Psalms 7:1-2

Psalm 7 ¹ 

A 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 18:48

18:48 He delivers me ⁹  from my enemies;

you snatch me away ¹⁰  from those who attack me; ¹¹ 

you rescue me from violent men.

Psalms 71:4

71:4 My God, rescue me from the power ¹²  of the wicked,

from the hand of the cruel oppressor!

Psalms 143:12

143:12 As a demonstration of your loyal love, ¹³  destroy my enemies!

Annihilate ¹⁴  all who threaten my life, ¹⁵ 

for I am your servant.

Luke 1:74-75

1:74 that we, being rescued from the hand of our ¹⁶  enemies,

may serve him without fear, ¹⁷ 

1:75 in holiness and righteousness ¹⁸  before him for as long as we live. ¹⁹ 

Luke 1:2

1:2 like the accounts ²⁰  passed on ²¹  to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word ²²  from the beginning. ²³ 

Luke 4:17-18

4:17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He ²⁴  unrolled ²⁵  the scroll and found the place where it was written,

4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed ²⁶  me to proclaim good news ²⁷  to the poor. ²⁸ 

He has sent me ²⁹  to proclaim release ³⁰  to the captives

and the regaining of sight ³¹  to the blind,

to set free ³²  those who are oppressed, ³³ 

[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.

[18:48]  ⁹ tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”

[18:48]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lifts me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רום probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt, elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given the psalmist victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[18:48]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”

[71:4]  ¹² tn Heb “hand.”

[143:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”

[143:12]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the mood of the preceding imperfect.

[143:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “all the enemies of my life.”

[1:74]  ¹⁶ tc Many important early mss (א B L W [0130] Ë^1,13 565 892 pc) lack “our,” while most (A C D [K] Θ Ψ 0177 33 Ï pc) supply it. Although the addition is most likely not authentic, “our” has been included in the translation due to English stylistic requirements.

[1:74]  ¹⁷ tn This phrase in Greek is actually thrown forward to the front of the verse to give it emphasis.

[1:75]  ¹⁸ sn The phrases that we…might serve him…in holiness and righteousness from Luke 1:74-75 well summarize a basic goal for a believer in the eyes of Luke. Salvation frees us up to serve God without fear through a life full of ethical integrity.

[1:75]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “all our days.”

[1:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “even as”; this compares the recorded tradition of 1:1 with the original eyewitness tradition of 1:2.

[1:2]  ²¹ tn Or “delivered.”

[1:2]  ²² sn The phrase eyewitnesses and servants of the word refers to a single group of people who faithfully passed on the accounts about Jesus. The language about delivery (passed on) points to accounts faithfully passed on to the early church.

[1:2]  ²³ tn Grk “like the accounts those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word passed on to us.” The location of “in the beginning” in the Greek shows that the tradition is rooted in those who were with Jesus from the start.

[4:17]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And unrolling the scroll he found.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead a new sentence has been started in the translation.

[4:17]  ²⁵ tn Grk “opening,” but a scroll of this period would have to be unrolled. The participle ἀναπτύξας (anaptuxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:18]  ²⁶ sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.

[4:18]  ²⁷ tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”

[4:18]  ²⁸ sn The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11-25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.

[4:18]  ²⁹ tc The majority of mss, especially the later Byzantines, include the phrase “to heal the brokenhearted” at this point (A Θ Ψ 0102 ˹ Ï). The phrase is lacking in several weighty mss (א B D L W Ξ Ë¹³ 33 579 700 892* pc lat sy^s co), including representatives from both the Alexandrian and Western texttypes. From the standpoint of external evidence, the omission of the phrase is more likely original. When internal evidence is considered, the shorter reading becomes almost certain. Scribes would be much more prone to add the phrase here to align the text with Isa 61:1, the source of the quotation, than to remove it from the original.

[4:18]  ³⁰ sn The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77-79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).

[4:18]  ³¹ sn Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

[4:18]  ³² sn The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message – he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, afesi") translated release earlier in the verse.

[4:18]  ³³ sn Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).