Psalms 7:1

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!

Psalms 31:2

31:2 Listen to me! ⁶ 

Quickly deliver me!

Be my protector and refuge, ⁷ 

a stronghold where I can be safe! ⁸ 

Psalms 35:10

35:10 With all my strength I will say, ⁹ 

“O Lord, who can compare to you?

You rescue ¹⁰  the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; ¹¹ 

the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” ¹² 

Psalms 56:13

56:13 when you deliver ¹³  my life from death.

You keep my feet from stumbling, ¹⁴ 

so that I might serve ¹⁵  God as I enjoy life. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 59:1

Psalm 59 ¹⁷ 

For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; ¹⁸  a prayer ¹⁹  of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. ²⁰ 

59:1 Deliver me from my enemies, my God!

Protect me ²¹  from those who attack me! ²² 

Psalms 79:9

79:9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!

For the sake of your glorious reputation, ²³  rescue us!

Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation! ²⁴ 

[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.

[31:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”

[31:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “become for me a rocky summit of refuge.”

[31:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “a house of strongholds to deliver me.”

[35:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all my bones will say.”

[35:10]  ¹² tn Heb “[the one who] rescues.” The substantival participle in the Hebrew text characterizes God as one who typically rescues the oppressed.

[35:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “from [the one who is] too strong for him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense. The typical oppressed individual and typical oppressor are in view.

[35:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the oppressed [one] and needy [one] from [the one who] robs him.” As in the previous line, the singular forms are used in a representative sense.

[56:13]  ¹⁶ tn The perfect verbal form is probably future perfect; the psalmist promises to make good on his vows once God has delivered him (see Pss 13:5; 52:9). (2) Another option is to understand the final two verses as being added later, after the Lord intervened on the psalmist’s behalf. In this case one may translate, “for you have delivered.” Other options include taking the perfect as (3) generalizing (“for you deliver”) or (4) rhetorical (“for you will”).

[56:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “are not my feet [kept] from stumbling?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they are!” The question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarification of meaning.

[56:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “walk before.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254; cf. the same idiom in 2 Kgs 20:3; Isa 38:3.

[56:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the light of life.” The phrase is used here and in Job 33:30.

[59:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 59. The psalmist calls down judgment on his foreign enemies, whom he compares to ravenous wild dogs.

[59:1]  ²² tn Heb “do not destroy.” Perhaps this refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. These words also appear in the superscription to Pss 57-58, 75.

[59:1]  ²³ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-58, 60 is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[59:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “when Saul sent and they watched his house in order to kill him.”

[59:1]  ²⁵ tn Or “make me secure”; Heb “set me on high.”

[59:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “from those who raise themselves up [against] me.”

[79:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the glory of your name.” Here and in the following line “name” stands metonymically for God’s reputation.

[79:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “your name.”