Psalms 6:4

6:4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! ¹ 

Deliver me because of your faithfulness! ² 

Psalms 7:4

7:4 or have wronged my ally, ³ 

or helped his lawless enemy, ⁴ 

Psalms 18:19

18:19 He brought me out into a wide open place;

he delivered me because he was pleased with me. ⁵ 

Psalms 34:7

34:7 The Lord’s angel camps around

the Lord’s ⁶  loyal followers ⁷  and delivers them. ⁸ 

Psalms 60:5

60:5 Deliver by your power ⁹  and answer me, ¹⁰ 

so that the ones you love may be safe. ¹¹ 

Psalms 91:15

91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.

I will be with him when he is in trouble;

I will rescue him and bring him honor.

Psalms 108:6

108:6 Deliver by your power ¹²  and answer me,

so that the ones you love may be safe. ¹³ 

Psalms 119:153

ר (Resh)

119:153 See my pain and rescue me!

For I do not forget your law.

[6:4]  ¹ tn Heb “my being,” or “my life.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[6:4]  ² sn Deliver me because of your faithfulness. Though the psalmist is experiencing divine discipline, he realizes that God has made a commitment to him in the past, so he appeals to God’s faithfulness in his request for help.

[7:4]  ³ tn Heb “if I have repaid the one at peace with me evil.” The form שׁוֹלְמִי (sholÿmi, “the one at peace with me”) probably refers to a close friend or ally, i.e., one with whom the psalmist has made a formal agreement. See BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלוֹם 4.a.

[7:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “or rescued my enemy in vain.” The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive (the verb form is pseudo-cohortative; see IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3) carries on the hypothetical nuance of the perfect in the preceding line. Some regard the statement as a parenthetical assertion that the psalmist is kind to his enemies. Others define חָלַץ (khalats) as “despoil” (cf. NASB, NRSV “plundered”; NIV “robbed”), an otherwise unattested nuance for this verb. Still others emend the verb to לָחַץ (lakhats, “oppress”). Most construe the adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “emptily, vainly”) with “my enemy,” i.e., the one who is my enemy in vain.” The present translation (1) assumes an emendation of צוֹרְרִי (tsorÿriy, “my enemy”) to צוֹרְרוֹ (tsorÿro, “his [i.e., the psalmist’s ally’s] enemy”) following J. Tigay, “Psalm 7:5 and Ancient Near Eastern Treaties,” JBL 89 (1970): 178-86, (2) understands the final mem (ם) on רֵיקָם as enclitic, and (3) takes רִיק (riq) as an adjective modifying “his enemy.” (For other examples of a suffixed noun followed by an attributive adjective without the article, see Pss 18:17 (“my strong enemy”), 99:3 (“your great and awesome name”) and 143:10 (“your good spirit”). The adjective רִיק occurs with the sense “lawless” in Judg 9:4; 11:3; 2 Chr 13:7. In this case the psalmist affirms that he has not wronged his ally, nor has he given aid to his ally’s enemies. Ancient Near Eastern treaties typically included such clauses, with one or both parties agreeing not to lend aid to the treaty partner’s enemies.

[18:19]  ⁵ tn Or “delighted in me.”

[34:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[34:7]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same generalizing force as the active participle in the first line. See GKC 329 §111.u.

[60:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “right hand.”

[60:5]  ¹⁰ tn The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”

[60:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text, “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[108:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “right hand.”

[108:6]  ¹² tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text: “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”