Psalms 9:9

9:9 Consequently ¹  the Lord provides safety for the oppressed; ² 

he provides safety in times of trouble. ³ 

Psalms 20:1

Psalm 20 ⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

20:1 May the Lord answer ⁵  you ⁶  when you are in trouble; ⁷ 

may the God of Jacob ⁸  make you secure!

Psalms 46:7

46:7 The Lord who commands armies is on our side! ⁹ 

The God of Jacob ¹⁰  is our protector! ¹¹  (Selah)

Isaiah 58:14

58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ¹² 

and I will give you great prosperity, ¹³ 

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ¹⁴ 

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ¹⁵ 

Habakkuk 3:19

3:19 The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. ¹⁶ 

He gives me the agility of a deer; ¹⁷ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ¹⁸ 

(This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) ¹⁹ 

[9:9]  ¹ tn Following the imperfect in v. 9, the construction vav (ו) conjunctive + shortened form of the prefixed verb הָיָה (hayah) indicates a consequence or result of the preceding statement. The construction functions this same way in Pss 81:15 and 104:20.

[9:9]  ² tn Heb “and the Lord is an elevated place for the oppressed.” The singular form דָּךְ (dakh, “oppressed”) is collective here.

[9:9]  ³ tn Heb “[he is] an elevated place for times in trouble.” Here an “elevated place” refers to a stronghold, a defensible, secure position that represents a safe haven in times of unrest or distress (cf. NEB “tower of strength”; NIV, NRSV “stronghold”).

[20:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.

[20:1]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.

[20:1]  ⁶ sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.

[20:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”

[20:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.

[46:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord of hosts is with us.” The title “Lord of hosts” here pictures the Lord as a mighty warrior-king who leads armies into battle (see Ps 24:10). The military imagery is further developed in vv. 8-9.

[46:7]  ¹⁰ tn That is, Israel, or Judah (see Ps 20:1).

[46:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “our elevated place” (see Pss 9:9; 18:2).

[58:14]  ¹² tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.

[58:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.

[58:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).

[58:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[3:19]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “is my wall,” that is, “my protector.”

[3:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he makes my feet like those of deer.”

[3:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he makes me walk on my high places.”

[3:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “For the leader, on my stringed instruments.”