Psalms 44:5

44:5 By your power ¹  we will drive back ²  our enemies;

by your strength ³  we will trample down ⁴  our foes! ⁵ 

Psalms 63:4

63:4 For this reason ⁶  I will praise you while I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands. ⁷ 

Psalms 89:16

89:16 They rejoice in your name all day long,

and are vindicated ⁸  by your justice.

Psalms 89:12

89:12 You created the north and the south.

Tabor and Hermon ⁹  rejoice in your name.

[44:5]  ¹ tn Heb “by you.”

[44:5]  ² tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”

[44:5]  ³ tn Heb “in your name.” The Lord’s “name” refers here to his revealed character or personal presence. Specifically in this context his ability to deliver, protect, and energize for battle is in view (see Ps 54:1).

[44:5]  ⁴ sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.

[44:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”

[63:4]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “then.”

[63:4]  ⁷ sn I will lift up my hands. Lifting up one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer (see Ps 28:2; Lam 2:19) or respect (Ps 119:48).

[89:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “are lifted up.”

[89:12]  ¹⁶ sn Tabor and Hermon were two of the most prominent mountains in Palestine.