Psalms 56:4

56:4 In God – I boast in his promise ¹  –

in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ²  do to me? ³ 

Psalms 86:8

86:8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord!

Your exploits are incomparable! ⁴ 

Psalms 56:10

56:10 In God – I boast in his promise ⁵  –

in the Lord – I boast in his promise ⁶  –

Psalms 60:12

60:12 By God’s power we will conquer; ⁷ 

he will trample down ⁸  our enemies.

Psalms 78:19

78:19 They insulted God, saying, ⁹ 

“Is God really able to give us food ¹⁰  in the wilderness?

Psalms 78:22

78:22 because they did not have faith in God,

and did not trust his ability to deliver them. ¹¹ 

Psalms 108:13

108:13 By God’s power we will conquer; ¹² 

he will trample down ¹³  our enemies.

Psalms 3:2

3:2 Many say about me,

“God will not deliver him.” ¹⁴  (Selah) ¹⁵ 

Psalms 44:8

44:8 In God I boast all day long,

and we will continually give thanks to your name. (Selah)

Psalms 56:11

56:11 in God I trust, I am not afraid.

What can mere men ¹⁶  do to me? ¹⁷ 

Psalms 62:7

62:7 God delivers me and exalts me;

God is my strong protector and my shelter. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 78:7

78:7 Then they will place their confidence in God.

They will not forget the works of God,

and they will obey ¹⁹  his commands.

Psalms 63:11

63:11 But the king ²⁰  will rejoice in God;

everyone who takes oaths in his name ²¹  will boast,

for the mouths of those who speak lies will be shut up. ²² 

[56:4]  ¹ tn Heb “in God I boast, his word.” The syntax in the Hebrew text is difficult. (1) The line could be translated, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” Such a translation assumes that the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and that “his word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. Another option (2) is to translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” is a song of praise. (In this view the pronominal suffix “his” must be omitted as in v. 10.) The present translation reflects yet another option (3): In this case “I praise his word” is a parenthetical statement, with “his word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in the next line, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.

[56:4]  ² tn Heb “flesh,” which refers by metonymy to human beings (see v. 11, where “man” is used in this same question), envisioned here as mortal and powerless before God.

[56:4]  ³ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[86:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “and there are none like your acts.”

[56:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “in God I praise a word.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult. The statement is similar to that of v. 4, except that the third person pronominal suffix is omitted here, where the text has simply “a word” instead of “his word.” (1) One could translate, “in God I will boast [with] a word.” In this case, the “word” refers to a song of praise. (2) If one assumes that God’s word is in view, as in v. 4, then one option is to translate, “in God I boast, [in] his word.” In this case the prepositional phrase “in God” goes with the following verb “I boast” (see Ps 44:8) and “[his] word” is appositional to “in God” and more specifically identifies the basis for the psalmist’s confidence. God’s “word” is here understood as an assuring promise of protection. (3) The present translation reflects another option: In this case “I praise [his] word” is a parenthetical statement, with “[his] word” being the object of the verb. The sentence begun with the prepositional phrase “in God” is then completed in v. 11, with the prepositional phrase being repeated after the parenthesis.

[56:10]  ⁸ tn The phrase “in the Lord” parallels “in God” in the first line. Once again the psalmist parenthetically remarks “I boast in [his] word” before completing the sentence in v. 11.

[60:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 108:13; 118:15-16).

[60:12]  ¹¹ sn Trample down. On this expression see Ps 44:5.

[78:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “they spoke against God, they said.”

[78:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to arrange a table [for food].”

[78:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they did not trust his deliverance.”

[108:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 118:16-16).

[108:13]  ²⁰ sn On the expression trample down our enemies see Ps 44:5.

[3:2]  ²² tn Heb “there is no deliverance for him in God.”

[3:2]  ²³ sn The function of the Hebrew term סֶלָה (selah), transliterated here “Selah,” is uncertain. It may be a musical direction of some kind.

[56:11]  ²⁵ tn The statement is similar to that of v. 4, except “flesh” is used there instead of “man.”

[56:11]  ²⁶ tn The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “Nothing!” The imperfect is used in a modal sense here, indicating capability or potential.

[62:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “upon God [is] my deliverance and my glory, the high rocky summit of my strength, my shelter [is] in God.”

[78:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “keep.”

[63:11]  ³⁴ sn The psalmist probably refers to himself in the third person here.

[63:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “who swears [an oath] by him.”

[63:11]  ³⁶ tn The Niphal of this verb occurs only here and in Gen 8:2, where it is used of God “stopping” or “damming up” the great deep as he brought the flood to an end.