Psalms 8:6

8:6 you appoint them to rule over your creation; ¹ 

you have placed ²  everything under their authority, ³ 

Psalms 18:9

18:9 He made the sky sink ⁴  as he descended;

a thick cloud was under his feet.

Psalms 18:36

18:36 You widen my path; ⁵ 

my feet ⁶  do not slip.

Psalms 18:38-39

18:38 I beat them ⁷  to death; ⁸ 

they fall at my feet. ⁹ 

18:39 You give me strength ¹⁰  for battle;

you make my foes kneel before me. ¹¹ 

Psalms 18:47

18:47 The one true God ¹²  completely vindicates me; ¹³ 

he makes nations submit to me. ¹⁴ 

[8:6]  ¹ tn Heb “you cause [i.e., “permit, allow”] him to rule over the works of your hands.”

[8:6]  ² tn The perfect verbal form probably has a present perfect nuance here. It refers to the continuing effects of God’s original mandate (see Gen 1:26-30).

[8:6]  ³ tn Heb “under his feet.”

[18:9]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb נָטָה (natah) can carry the sense “[cause to] bend, bow down.” For example, Gen 49:15 pictures Issachar as a donkey that “bends” its shoulder or back under a burden. Here the Lord causes the sky, pictured as a dome or vault, to sink down as he descends in the storm.

[18:36]  ⁷ tn Heb “you make wide my step under me.” “Step” probably refers metonymically to the path upon which the psalmist walks. Another option is to translate, “you widen my stride.” This would suggest that God gives the psalmist the capacity to run quickly.

[18:36]  ⁸ tn Heb “lower legs.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun, which occurs only here, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 112. A cognate Akkadian noun means “lower leg.”

[18:38]  ¹⁰ tn Or “smash them.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “and I wiped them out and smashed them.”

[18:38]  ¹¹ tn Heb “until they are unable to rise.” 2 Sam 22:39 reads, “until they do not rise.”

[18:38]  ¹² sn They fall at my feet. For ancient Near Eastern parallels, see O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 294-97.

[18:39]  ¹³ tn Heb “clothed me.” See v. 32.

[18:39]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me.”

[18:47]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the God.” See v. 32.

[18:47]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication.

[18:47]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he subdues nations beneath me.” On the meaning of the verb דָּבַר (davar, “subdue,” a homonym of דָּבַר, davar, “speak”), see HALOT 209-10 s.v. I דבר. See also Ps 47:3 and 2 Chr 22:10. 2 Sam 22:48 reads “and [is the one who] brings down nations beneath me.”