Discovery BoxPsalms 7:1-2
ContextA musical composition 2 by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning 3 a Benjaminite named Cush. 4
7:1 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. 5
Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!
7:2 Otherwise they will rip 6 me 7 to shreds like a lion;
they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. 8
Psalms 17:9-13
Context17:9 Protect me from 9 the wicked men who attack 10 me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill. 11
they speak arrogantly. 13
17:11 They attack me, now they surround me; 14
they intend to throw me to the ground. 15
17:12 He 16 is like a lion 17 that wants to tear its prey to bits, 18
like a young lion crouching 19 in hidden places.
17:13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him! 20 Knock him down! 21
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man! 22
Psalms 35:4
Context35:4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated!
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed! 23
Psalms 54:3
Context54:3 For foreigners 24 attack me; 25
ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life. 26 (Selah)
Psalms 142:6
Context142:6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble! 27
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
[7:1] 1 sn Psalm 7. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from his enemies. He protests his innocence and declares his confidence in God’s justice.
[7:1] 2 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שִׁגָּיוֹן (shiggayon; translated here “musical composition”) is uncertain. Some derive the noun from the verbal root שָׁגָה (shagah, “swerve, reel”) and understand it as referring to a “wild, passionate song, with rapid changes of rhythm” (see BDB 993 s.v. שִׁגָּיוֹן). But this proposal is purely speculative. The only other appearance of the noun is in Hab 3:1, where it occurs in the plural.
[7:1] 3 tn Or “on account of.”
[7:1] 4 sn Apparently this individual named Cush was one of David’s enemies.
[7:1] 5 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.
[7:2] 6 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew text, even though “all who chase me” in v. 1 refers to a whole group of enemies. The singular is also used in vv. 4-5, but the psalmist returns to the plural in v. 6. The singular is probably collective, emphasizing the united front that the psalmist’s enemies present. This same alternation between a collective singular and a plural referring to enemies appears in Pss 9:3, 6; 13:4; 31:4, 8; 41:6, 10-11; 42:9-10; 55:3; 64:1-2; 74:3-4; 89:22-23; 106:10-11; 143:3, 6, 9.
[7:2] 7 tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.
[7:2] 8 tn Heb “tearing and there is no one rescuing.” The verbal form translated “tearing” is a singular active participle.
[17:9] 9 tn Heb “from before”; or “because.” In the Hebrew text v. 9 is subordinated to v. 8. The words “protect me” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:9] 10 tn Heb “destroy.” The psalmist uses the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of danger. He describes the wicked as being already in the process of destroying him.
[17:9] 11 tn Heb “my enemies, at the risk of life they surround me.” The Hebrew phrase בְּנֶפֶשׁ (bÿnefesh) sometimes has the nuance “at the risk of [one’s] life” (see 1 Kgs 2:23; Prov 7:23; Lam 5:9).
[17:10] 12 tn Heb “their fat they close.” The Hebrew term חֵלֶב (khelev, “fat”) appears to stand by metonymy for their calloused hearts. They attack the psalmist without feeling any pity or remorse. Some propose emending the text to חֵלֶב לִבָּמוֹ (khelev libbamo, “fat of their heart[s]; cf. Ps 119:70, “their heart is insensitive like fat”). This assumes haplography of the לב (lamed-bet) consonantal sequence.
[17:10] 13 tn Heb “[with] their mouth they speak with arrogance.”
[17:11] 14 tc Heb “our steps, now they surround me.” The Kethib (consonantal text) has “surround me,” while the Qere (marginal reading) has “surround us,” harmonizing the pronoun to the preceding “our steps.” The first person plural pronoun does not fit the context, where the psalmist speaks as an individual. In the preceding verses the psalmist uses a first person singular verbal or pronominal form twenty times. For this reason it is preferable to emend “our steps” to אִשְּׁרוּנִי (’ishÿruni, “they attack me”) from the verbal root אָשֻׁר (’ashur, “march, stride, track”).
[17:11] 15 tn Heb “their eyes they set to bend down in the ground.”
[17:12] 16 tn Here the psalmist switches to the singular pronoun; he views his enemies collectively, or singles out a representative of the group, perhaps its leader.
[17:12] 17 tn Heb “his likeness [is] like a lion.”
[17:12] 18 tn Heb “[that] longs to tear.”
[17:13] 20 tn Heb “Be in front of his face.”
[17:13] 21 tn Or “bring him to his knees.”
[17:13] 22 tn Heb “rescue my life from the wicked [one] [by] your sword.”
[35:4] 23 tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies. See also the distinct jussive form in v. 6.
[54:3] 24 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[54:3] 25 tn Heb “rise against me.”
[54:3] 26 tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”
