Psalms 9:2

9:2 I will be happy and rejoice in you!

I will sing praises to you, O sovereign One! ¹ 

Psalms 16:1

Psalm 16 ² 

A prayer ³  of David.

16:1 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you. ⁴ 

Psalms 18:29

18:29 Indeed, ⁵  with your help ⁶  I can charge against ⁷  an army; ⁸ 

by my God’s power ⁹  I can jump over a wall. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 22:5

22:5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;

in you they trusted and they were not disappointed. ¹¹ 

Psalms 25:20

25:20 Protect me ¹²  and deliver me!

Please do not let me be humiliated,

for I have taken shelter in you!

Psalms 44:5

44:5 By your power ¹³  we will drive back ¹⁴  our enemies;

by your strength ¹⁵  we will trample down ¹⁶  our foes! ¹⁷ 

Psalms 63:6

63:6 whenever ¹⁸  I remember you on my bed,

and think about you during the nighttime hours.

Psalms 84:5

84:5 How blessed are those who ¹⁹  find their strength in you,

and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple! ²⁰ 

Psalms 84:12

84:12 O Lord who rules over all, ²¹ 

how blessed are those who trust in you! ²² 

Psalms 85:6

85:6 Will you not revive us once more?

Then your people will rejoice in you!

Psalms 122:8

122:8 For the sake of my brothers and my neighbors

I will say, “May there be peace in you!”

[9:2]  ¹ tn Heb “[to] your name, O Most High.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyo/) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[16:1]  ² sn Psalm 16. The psalmist seeks divine protection because he has remained loyal to God. He praises God for his rich blessings, and is confident God will vindicate him and deliver him from death.

[16:1]  ³ tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מִכְתָּם (mikhtam) is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”

[16:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results (see 7:1; 11:1).

[18:29]  ³ tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.

[18:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “by you.”

[18:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will run.” The imperfect verbal forms in v. 29 indicate the subject’s potential or capacity to perform an action. Though one might expect a preposition to follow the verb here, this need not be the case with the verb רוּץ (ruts; see 1 Sam 17:22). Some emend the Qal to a Hiphil form of the verb and translate, “I put to flight [Heb “cause to run”] an army.”

[18:29]  ⁶ tn More specifically, the noun גְּדוּד (gÿdud) refers to a raiding party or to a contingent of troops.

[18:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “and by my God.”

[18:29]  ⁸ sn I can jump over a wall. The psalmist uses hyperbole to emphasize his God-given military superiority.

[22:5]  ⁴ tn Or “were not ashamed.”

[25:20]  ⁵ tn Or “my life.”

[44:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “by you.”

[44:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”

[44:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “in your name.” The Lord’s “name” refers here to his revealed character or personal presence. Specifically in this context his ability to deliver, protect, and energize for battle is in view (see Ps 54:1).

[44:5]  ⁹ sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.

[44:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”

[63:6]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term אִם (’im) is used here in the sense of “when; whenever,” as in Ps 78:34.

[84:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here was certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to in v. 5a is representative of followers of God, as the use of plural forms in vv. 5b-7 indicates.

[84:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “roads [are] in their heart[s].” The roads are here those that lead to Zion (see v. 7).

[84:12]  ⁹ tn Traditionally “Lord of hosts.”

[84:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.