is unfamiliar to many modern readers, so the term “small shield” was used in the present translation for clarity.

[38:22]  ² tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Ps 22:19.

[22:19]  ³ tn Heb “O my strength.”

[22:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “hurry to my help.”

[40:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.

[44:26]  ⁵ tn Or “redeem us.” See Pss 25:22; 26:11; 69:18; 119:134.

[60:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”

[63:7]  ⁷ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[63:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the shadow of your wings.”

[70:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 70. This psalm is almost identical to Ps 40:13-17. The psalmist asks for God’s help and for divine retribution against his enemies.

[70:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “to cause to remember.” The same form, a Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the superscription of Ps 38. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).

[70:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “O God, to rescue me.” A main verb is obviously missing. The verb רָצָה (ratsah, “be willing”) should be supplied (see Ps 40:13). Ps 40:13 uses the divine name “Lord” rather than “God.”

[70:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.

[71:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “hurry to my help.”

[94:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “If the Lord [were] not my help, quickly my life would have lain down in silence.” The psalmist, perhaps speaking as the nation’s representative, recalls God’s past intervention. For other examples of conditional sentences with the term לוּלֵי (luley, “if not”) in the protasis and a perfect verbal form in the apodosis, see Pss 119:92 and 124:2-5.

[108:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”

[27:9]  ¹² tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[27:9]  ¹³ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[40:17]  ¹³ sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

[40:17]  ¹⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The Lord will pay attention to me” (cf. NRSV). The parallel in Ps 70:5 has, “O God, hurry to me!” For this reason some prefer to emend יַחֲשָׁב (yakhashav, “may he pay attention”) to חוּשָׁה (khushah, “hurry!”). The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward; elsewhere when the Qal of חָשַׁב (khashav, “reckon; consider”) is collocated with the preposition -ל (lamed) and a pronominal suffix there is an accompanying direct object or additional prepositional phrase/adverbial accusative (see Gen 15:6; 2 Sam 19:19; Job 13:24; 19:11; 33:10; Pss 32:2; 41:7; Amos 6:5).

[46:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 46. In this so-called “Song Of Zion” God’s people confidently affirm that they are secure because the great warrior-king dwells within Jerusalem and protects it from the nations that cause such chaos in the earth. A refrain (vv. 7, 11) concludes the song’s two major sections.

[46:1]  ¹⁵ sn The meaning of the Hebrew term עֲלָמוֹת (alamoth, which means “young women”) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. Cf. 1 Chr 15:20.

[46:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “our refuge and strength,” which is probably a hendiadys meaning “our strong refuge” (see Ps 71:7). Another option is to translate, “our refuge and source of strength.”

[46:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a helper in times of trouble he is found [to be] greatly.” The perfect verbal form has a generalizing function here. The adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od, “greatly”) has an emphasizing function.