Psalms 46:10

46:10 He says, ¹  “Stop your striving and recognize ²  that I am God!

I will be exalted ³  over ⁴  the nations! I will be exalted over ⁵  the earth!”

Psalms 46:2

46:2 For this reason we do not fear ⁶  when the earth shakes, ⁷ 

and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea, ⁸ 

Psalms 20:1

Psalm 20 ⁹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

20:1 May the Lord answer ¹⁰  you ¹¹  when you are in trouble; ¹² 

may the God of Jacob ¹³  make you secure!

Psalms 20:1

Psalm 20 ¹⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

20:1 May the Lord answer ¹⁵  you ¹⁶  when you are in trouble; ¹⁷ 

may the God of Jacob ¹⁸  make you secure!

Habakkuk 2:20

2:20 But the Lord is in his majestic palace. ¹⁹ 

The whole earth is speechless in his presence!” ²⁰ 

Zechariah 2:13

2:13 Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere, ²¹  for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place. ²² 

[46:10]  ¹ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[46:10]  ² tn Heb “do nothing/be quiet (see 1 Sam 15:16) and know.” This statement may be addressed to the hostile nations, indicating they should cease their efforts to destroy God’s people, or to Judah, indicating they should rest secure in God’s protection. Since the psalm is an expression of Judah’s trust and confidence, it is more likely that the words are directed to the nations, who are actively promoting chaos and are in need of a rebuke.

[46:10]  ³ tn Elsewhere in the psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”) when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 18:46; 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 57:5, 11).

[46:10]  ⁴ tn Or “among.”

[46:10]  ⁵ tn Or “in.”

[46:2]  ⁶ tn The imperfect is taken in a generalizing sense (cf. NEB) because the situation described in vv. 2-3 is understood as symbolizing typical world conditions. In this case the imperfect draws attention to the typical nature of the response. The covenant community characteristically responds with confidence, not fear. Another option is to take the situation described as purely hypothetical. In this case one might translate, “We will not fear, even though the earth should shake” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[46:2]  ⁷ tn The Hiphil infinitival form is normally taken to mean “when [the earth] is altered,” being derived from מוּר (mur, “to change”). In this case the Hiphil would be intransitive, as in Ps 15:4. HALOT 560 s.v. II מור emends the form to a Niphal and derives it from a homonymic root מוּר attested in Arabic with the meaning “shake.”

[46:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “heart of the seas.” The plural may be used for emphasis, pointing to the deepest sea. Note that the next verse uses a singular pronoun (“its waters,” “its swelling”) in referring back to the plural noun.

[20:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.

[20:1]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.

[20:1]  ¹¹ sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.

[20:1]  ¹² tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”

[20:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.

[20:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.

[20:1]  ¹⁵ tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.

[20:1]  ¹⁶ sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.

[20:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”

[20:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.

[2:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “holy temple.” The Lord’s heavenly palace, rather than the earthly temple, is probably in view here (see Ps 11:4; Mic 1:2-3). The Hebrew word ֹקדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holy”) here refers to the sovereign transcendence associated with his palace.

[2:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “Be quiet before him, all the earth!”

[2:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “all flesh”; NAB, NIV “all mankind.”

[2:13]  ²² sn The sense here is that God in heaven is about to undertake an occupation of his earthly realm (v. 12) by restoring his people to the promised land.