Psalms 35:3

35:3 Use your spear and lance ¹  against ²  those who chase me!

Assure me with these words: ³  “I am your deliverer!”

Psalms 45:8

45:8 All your garments are perfumed with ⁴  myrrh, aloes, and cassia.

From the luxurious palaces ⁵  comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy. ⁶ 

Psalms 54:7

54:7 Surely ⁷  he rescues me from all trouble, ⁸ 

and I triumph over my enemies. ⁹ 

Psalms 56:9

56:9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help; ¹⁰ 

I know that God is on my side. ¹¹ 

Psalms 59:7

59:7 Look, they hurl insults at me

and openly threaten to kill me, ¹² 

for they say, ¹³ 

“Who hears?”

Psalms 72:12

72:12 For he will rescue the needy ¹⁴  when they cry out for help,

and the oppressed ¹⁵  who have no defender.

Psalms 74:11

74:11 Why do you remain inactive?

Intervene and destroy him! ¹⁶ 

Psalms 78:15

78:15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,

and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 80:13

80:13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it; ¹⁸ 

the insects ¹⁹  of the field feed on it.

Psalms 104:14

104:14 He provides grass ²⁰  for the cattle,

and crops for people to cultivate, ²¹ 

so they can produce food from the ground, ²² 

Psalms 105:39

105:39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, ²³ 

and provided a fire to light up the night.

Psalms 107:2

107:2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out, ²⁴ 

those whom he delivered ²⁵  from the power ²⁶  of the enemy,

Psalms 107:41

107:41 Yet he protected ²⁷  the needy from oppression,

and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

Psalms 111:2

111:2 The Lord’s deeds are great,

eagerly awaited ²⁸  by all who desire them.

Psalms 142:5

142:5 I cry out to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

my security ²⁹  in the land of the living.”

[35:3]  ¹ tn Or “javelin.” On the meaning of this word, which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, see M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:210-11.

[35:3]  ² tn Heb “draw out spear and lance to meet.”

[35:3]  ³ tn Heb “say to me,” or “say to my soul.”

[45:8]  ⁴ tn The words “perfumed with” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[45:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “the palaces of ivory.” The phrase “palaces of ivory” refers to palaces that had ivory panels and furniture decorated with ivory inlays. Such decoration with ivory was characteristic of a high level of luxury. See 1 Kgs 22:39 and Amos 3:15.

[45:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the palaces of ivory stringed instrument[s] make you happy.”

[54:7]  ⁷ tn Or “for,” indicating a more specific reason why he will praise the Lord’s name (cf. v. 6).

[54:7]  ⁸ tn The perfects in v. 7 are probably rhetorical, indicating the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance and his own vindication as if they were occurring or had already occurred.

[54:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “and on my enemies my eyes look.”

[56:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “then my enemies will turn back in the day I cry out.” The Hebrew particle אָז (’az, “then”) is probably used here to draw attention to the following statement.

[56:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “this I know, that God is for me.”

[59:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “look, they gush forth with their mouth, swords [are] in their lips.”

[59:7]  ¹⁴ tn The words “for they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The following question (“Who hears?”) is spoken by the psalmist’s enemies, who are confident that no one else can hear their threats against the psalmist. They are aggressive because they feel the psalmist is vulnerable and has no one to help him.

[72:12]  ¹⁶ tn The singular is representative. The typical needy individual here represents the entire group.

[72:12]  ¹⁷ tn The singular is representative. The typical oppressed individual here represents the entire group.

[74:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? From the midst of your chest, destroy!” The psalmist pictures God as having placed his right hand (symbolic of activity and strength) inside his robe against his chest. He prays that God would pull his hand out from under his robe and use it to destroy the enemy.

[78:15]  ²² tn Heb “and caused them to drink, like the depths, abundantly.”

[80:13]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew verb כִּרְסֵם (kirsem, “to eat away; to ruin”) occurs only here in the OT.

[80:13]  ²⁶ tn The precise referent of the Hebrew word translated “insects,” which occurs only here and in Ps 50:11, is uncertain. Aramaic, Arabic, and Akkadian cognates refer to insects, such as locusts or crickets.

[104:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “causes the grass to sprout up.”

[104:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “for the service of man” (see Gen 2:5).

[104:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to cause food to come out from the earth.”

[105:39]  ³¹ tn Or “curtain.”

[107:2]  ³⁴ tn Or “let the redeemed of the Lord say [so].”

[107:2]  ³⁵ tn Or “redeemed.”

[107:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[107:41]  ³⁷ tn Heb “set on high.”

[111:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “sought out.”

[142:5]  ⁴³ tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.