Psalms 91:3-8

91:3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter ¹ 

and from the destructive plague.

91:4 He will shelter you ²  with his wings; ³ 

you will find safety under his wings.

His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall. ⁴ 

91:5 You need not fear the terrors of the night, ⁵ 

the arrow that flies by day,

91:6 the plague that comes in the darkness,

or the disease that comes at noon. ⁶ 

91:7 Though a thousand may fall beside you,

and a multitude on your right side,

it ⁷  will not reach you.

91:8 Certainly you will see it with your very own eyes –

you will see the wicked paid back. ⁸ 

[91:3]  ¹ tn The word refers specifically to a fowler (or hunter of birds).

[91:4]  ² tn Heb “put a cover over you” (see Ps 5:11).

[91:4]  ³ tc The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural should be read. The final yod (י) of the suffix, which indicates the plural, has dropped off by haplography (note the yod [י] at the beginning of the next word).

[91:4]  ⁴ tn Traditionally the Hebrew term סֹחֵרָה (sokherah), which occurs only here in the OT, has been understood to refer to a buckler or small shield (see BDB 695 s.v.). But HALOT 750 s.v., on the basis of evidence from the cognate languages, proposes the meaning “wall.”

[91:5]  ⁵ tn This probably alludes to a sneak attack by enemies in the darkness of night (see Song 3:8).

[91:6]  ⁶ sn As in Deut 32:23-24, vv. 5-6 closely associate military attack and deadly disease. Perhaps the latter alludes to one of the effects of siege warfare on the population of an entrapped city, which was especially vulnerable to the outbreak of epidemics.

[91:7]  ⁷ tn Apparently the deadly disease mentioned in v. 6b is the understood subject here.

[91:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “retribution on the wicked.”