Psalms 89:17

89:17 For you give them splendor and strength. ¹ 

By your favor we are victorious. ² 

Psalms 89:24

89:24 He will experience my faithfulness and loyal love, ³ 

and by my name he will win victories. ⁴ 

Psalms 112:9

112:9 He generously gives ⁵  to the needy;

his integrity endures. ⁶ 

He will be vindicated and honored. ⁷ 

Psalms 132:17

132:17 There I will make David strong; ⁸ 

I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. ⁹ 

Psalms 148:14

148:14 He has made his people victorious, ¹⁰ 

and given all his loyal followers reason to praise –

the Israelites, the people who are close to him. ¹¹ 

Praise the Lord!

Psalms 148:1

Psalm 148 ¹² 

148:1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the sky!

Praise him in the heavens!

Psalms 2:1

Psalm 2 ¹³ 

2:1 Why ¹⁴  do the nations rebel? ¹⁵ 

Why ¹⁶  are the countries ¹⁷  devising ¹⁸  plots that will fail? ¹⁹ 

Psalms 2:10

2:10 So now, you kings, do what is wise; ²⁰ 

you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! ²¹ 

Luke 1:69

1:69 For ²²  he has raised up ²³  a horn of salvation ²⁴  for us in the house of his servant David, ²⁵ 

[89:17]  ¹ tn Heb “for the splendor of their strength [is] you.”

[89:17]  ² tn Heb “you lift up our horn,” or if one follows the marginal reading (Qere), “our horn is lifted up.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[89:24]  ³ tn Heb “and my faithfulness and my loyal love [will be] with him.”

[89:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “and by my name his horn will be lifted up.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[112:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “he scatters, he gives.”

[112:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “stands forever.”

[112:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “his horn will be lifted up in honor.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[132:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “there I will cause a horn to sprout for David.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (cf. Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Pss 18:2; 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that used its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36.

[132:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “I have arranged a lamp for my anointed one.” Here the “lamp” is a metaphor for the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kgs 11:36).

[148:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he lifted up a horn for his people.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). Another option is to take the “horn” as a symbol for the Davidic king, through whom the Lord gives his people military victory.

[148:14]  ¹¹ tn “[there is] praise for all his loyal followers, to the sons of Israel, the people near him.” Here “praise” stands by metonymy for the victory that prompts it.

[148:1]  ¹² sn Psalm 148. The psalmist calls upon all creation to praise the Lord, for he is the creator and sovereign king of the world.

[2:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 2. In this royal psalm the author asserts the special status of the divinely chosen Davidic king and warns the nations and their rulers to submit to the authority of God and his chosen vice-regent.

[2:1]  ¹⁴ tn The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tn The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “peoples” (so many English versions).

[2:1]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).

[2:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.

[2:10]  ²⁰ sn The speaker here is either the psalmist or the Davidic king, who now addresses the rebellious kings.

[2:10]  ²¹ tn The Niphal has here a tolerative nuance; the kings are urged to submit themselves to the advice being offered.

[1:69]  ²² tn Grk “and,” but specifying the reason for the praise in the psalm.

[1:69]  ²³ sn The phrase raised up means for God to bring someone significant onto the scene of history.

[1:69]  ²⁴ sn The horn of salvation is a figure that refers to the power of Messiah and his ability to protect, as the horn refers to what an animal uses to attack and defend (Ps 75:4-5, 10; 148:14; 2 Sam 22:3). Thus the meaning of the figure is “a powerful savior.”

[1:69]  ²⁵ sn In the house of his servant David is a reference to Messiah’s Davidic descent. Zechariah is more interested in Jesus than his own son John at this point.