Psalms 47:9

47:9 The nobles of the nations assemble,

along with the people of the God of Abraham, ¹ 

for God has authority over the rulers ²  of the earth.

He is highly exalted! ³ 

Psalms 62:1-2

Psalm 62 ⁴ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

62:1 For God alone I patiently wait; ⁵ 

he is the one who delivers me. ⁶ 

62:2 He alone is my protector ⁷  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ⁸  I will not be upended. ⁹ 

Psalms 62:6

62:6 He alone is my protector ¹⁰  and deliverer.

He is my refuge; ¹¹  I will not be upended. ¹² 

Psalms 84:11

84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. ¹³ 

The Lord bestows favor ¹⁴  and honor;

he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 91:1-2

Psalm 91 ¹⁶ 

91:1 As for you, the one who lives ¹⁷  in the shelter of the sovereign One, ¹⁸ 

and resides in the protective shadow ¹⁹  of the mighty king ²⁰  –

91:2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,

my God in whom I trust –

Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ²¹  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ²² 

Deuteronomy 33:27-29

33:27 The everlasting God is a refuge,

and underneath you are his eternal arms; ²³ 

he has driven out enemies before you,

and has said, “Destroy!”

33:28 Israel lives in safety,

the fountain of Jacob is quite secure, ²⁴ 

in a land of grain and new wine;

indeed, its heavens ²⁵  rain down dew. ²⁶ 

33:29 You have joy, Israel! Who is like you?

You are a people delivered by the Lord,

your protective shield

and your exalted sword.

May your enemies cringe before you;

may you trample on their backs.

[47:9]  ¹ tc The words “along with” do not appear in the MT. However, the LXX has “with,” suggesting that the original text may have read עִם עַם (’im ’am, “along with the people”). In this case the MT is haplographic (the consonantal sequence ayin-mem [עם] being written once instead of twice). Another option is that the LXX is simply and correctly interpreting “people” as an adverbial accusative and supplying the appropriate preposition.

[47:9]  ² tn Heb “for to God [belong] the shields of the earth.” Perhaps the rulers are called “shields” because they are responsible for protecting their people. See Ps 84:9, where the Davidic king is called “our shield,” and perhaps also Hos 4:18.

[47:9]  ³ tn The verb עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”) appears once more (see v. 5), though now in the Niphal stem.

[62:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God’s justice and in his ability to protect his people.

[62:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “only for God [is] there silence [to] my soul.”

[62:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “from him [is] my deliverance.”

[62:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:2]  ⁸ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:2]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”

[62:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”

[62:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).

[62:6]  ¹² sn The wording is identical to that of v. 2, except that רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) does not appear in v. 6.

[84:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.

[84:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “grace.”

[84:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”

[91:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 91. In this psalm an individual (perhaps a priest) addresses one who has sought shelter in the Lord and assures him that God will protect him from danger (vv. 1-13). In vv. 14-16 God himself promises to keep his loyal follower safe.

[91:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[O] one who lives.”

[91:1]  ¹⁸ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

[91:1]  ¹⁹ sn The Lord is compared here to a bird who protects its young under the shadow of its wings (see v. 4).

[91:1]  ²⁰ sn The divine name used here is “Shaddai” (שַׁדַּי, shadday; see also Ps 68:14). Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is the mighty king (sovereign judge) of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness.

[15:1]  ²¹ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ²² tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[33:27]  ²³ tn Heb “and from under, arms of perpetuity.” The words “you” and “his” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Some have perceived this line to be problematic and have offered alternative translations that differ significantly from the present translation: “He spread out the primeval tent; he extended the ancient canopy” (NAB); “He subdues the ancient gods, shatters the forces of old” (NRSV). These are based on alternate meanings or conjectural emendations rather than textual variants in the mss and versions.

[33:28]  ²⁴ tn Heb “all alone.” The idea is that such vital resources as water will some day no longer need protection because God will provide security.

[33:28]  ²⁵ tn Or “skies.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[33:28]  ²⁶ tn Or perhaps “drizzle, showers.” See note at Deut 32:2.