Psalms 72:12-14

72:12 For he will rescue the needy ¹  when they cry out for help,

and the oppressed ²  who have no defender.

72:13 He will take pity ³  on the poor and needy;

the lives of the needy he will save.

72:14 From harm and violence he will defend them; ⁴ 

he will value their lives. ⁵ 

Psalms 113:7

113:7 He raises the poor from the dirt,

and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile, ⁶ 

Psalms 116:6

116:6 The Lord protects ⁷  the untrained; ⁸ 

I was in serious trouble ⁹  and he delivered me.

Psalms 142:6

142:6 Listen to my cry for help,

for I am in serious trouble! ¹⁰ 

Rescue me from those who chase me,

for they are stronger than I am.

Psalms 142:1

Psalm 142 ¹¹ 

A well-written song ¹²  by David, when he was in the cave; ¹³  a prayer.

142:1 To the Lord I cry out; ¹⁴ 

to the Lord I plead for mercy. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 2:7-8

2:7 The king says, ¹⁶  “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ¹⁷ 

‘You are my son! ¹⁸  This very day I have become your father!

2:8 Ask me,

and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, ¹⁹ 

the ends of the earth as your personal property.

[72:12]  ¹ tn The singular is representative. The typical needy individual here represents the entire group.

[72:12]  ² tn The singular is representative. The typical oppressed individual here represents the entire group.

[72:13]  ³ tn The prefixed verb form is best understood as a defectively written imperfect (see Deut 7:16).

[72:14]  ⁴ tn Or “redeem their lives.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Pss 19:14; 69:18).

[72:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “their blood will be precious in his eyes.”

[113:7]  ⁶ sn The language of v. 7 is almost identical to that of 1 Sam 2:8.

[116:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the Lord.

[116:6]  ⁸ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Ps 19:7.

[116:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “I was low.”

[142:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for I am very low.”

[142:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 142. The psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.

[142:1]  ¹² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[142:1]  ¹³ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm while in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3. See the superscription of Ps 57.

[142:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I cry out.”

[142:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I plead for mercy.”

[2:7]  ¹⁶ tn The words “the king says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The speaker is the Lord’s chosen king.

[2:7]  ¹⁷ tn Or “I will relate the decree. The Lord said to me” (in accordance with the Masoretic accentuation).

[2:7]  ¹⁸ sn ‘You are my son!’ The Davidic king was viewed as God’s “son” (see 2 Sam 7:14; Ps 89:26-27). The idiom reflects ancient Near Eastern adoption language associated with covenants of grant, by which a lord would reward a faithful subject by elevating him to special status, referred to as “sonship.” Like a son, the faithful subject received an “inheritance,” viewed as an unconditional, eternal gift. Such gifts usually took the form of land and/or an enduring dynasty. See M. Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East,” JAOS 90 (1970): 184-203, for general discussion and some striking extra-biblical parallels.

[2:8]  ¹⁹ sn I will give you the nations. The Lord promises the Davidic king universal dominion.