Psalms 89:20

89:20 I have discovered David, my servant.

With my holy oil I have anointed him as king. ¹ 

Psalms 84:9

84:9 O God, take notice of our shield! ² 

Show concern for your chosen king! ³ 

Psalms 105:15

105:15 saying, ⁴  “Don’t touch my chosen ⁵  ones!

Don’t harm my prophets!”

Psalms 132:10

132:10 For the sake of David, your servant,

do not reject your chosen king! ⁶ 

Psalms 2:2

2:2 The kings of the earth ⁷  form a united front; ⁸ 

the rulers collaborate ⁹ 

against the Lord and his anointed king. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 18:50

18:50 He ¹¹  gives his chosen king magnificent victories; ¹² 

he is faithful ¹³  to his chosen ruler, ¹⁴ 

to David and his descendants ¹⁵  forever.” ¹⁶ 

Psalms 28:8

28:8 The Lord strengthens his people; ¹⁷ 

he protects and delivers his chosen king. ¹⁸ 

Psalms 89:51

89:51 Your enemies, O Lord, hurl insults;

they insult your chosen king as they dog his footsteps. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 132:17

132:17 There I will make David strong; ²⁰ 

I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue. ²¹ 

Psalms 89:38

89:38 But you have spurned ²²  and rejected him;

you are angry with your chosen king. ²³ 

Psalms 20:6

20:6 Now I am sure ²⁴  that the Lord will deliver ²⁵  his chosen king; ²⁶ 

he will intervene for him ²⁷  from his holy heavenly temple, ²⁸ 

and display his mighty ability to deliver. ²⁹ 

Psalms 45:7

45:7 You love ³⁰  justice and hate evil. ³¹ 

For this reason God, your God ³²  has anointed you ³³ 

with the oil of joy, ³⁴  elevating you above your companions. ³⁵ 

Psalms 92:10

92:10 You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. ³⁶ 

I am covered ³⁷  with fresh oil.

Psalms 2:6

2:6 “I myself ³⁸  have installed ³⁹  my king

on Zion, my holy hill.”

Psalms 23:5

23:5 You prepare a feast before me ⁴⁰ 

in plain sight of my enemies.

You refresh ⁴¹  my head with oil;

my cup is completely full. ⁴² 

Psalms 45:2

45:2 You are the most handsome of all men! ⁴³ 

You speak in an impressive and fitting manner! ⁴⁴ 

For this reason ⁴⁵  God grants you continual blessings. ⁴⁶ 

[89:20]  ¹ tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification, indicating that a royal anointing is in view.

[84:9]  ² tn The phrase “our shield” refers metaphorically to the Davidic king, who, as God’s vice-regent, was the human protector of the people. Note the parallelism with “your anointed one” here and with “our king” in Ps 89:18.

[84:9]  ³ tn Heb “look [on] the face of your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (mÿshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17).

[105:15]  ³ tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[105:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “anointed.”

[132:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not turn away the face of your anointed one.”

[2:2]  ⁵ sn The expression kings of the earth refers somewhat hyperbolically to the kings who had been conquered by and were subject to the Davidic king.

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Or “take their stand.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes their action as underway.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Or “conspire together.” The verbal form is a Niphal from יָסַד (yasad). BDB 413-14 s.v. יָסַד defines the verb as “establish, found,” but HALOT 417 s.v. II יסד proposes a homonym meaning “get together, conspire” (an alternate form of סוּד, sud).

[2:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and against his anointed one.” The Davidic king is the referent (see vv. 6-7).

[18:50]  ⁶ tn Or “the one who.”

[18:50]  ⁷ tn Heb “magnifies the victories of his king.” “His king” refers to the psalmist, the Davidic king whom God has chosen to rule Israel.

[18:50]  ⁸ tn Heb “[the one who] does loyalty.”

[18:50]  ⁹ tn Heb “his anointed [one],” i.e., the psalmist/Davidic king. See Ps 2:2.

[18:50]  ¹⁰ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[18:50]  ¹¹ sn If David is the author of the psalm (see the superscription), then he here anticipates that God will continue to demonstrate loyalty to his descendants who succeed him. If the author is a later Davidic king, then he views the divine favor he has experienced as the outworking of God’s faithful promises to David his ancestor.

[28:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord [is] strength to them” (or perhaps, “to him”). The form לָמוֹ (lamo, “to them/him”) is probably a corruption of an original לְעַמוֹ (lÿ’amo, “to his people”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 236), perhaps due to quiescence of the letter ayin (ע; see P. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 55). Note the reference to the Lord’s “people” in the next verse.

[28:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “he [is] a refuge of help for his anointed one.” The noun מָשִׁיחַ (mashiakh, “anointed one”) refers to the Davidic king, who perhaps speaks as representative of the nation in this psalm. See Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 84:9; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17.

[89:51]  ⁸ tn Heb “[by] which your enemies, O Lord, taunt, [by] which they taunt [at] the heels of your anointed one.”

[132:17]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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).

[89:38]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew construction (conjunction + pronoun, followed by the verb) draws attention to the contrast between what follows and what precedes.

[89:38]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your anointed one.” The Hebrew phrase מְשִׁיחֶךָ (mÿshikhekha, “your anointed one”) refers here to the Davidic king (see Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 28:8; 84:9; 132:10, 17).

[20:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “know.”

[20:6]  ¹² tn The perfect verbal form is probably used rhetorically to state that the deliverance is as good as done. In this way the speaker emphasizes the certainty of the deliverance. Another option is to take the statement as generalizing; the psalmist affirms that the Lord typically delivers the king.

[20:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “his anointed one.” This title refers to the Davidic king. See Pss 2:2 and 18:50.

[20:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he will answer him.”

[20:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from his holy heavens.”

[20:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with mighty acts of deliverance of his right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Ps 17:7).

[45:7]  ¹² sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ¹³ sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ¹⁴ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ¹⁵ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ¹⁶ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[92:10]  ¹³ sn The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “to exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; Lam 2:17).

[92:10]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew verb בָּלַל (balal) usually has the nuance “to mix.” Here it seems to mean “to smear” or “to anoint.” Some emend the form to בַּלֹּתַנִי (ballotaniy; a second person form of the verb with a first person suffix) and read, “you anoint me.”

[2:6]  ¹⁴ tn The first person pronoun appears before the first person verbal form for emphasis, reflected in the translation by “myself.”

[2:6]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps “consecrated.”

[23:5]  ¹⁵ sn In v. 5 the metaphor switches. (It would be very odd for a sheep to have its head anointed and be served wine.) The background for the imagery is probably the royal banquet. Ancient Near Eastern texts describe such banquets in similar terms to those employed by the psalmist. (See M. L. Barre and J. S. Kselman, “New Exodus, Covenant, and Restoration in Psalm 23,” The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth, 97-127.) The reality behind the imagery is the Lord’s favor. Through his blessings and protection he demonstrates to everyone, including dangerous enemies, that the psalmist has a special relationship with him.

[23:5]  ¹⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form in v. 5a carries on the generalizing mood of vv. 1-4. However, in v. 5b the psalmist switches to a perfect (דִּשַּׁנְתָּ, dishanta), which may have a generalizing force as well. But then again the perfect is conspicuous here and may be present perfect in sense, indicating that the divine host typically pours oil on his head prior to seating him at the banquet table. The verb דָשַׁן (dashan; the Piel is factitive) is often translated “anoint,” but this is misleading, for it might suggest a symbolic act of initiation into royal status. One would expect the verb מָשָׁח (mashan) in this case; דָשַׁן here describes an act of hospitality extended to guests and carries the nuance “refresh.” In Prov 15:30 it stands parallel to “make happy” and refers to the effect that good news has on the inner being of its recipient.

[23:5]  ¹⁷ tn The rare noun רְַָויָה (rÿvayah) is derived from the well-attested verb רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated, drink one’s fill”). In this context, where it describes a cup, it must mean “filled up,” but not necessarily to overflowing.

[45:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you are handsome from the sons of man.” The preposition “from” is used in a comparative (“more than”) sense. The peculiar verb form יָפְיָפִיתָ (yafyafita) is probably the result of dittography of yod-pe (יפ) and should be emended to יָפִיתָ (yafita). See GKC 152 §55.e.

[45:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “favor is poured out on your lips.” “Lips” probably stands by metonymy for the king’s speech. Some interpret the Hebrew term חֵן (khen) as referring here to “gracious (i.e., kind and polite) speech”, but the word probably refers more generally to “attractive” speech that is impressively articulated and fitting for the occasion. For other instances of the term being used of speech, see Prov 22:11 and Eccl 10:12.

[45:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “this demonstrates.” The construction עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken, “therefore”) usually indicates what logically follows from a preceding statement. However, here it may infer the cause from the effect, indicating the underlying basis or reason for what precedes (see BDB 487 s.v. I כֵּן 3.f; C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 1:386).

[45:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “blesses you forever.” Here “bless” means to “endue with the power and skill to rule effectively,” as the following verses indicate.