Psalm 18 Verse-by-Verse

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Welcome to the Verse-by-Verse Notes for Psalm 18!

The Verse-by-Verse Notes present scholarly, exegetical materials (from all layers of analysis) in a verse-by-verse format. They often present alternative interpretive options and justification for a preferred interpretation. The Verse-by-Verse Notes are aimed at consultant-level users.

The discussion of each verse of this psalm includes the following items.

1. A link to the part of the overview video where the verse in question is discussed.
2. The verse in Hebrew and English.
3. An expanded paraphrase of the verse.
4. A grammatical diagram of the verse, which includes glosses for each word and phrase.
5. A series of notes on the verse, which contain information pertaining to the interpretation of the psalm (e.g., meaning of words and phrases, poetic features, difficult grammatical constructions, etc.).

Superscription (v. 1)

v. 1

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
1a	לַמְנַצֵּ֤חַ ׀ לְעֶ֥בֶד יְהוָ֗ה לְדָ֫וִ֥ד	For the director; by YHWH's servant, David,
1b	אֲשֶׁ֤ר דִּבֶּ֨ר ׀ לַיהוָ֗ה אֶת־דִּ֭בְרֵי הַשִּׁירָ֣ה הַזֹּ֑את בְּי֤וֹם	who recited the words of this song to YHWH
1c	הִֽצִּיל־יְהוָ֘ה אוֹת֥וֹ מִכַּ֥ף כָּל־אֹ֝יְבָ֗יו וּמִיַּ֥ד שָׁאֽוּל׃	when YHWH had rescued him from the palm of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

Expanded Paraphrase

For the director; by YHWH's servant, David, who recited the words of this song to YHWH when YHWH had rescued him from the palm of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The final phrase of Psalm 18:1 in the MT reads from the hand (מִיַּד שָׁאוּל׃) of Saul but the parallel text in 2 Samuel 22:1 reads מִכַּף שָׁאוּל׃ “from the palm” of Saul. Both readings are probably best as they stand, the changes being a result of stylistic preferences.
• Most modern translations take דָוִד “David” as the antecedent of who (אֲשֵׁר). The LXX and Vulgate, however, reflect an interpretation where אשׁר is a free relative clause. In the parallel verse in 2 Sam 22:1 it is David who is the subject of the דבר verb: וַיְדַבֵּר דָּוִד לַיהוָה אֶת־דִּבְרֵי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת “And David spoke the words of this song to the Lord.” This strongly favours taking David as the subject of the דבר verb—and therefore the antecedent of אשר in Ps 18:1 as well.
• The term servant (עֶבֶד) has connotations of “chosen one” when applied to King David.
• In this context, the word דִּבֶּר takes on the meaning to recite rather than “to speak”.
• The terms palm (כַּף) and hand (יָד) take on the metaphorical meaning “power” here. The metaphor was so common it most likely became lexicalized.
• The context suggests that day (יוֹם) here means “time” instead of a solar-sequential “day”.
• The waw in the phrase “and from the hand of Saul” (וּמִיַּד שָׁאוּל) most likely expresses “and especially”.

David's Distress (vv. 2–7)

The first major section of the psalm consists of an introductory sub-section (vv. 2–3) followed by David's recollection of his distress, cast in terms of water surrounding him. (vv. 4–7). The latter sub-section (vv. 4–7) is recognizable as its own section because of the inclusio formed by the repeated phrase “I cry out to YHWH” (אֶקְרָה יְהוָה).

The first sub-section (vv. 2–3) is recognizable as its own unit since it creates an inclusio around the entire psalm (with v. 50) in which the psalmist's response to God's deliverance is expressed.

Thus, vv. 2–3 serve as an introduction to the Psalm. In it, David expresses his commitment to YHWH when he says “I shall keep loving you, YHWH, my strength” (אֶרְחָמְךָ יְהוָה חִזְקִי) (see note below). He also expresses one of YHWH's commitments to him, that is, to protect him; David express YHWH's commtiment to protection through the use of metaphorical epithets that refer to protection and deliverance.

Even though vv. 2–3 structurally stand apart from vv. 4–7, they are interleaved in terms of their speech act and emotional tone. In vv. 2–4 and v. 7, David is expressing confidence and commitment, whereas v. 5–6 begin the narrative of David's deliverance, which is picked back up in v. 8 and continues through v. 20. .

The two subsections are therefore grouped together in our synthesis visual.

v. 2

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
2a	וַיֹּאמַ֡ר	And he said,
2b	אֶרְחָמְךָ֖ יְהוָ֣ה חִזְקִֽי׃	“I shall keep loving you, YHWH, my strength.

Expanded Paraphrase

And he said,“I shall keep loving you by continuing to obey your commands and represent you to the people, YHWH, and, because I am keeping my covenant obligations, you will keep yours, and as a result your strength becomes my strength.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The MT of Psalm 18:2 and 2 Samuel 22:2 differ in that Psalm 18:2 has the additional clause אֶרְחָמְךָ יְהוָה חִזְקִי I shall keep loving you you YHWH my strength. The presence of this clause is well-supported by external evidence and contextual considerations. It could also be argued that this clause dropped out of the text of Samuel.
• The form חִזְקִי my strength is the only supposed occurence of חֶזֶק (outside of the name חִזְקִיָהוּ “Hezekiah”) rather than the more expected חֹזֶק. The -i vowel in the first syllable is a result of phonetic raising due to the following sibilant (Kantor, p.c; cf. מַזְלֵג but מִזְלְגֹתָ֖יו “his forks” Exod 27:3.).
• The verb “to love” here has more legal connotations than the English gloss. Thus David is here saying that he is committed to his and YHWH's covenant.

• The verb form אֶרְחָמְךָ “I shall keep loving you” (yiqtol) may express a strong determination to do something. This is most likely the function here.
• In terms of line division and he said (וַיֹּאמַר) should actually be grouped with the end of the previous line (that is, v. 1c).

v. 3

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
3a	יְהוָ֤ה ׀ סַֽלְעִ֥י וּמְצוּדָתִ֗י וּמְפַ֫לְטִ֥י	YHWH is my cleft and my fortress and my rescuer.
3b	אֵלִ֣י צ֭וּרִי אֶֽחֱסֶה־בּ֑וֹ מָֽגִנִּ֥י וְקֶֽרֶן־יִ֝שְׁעִ֗י מִשְׂגַּבִּי *וּמְנוּסִי מֹשִׁעִ מֵחָמָס תֹּשִׁעֵנִי׃*	My God is my rock, in him do I seek protection, my shield and horn of my deliverance, my fortified tower and my refuge, my deliverer, who delivers me from violence.

Expanded Paraphrase

By giving me your strength with which I can defeat my enemies, you protect me, and so in addition to being my strength you are also my protector just like the clefts, fortresses, rocks and shields. This is why I can say that YHWH is my cleft and my fortress and my rescuer. My God is my rock, in him do I seek protection, my shield and just like a horned animal can defend itself with its horns, you are the horn of my deliverance in that you deliver me by strengthening me. You are my fortified tower and my refuge, my deliverer, who delivers me from violence.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The MT text of Psalms 18:3 reads אֵלִי צוּרִי my God (is) my rock whereas 2 Samuel 22:3 has the consonants אלהי צורי vocalised in the MT a אֱלֹהֵי צוּרִי. External and internal considerations suggest maintaining the Psalms text as it is.
• The text of MT 2 Samuel 22:3 contains an additional portion at the end of the verse: וּמְנוּסִי מֹשִׁעִי מֵחָמָס תֹּשִׁעֵנִי׃ and my refuge, my deliverer, who delivers me out of evil. MT-Psalms 18:3 does not contain this portion. The text ומנוסי משעי מחמס תשעני most likely fell out due to a scribal error of an eye skip. We therefore restore these consonants to the MT-psalm, and vocalize according to MT 2 Samuel 22:3.
• The Masoretic text of 2 Samuel 22:2 has וּמְפַלְטִי־לִֽי lit., “and my deliverer to me”. But the piel of פלט never marks an argument with lamed except in the stock phrase לְנֵצַח “forever”. We, therefore, choose to maintain MT-Psalms' וּמְפַלְטִי my rescuer. The phrase לִי most likely arose due to scribal error on account of the proliferation of the surrounding lameds and yods.
• We have divided vv. 2 and 3 as consisting of three separate clauses. Some translations understand both 2 and 3 to form a single clause. Under this interpretation the יהוה that begins v. 3 is a second appositional item to the -ךָ of אֶרְחַמְךָ “I love you” in v. 2 and all of the following appositives follow. Other translations keep vv. 2 and 3 separate, but treat v. 3 as one clause. Finally, some translations keep vv. 2 and 3 separate, but treat v. 3 as two clauses. We prefer the third option.
• We interpret the phrase In him do I take refuge (אֶֽחֱסֶה־בּוֹ) as a parenthetical statement.
• The evidence leads us to keep together וּמְצוּדָתִי וּמְפַלְטִי (my fortress and my rescuer) even though in two Tiberian codices, they are apart.
• Restoring וּמְנוּסִי מֹשִׁעִי מֵחָמָס תֹּשִׁעֵנִי׃ (and my refuge, my deliverer, who delivers me from violence.) to the psalm's text means that מִשְׂגַּבִּי is no longer grouped with what precedes (וְקֶֽרֶן־יִשְׁעִי), as in the Psalms text, but is grouped with what follows, i.e., the beginning of the addition (...וּמְפַלְטִי).
• Note that, in terms of line grouping, the first two lines of v. 3 should be grouped with v. 2. This is primarily on the basis of poetic considerations.

• Many of the images for a high place (e.g., “my cleft” [סַלְעִי]; “my fortress” [וּמְצוּדָתִי], etc.) among the epithets metaphorically represent protection, as the following chart shows.

v. 4

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
4a	מְ֭הֻלָּל אֶקְרָ֣א יְהוָ֑ה	I cry out to YHWH, since he is praiseworthy,
4b	וּמִן־אֹ֝יְבַ֗י אִוָּשֵֽׁעַ׃	and I am delivered from my enemies.

Expanded Paraphrase

I cry out to YHWH, since he is praiseworthy in that you are the all-powerful creator (Ps 96:4–5) and you fulfill all your duties to protect your people as king (Ps 145). I can therefore confidently call on you since I know these things. So, I cry out to YHWH and I am delivered from my enemies who try to physically attack me as well as indict me and ruin my reputation.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The Dead Sea scrolls read ומהולל אקראה instead of MT-Psalms' מְהֻלָּל אֶקְרָא. We prefer the MT's reading.
• We understand the word praiseworthy (מְהֻלָּל) as an adverbial accustaive.
• As Rahlfs notes, this verse is lineated as a single line in many witnesses of the LXX. According to Sanders, this (lack of) line division “may have been inspired by και” and thus “It is clear that the colometry suggested by the Masoretic accents is preferable.”
• Note our translation of מְהֻלָּל as “since he is praisworthy”. This is due to both its adverbial function and its word order. It is fronted most likely to specify the reason why the psalmist feels like he can cry out to YHWH.
• The enemies (אֹיְבַי) here specified in the next verse; they are the very waters that surround him. This equation is hinted at once more in vv.17–18, as the following visual demonstrates. This equation is part of a larger idea in the psalm—that YHWH's battle is a mythic/cosmological representation of David's battle.

v. 5

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
5a	אֲפָפ֥וּנִי *מִשְׁבְּרֵי*־מָ֑וֶת	The breaker waves of Death surrounded me.
5b	וְֽנַחֲלֵ֖י בְלִיַּ֣עַל יְבַֽעֲתֽוּנִי׃	And the torrents of No Return began to overwhelm me.

Expanded Paraphrase

My physical distress as a result of my enemies' attack felt like the breaker waves of Death surrounded me, that is, I was so close to dying that it was as if I was drowning in the midst of the sea on my way to the place of the Dead, which was thought to be below the subterranean waters (see Job 26:5; Ps 139:8; Jonah 2:7a; cf. McCarter 1973). And my distress was also as if the torrents of Beliya'al, which means the “(place from which) none arises”, and whose torrents lead towards the place of the dead, began to pull me down and therefore, began to overwhelm me.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• There are two main options for the consonantal text of v. 5a: (1) אפפוני חבלי מות, as we have it in the Psalms and (2) אפפוני משברי מות, as we have it in Samuel. Based on the context, literary considerations and the likelihood of a scribal error, we prefer the reading of option 2, breaker waves of death (מִשְׁבְּרֵי מָוֶת).
• MT 2 Sam 22:5 begins with the particle כִּי “for,” whereas the Psalms text does not. We prefer not to impose this כִּי in the Psalms text. In fact, the כִּי most likely represents a facilitating addition of a conjunction in 2 Sam 22, that is, a way to explicitly bring out the implicit logical connection between vv. 4 and 5.
• A torrent (נַחַל) “refers to a dry river bed or ravine which in the rainy season becomes a raging torrent”, and thus fits the conception of the underworld as a watery darkness. The context supports the etymological meaning of בליעל *bal(i) ya'l(ê) “(place from which) none arises” , a reference to Sheol. To bring the meaning of this name out, we have translated it as No Return.
• In vv. 1–20, we take all non-initial yiqtols as ingressive, i.e., expressing the beginning of the event. This applies here to they began to overwhelm me (יְבַֽעֲתוּנִי). For a detailed defense of these ingressive readings, see our exgetical issue.
• By expressing his distress as nearly drowning in water the psalmist is saying that he is near death. This association between water and the nearness of death comes from ancient cosmology, that is, how they pictured the world. For ancient Israelites, Sheol was the lowermost region of the earth, located beneath subterranean waters (Job 26:5; Ps 139:8) and at the root of mountains (Deut. 32:22; Jonah 2:2–6). Thus to be sinking in water was, in a very real way, to be “near” death. For this psalm, it is also important to understand that the sea was God's enemy as is seen in, for example, Habbakkuk 3:8, 10.

v. 6

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
6a	חֶבְלֵ֣י שְׁא֣וֹל סְבָב֑וּנִי	The cords of Sheol entangled me.
6b	קִ֝דְּמ֗וּנִי מ֣וֹקְשֵׁי מָֽוֶת׃	Death's traps rushed upon me.

Expanded Paraphrase

In addition to a place, Death was also frequently compared to a hunter. My distress also therefore felt as if the cords of Sheol entangled me, since a hunter would often use cords to wrap his prey (Job 18:10; 36:8; Ps 119:61; 140:6; Prov 5:22). Also, it was as if Death's traps rushed upon me, just like a trap would spring up suddenly to catch an animal.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Given the imagery of a trap within the context, the sense of they surrounded me (סְבָבוּנִי) here is that the cords of Sheol are “around” the psalmist in the sense that they are actually on him.
• We translate קִדְּמוּנִי here as they rushed upon me, as it fits the context better and is well within the contextual meanings of the word's more default meaning of “to approach”.

v. 7

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
7a	בַּצַּר־לִ֤י ׀ אֶֽקְרָ֣א יְהוָה֮	In my distress I cry out to YHWH.
7b	וְאֶל־אֱלֹהַ֪י אֲשַׁ֫וֵּ֥עַ	And to my God do I cry for help.
7c	יִשְׁמַ֣ע מֵהֵיכָל֣וֹ קוֹלִ֑י	He hears my cry from his temple.
7d	וְ֝שַׁוְעָתִ֗י לְפָנָ֤יו תָּב֬וֹא בְאָזְנָֽיו׃	And my cry for help before him comes into his ears.

Expanded Paraphrase

Now, In my distress brought about by fighting hostile enemies or by defending my reputation against false witnesses I cry out to YHWH. And to my God do I cry for help. He hears my cry, which I cry from the waters of chaos below the earth, from his temple, which was located in the highest heavens, above the floodwaters (Ps 29:10) where he is enthroned and from where he rules. God is therefore beyond the waters' reach. And my cry for help before him comes into his ears, that is, you actually hear my cry and I therefore do not cry out in vain, because whenever your people cry out in distress, you hear them (Exod 2:23; 22:23; 1 Kgs 8:28–30).

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• There are two differences between the Psalms and Samuel texts here. The first is the use of I cry for help (אֲשַׁוֵּעַ) in the Psalms text vs. the use of I cry out (אֶקְרָא) in 2 Samuel. The second concerns the phrase it comes before him(לְפָנָיו תָּבוֹא); it is present in the Psalms text but absent in Samuel. The presence of אשוע rather than אקרא is a matter of style. It is therefore maintained. The phrase לפניו תבוא will also be maintained since the difference between the Psa and 2 Sam texts in this regard is more likely to be a result of לפניו תבוא dropping out than being added.
• MT Psalms 18:7 has the bare yiqtol form יִשְׁמַע he hears whereas MT 2 Sam 22:7 has the wayyiqtol וַיִּשְׁמַע and he heard. Since the external data favors both readings, and since the addition of waw conforms to a stylistic preference for waw as well as a discernable literary motivation, it seems that both readings are unique to their compositions.It seems best to therefore maintain both texts.
• Most modern translations render בַּצַּר לִי with something like “in my distress” (e.g. ESV). This could either be temporal or spatial (cf. the versions, like Jerome's in tribulatione mea “in my tribulation”). The previous language of “surrounding” (אֲפָפוּנִי, סְבָבוּנִי) suggests spacial imagery. And that is our preferred interpretation. We therefore analyze לִי “to me” as part of an asyndetic relative clause “In the narrow (place) [distress] that was to me”, viz.., “In the narrow place I experienced.”
• The word distress (צַר) can either denote a difficult circumstance “or the emotion experienced as a result of such a situation, i.e. anguish (e.g. Jb 7:11), distinction between the two oft. difficult; perh. grief (2 S 1:26)” (DCH). Thus the gloss “distress” cannot suffice for both, as that primarily denotes an emotion. Given the context, the psalmist does not need deliverance from an emotion, but rather from a distressing situation.
• The superscription clearly states that King David composed this psalm. And so the mention of “temple” here cannot refer to the first temple constructed during the reign of his son Solomon. Temple (הֵיְכָּל) here simply refers to the institution of worship rather than the building.
• The פני in לְפָנָיו before him should not be understood as “face” (i.e., “to the face of”). “Even though the constituents are clearly discernible, the phrasal usage ‘to the face of’ is never found in Biblical Hebrew” (Hardy 2022, 169).

YHWH delivers David (vv. 8–20)

In v. 7, we are told that David's cry for help reached God's ears. The very next thing we are told, in v. 8, is that all creation began to shake. We are given the reason in 8c (“for he had become angry” [כִּי־חָרָה לוֹ]). But the original hearer would have known this without being told. Placing God's hearing of his king side-by-side with creation trembling makes the conclusion that he was angry inevitable. This dramatic transition to this section, in which God “shows up” to save his anointed one, admits a strong sense of awe at God's great power. This awe gives way to a sense of triumph as God defeats the waters in vv. 14–16 and, finally, great relief as the psalmist is delivered in v. 18.

v. 8

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
8a	וַתִּגְעַ֬שׁ וַתִּרְעַ֨שׁ ׀ הָאָ֗רֶץ	And the earth quivered and quaked.
8b	וּמוֹסְדֵ֣י הָרִ֣ים יִרְגָּ֑זוּ	And the mountains' foundations began to shake.
8c	וַ֝יִּתְגָּֽעֲשׁ֗וּ כִּי־חָ֥רָה לֽוֹ׃	And they trembled. For he had become angry.

Expanded Paraphrase

You then became angry, because your anointed one was in danger. And because of our relationship, which unifies us, an attack on me is an attack on you. And you “burned” so “hot” with anger (cf. v. 9) that you could be likened to a volcano. This volcanic anger was reflected in the entire earth’s reaction as its volcanos also got ready to erupt. Thus the earth quivered and quaked in fear. And the earth was shaking so much that even the mountains' foundations began to shake like a volcano rumbles before it erupts. The mountains were thought to uphold the earth above the waters, which were located below the dry land. Thus the foundations of the mountains were also the foundations of the earth itself. The shaking was so severe that even earth's foundations began to shake. And they, that is, the foundations, trembled. For he had become angry.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The 2 Samuel text has the phrase “foundations of the heavens” (מוֹסְדוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם) instead of and the foundations of the mountains (וּמוֹסְדֵי הָרִים). The former is most likely an error.
• The clause חָרָה לוֹ lit., “there was anger to him” is used for the meaning he became angry.
• There is good evidence to suggest that the verb and it quivered (וַתִּגְעַשׁ) refers to internal shaking.
• The difference between “and it quivered” (וַתִּגְעַשׁ) in the first line and and they trembled (וַיִּתְגָּעֲשׁוּ) is that the form of the root געש in the second line seems to indicate that the subject is more affected such that, for example, waters rise as a result of their “surging” (see Jer 46:7–8).
• In the phrase “he became angry” (חָרָה לוֹ) the lamed marks the entity affected by the verb. So, literally, “there became anger to him.”
• The waw on וַתִּגְעַשׁ connects v. 8 to all of the events in v. 7. It therefore has the nuance “and then” And the for (כִּי) clause gives the reason for all of the “shaking” mentioned in the previous lines. This may be visualized as follows.

• Mountains were thought to be “pillars” that upheld the earth. In this way, God kept the earth out of the Chaos-waters (see Keel 1997, 40; cf. Isa 24:18; Jer 31:37; Mic 6:2, etc.). These pillars were the mountains, and so the “foundations of the earth” (see v. 16) and the “foundations of the mountains” refer to the same thing.

v. 9

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
9a	עָ֘לָ֤ה עָשָׁ֨ן ׀ בְּאַפּ֗וֹ	Smoke went up because of his snarl.
9b	וְאֵשׁ־מִפִּ֥יו תֹּאכֵ֑ל	And a fire from his mouth began to consume.
9c	גֶּ֝חָלִ֗ים בָּעֲר֥וּ מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃	Coals burned from him.

Expanded Paraphrase

He was so angry that, since anger was often spoken of in terms of heat, it was as if lava were boiling inside of a volcano, which were known from the land of Midian. Smoke therefore went up because of his snarl like smoke billowing out of a volcano, since just like the heat inside of a volcano can produce external indicators of the heat, so great anger causes bodily symptoms. But YHWH would also use literal fire whenever he passed judgement on anyone who sinned against him (Lev 10:2; Num 11:1; 16:35) on account of his anger towards them. Also, a fire accompanied YHWH's presence on earth (Exod 19:18). And so in his anger a fire from his mouth began to consume everything in its path, since he was preparing to make an appearance in order to deliver his king. Coals, which would accompany fire, burned from him. That is, just like a volcano shoots fire and coal into the air, so both fire and coals accompany YHWH whenever he appears in his anger.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The analysis of the preposition bet affects the lexical semantics of אַפּוֹ lit., “his nose”. Unless we want to posit an ancient use of bet that means “from” (so Cross and Freedman 1953, 24), אַפּוֹ perhaps refers to his snarl (אַפּוֹ) of the nose made out of anger.The bet is therefore a bet of cause. The picture is that of an angry snarl, the result of which is smoke.
• The images having to do with fire and burning are all images of God's anger. See the following chart.

v. 10

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
10a	וַיֵּ֣ט שָׁ֭מַיִם וַיֵּרַ֑ד	And he bent down the heavens and descended.
10b	וַ֝עֲרָפֶ֗ל תַּ֣חַת רַגְלָֽיו׃	And a dark smog was beneath his feet.

Expanded Paraphrase

And then, after hearing my cry and becoming angry, he bent down the heavens, the vault that keeps the waters above the firmament from flooding the earth, and above which YHWH has his habitation, and which acts a barrier between heaven and earth. These heavens can be ripped apart (Isa 63:19) and so could also be sunken until an opening appeared (cf. Ps 144:5). and then he descended in order to deliver his anointed one. YHWH sometimes appeared on earth in fire (Exod 19:18). And since here he is making an appearance on earth a dark smog was beneath his feet because of all of the fire and coals, which produce dark smoke.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Regarding a dark smog (עֲרָפֶל), ancient and modern translations are split between an abstract reading “darkness” and a concrete reading “dark cloud”. Some cases of עֲרָפֶל seem to refer to a general “darkness” (e.g., Isa 60:2; Jer 13:16). In others the reference seems like it is to something more concrete, perhaps a “cloud”. The meaning “clouds” is difficult to expect, however, because the normal word for “cloud” in Hebrew, ענן, is used in a number of passages alongside עֲרָפֶל. In our context, too, clouds are mentioned in v. 12 (עָבֵ֥י שְׁחָקִֽים׃). Cohen (1995, 8) suggests that the usage in Job 22:13–14) refers to a “dark fog”. This sense seems to fit in our verse, where the עֲרָפֶל most likely is the result of the fire and burning in the previous verse (cf. the language surrounding God's presence on Mt. Sinai in Exod 19:18; 20:21 Deut 4:11).
• The waw on the verb וַיֵּט connects sequentially to all of v. 9. In this regard Delitzsch (1996, 160) comments “Thus enraged and breathing forth His wrath, Jahve bowed the heavens, i.e., caused them to bend towards the earth”.

v. 11

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
11a	וַיִּרְכַּ֣ב עַל־כְּ֭רוּב וַיָּעֹ֑ף	And he mounted a Cherub and began to fly.
11b	וַ֝יֵּ֗דֶא עַל־כַּנְפֵי־רֽוּחַ׃	And he flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind.

Expanded Paraphrase

YHWH is a divine warrior. Divine warriors, that is, gods who were thought to fight on the behalf of their people in the Ancient Near East, rode into battle on mounts, just like kings (cf. 2 Kgs 9:21). God's chosen mount was a Cherub (Exod 25:18–10; Ps 80:1; Ezek 1), winged beings that guarded the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:24) and were evidently the mount for God's throne (Ezekiel 1:22ff). And seeing that the Cherub was God's chosen mount, he mounted a Cherub, in order to prepare to ride into battle and began to fly. And then, since Death set traps for me like a hunter sets traps for prey, he, YHWH, responded with some hunting of his own and flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind, that is, in every direction, just like a bird of prey scours the ground beneath looking for its victims. The winds were associated with the cardinal directions, since the wind was perceived as originating from the four corners of the earth (cf. Isa 11:12; Ezek 7:2). Ancients thought that this wind was produced by divine wings fixed at these four corners. Thus by saying that YHWH flew on the wings of the wind expresses that he was completely sovereign over the wind and free to move wherever he wanted.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The text of 2 Samuel has the consonants וירא, realized in the MT as a Niphal verb from ראה “he was seen” (ESV), whereas the Psalms text has the consonants וידא, apparently from the root דאה, which has to do with flying or gliding (cf. the name of the bird of prey “kite” [דָּאָה] (DCH) in Lev 11:14). We prefer the latter reading here, on both external and internal grounds.
• The verbal form of the root רכב usually means to ride. However, we translate וַיִּרְכַּב as and he mounted. This meaning is suggested when the verb occurs alongside another verb of motion. The meaning “mount” also takes on royal connotations here.
• Some dictionaries and SDBH give a meaning “to swoop” for the verb וַיֵּדֶא and he flew swiftly. But this meaning has no etymological supportnor is it a recognized sense in early Judaism. Nevertheless, the meaning gives good sense to some passages (e.g., Jer 49:22) “Behold, like an eagle he will go up and ‘swoop down’ and spread his wings against Bozrah” (הִנֵּה כַנֶּשֶׁר יַעֲלֶה וְיִדְאֶה וְיִפְרֹשׂ כְּנָפָיו עַל־בָּצְרָה). The following phrase כַּנְפֵי־רֽוּחַ lit., “wings of the wind” (see the note on this phrase) suggests the meaning “to fly swiftly”, and is the meaning adopted here.

v. 12

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
12a	יָ֤שֶׁת חֹ֨שֶׁךְ ׀ סִתְר֗וֹ	He made darkness his cover.
12b	סְבִֽיבוֹתָ֥יו סֻכָּת֑וֹ	[He made darkness] his canopy around him,
12c	חֶשְׁרַת*־מַ֝֗יִם עָבֵ֥י שְׁחָקִֽים׃*	the sieve of water, thick clouds of the skies.

Expanded Paraphrase

The most common natural form of divine appearance in Israelite literature is the thunderstorm (Hiebert 1992, 508). And so when YHWH appeared he did so in the form of a thunderstorm. He made darkness, that is, dark rain clouds, his cover. [He made darkness] his canopy around him, the sieve of water, thick clouds of the skies, through which the waters above the firmament fell down to earth in drops, as if through a sieve.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• MT Psalms 18:12 has the phrase חֶשְׁכַת־מַיִם “darkness of waters” whereas MT 2 Sam 22:12 חַֽשְׁרַת־מַיִם sieve of water. The difference concerns the first word of this: חשכה in Psalms and חשרה in Samuel. Although the external evidence favors חשכת, internal considerations and the direction of the change strongly favor חשרת, which we have preferred.
• We take the unit יָשֶׁת חֹשֶׁךְ סִתְרוֹ as a ditransitive clause “He made darkness his cover.” That is, both חֹשֶׁךְ “darkness” and סֶתֶר “cover” are both affected by the verb.
• The MT has a significantly longer text here in Psalms than in 2 Sam. The MT Psalms' text is to be preferred.
• MT Psalms 18:12 simply has the yiqtol form יָשֶׁת whereas MT 2 Sam 22:12 has the wayyiqtol form וַיָּשֶׁת. We prefer the reading without waw here in Psalm 18:12.
• The noun עָב can refer to thick clouds. The thickness comes from the water mentioned in the previous phrase; the same connection may be seen in Job 26:8 ESV “He binds up the waters in his thick clouds” (צֹרֵר־מַיִם בְּעָבָיו).
• We understand שְׁחָקִים here to mean skies instead of “clouds” on account of the context and etymological support.
• This verse contains an appositional phrase that is embedded within another appositional phrase. In the phrase the sieve of water, thick clouds of the sky (חֶשְׁרַת־מַיִם עָבֵי שְׁחָקִים), the second member designates the object to which description of the first member applies. These two phrases themselves serve as the appositive to “his canopy” (סֻכָּתוֹ). Within this larger phrase, the second member (essentially "clouds") designates the entity within the role/capacity of the first member (a "canopy"). The clouds were thought of as sieves because water came out of them in separate drops, as if through a sieve (see Sutcliffe 1953).
• Codex Alexandrinus combines 12a and b into one line. However, Vaticanus, Siniaticus as well as 8Q2 assume three cola whose divisions conform to that reflected by the Masoretic accents (see Sanders 2000, 295–296).

v. 13

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
13a	מִנֹּ֗גַהּ נֶ֫גְדּ֥וֹ ** עָבְר֑וּ	Because of the brightness before him,
13b	בָּ֝רָ֗ד וְגַֽחֲלֵי־אֵֽשׁ׃	hail and coals of fire passed.

Expanded Paraphrase

Because of the brightness before him, that is, the aforementioned fire as well as the lightning that accompanied his manifestation as a thunderstorm, hail and coals of fire, two elements used by God as weapons (see Josh 10:11; Job 28:22–23; Isa 30:30) passed through the dark rain cloud covering him.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• MT-Psalms מִנֹּגַהּ נֶגְדּוֹ עָבָיו עָבְרוּ בָּרָד וְגַחֲלֵי־אֵשׁ whereas MT-Samuel reads מִנֹּגַהּ נֶגְדּוֹ בָּעֲרוּ גַּחֲלֵי־אֵֽשׁ׃. The difference concerns the text between מנגה נגדו and וגחלי אש. MT-Psalms has the consonants עביו עברו ברד whereas MT-Samuel simply has בערו. The internal and external evidence suggest that both Samuel and Psalms go back to a text which read something like מנגה נגדו עברו ברד וגחלי אש “Hail and burning coals passed through from the brightness before him.”

v. 14

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
14a	וַיַּרְעֵ֬ם בַּשָּׁמַ֨יִם ׀ יְֽהוָ֗ה	And YHWH thundered in the heavens.
14b	** וְ֭עֶלְיוֹן יִתֵּ֣ן קֹל֑וֹ	And the Most High began to raise his voice.

Expanded Paraphrase

And then, as he flew in the heavens located below the firmament, YHWH shouted with a battle-cry (cf. Isa 42:13) before he engaged his enemies, that is, YHWH thundered in the heavens since thunder was thought to be the sound of diety shouting. And the Most High began to raise his voice.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• We omit the phrase בָּרָד וְגַֽחֲלֵי־אֵשׁ “hail and coals of fire”. The phrase is neither in MT-2 Samuel nor the LXX-Psalms, which suggests that it is a relatively late dittography of the same phrase in the previous verse.

v. 15

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
15a	וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח חִ֭צָּיו וַיְפִיצֵ֑ם	And he shot his arrows, and dispersed them.
15b	וּבְרָקִ֥ים ** וַיְהֻמֵּֽם׃	And [he shot his] glittering arrows, and routed them.

Expanded Paraphrase

YHWH, being a Divine Warrior, has weapons just like a regular warrior does. On this occasion he decided to use his arrows. So, he reached for his arrows And then he shot his arrows, and dispersed them, that is, dispersed the breaker waves, torrents, cords and traps, which represent my physical enemies. And [he shot his] glittering arrows, which were glittering because his arrows were thought to be lightning bolts, and routed them, that is, the breaker waves, torrents, cords and traps, which represent my physical enemies.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• MT-Psalms contains the reading וברקים רב whereas MT-Samuel has just ברק. We read the consonants ברקים.
• MT-Psalms reads חציו his arrows whereas MT-Samuel reads חצים “arrows”. We consider the former reading superior.
• Bulleted list item
• “Lightning” (בָּרָק) may be used to refer to the glitter or flash of a weapon such as an arrow-head (Job 20:25), a sword (Deut 32:41) or a spear (Nah 3:3; Hab 3:11).

v. 16

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
16a	וַיֵּ֤רָא֨וּ ׀ אֲפִ֥יקֵי מַ֗יִם	And the ocean floor appeared.
16b	וַֽיִּגָּלוּ֮ מוֹסְד֪וֹת תֵּ֫בֵ֥ל	And the foundations of the world were revealed
16c	מִגַּעֲרָ֣תְךָ֣ יְהוָ֑ה	because of your rebuke, YHWH,
16d	מִ֝נִּשְׁמַ֗ת ר֣וּחַ אַפֶּֽךָ׃	because of the blast of the wind of your anger.

Expanded Paraphrase

And your routing of the enemy was so complete that the waters then fled enough so that the ocean floor appeared. That is, the sea, which was considered your enemy (cf. Isa 27:1; Jer 5:22; Ps 89:9–10; 104:24–26; Job 26:12), was defeated. In exposing the floor of the ocean, you also expose its shame, just as a person's nakedness is shameful (cf. Lev 18). And then the foundations of the world, that is, the foundations of the mountains that supported the world, which were thought to reach down to the ocean floor, were revealed because of your rebuke, YHWH, because of the blast of the wind of your anger produced when you demonstrate your anger by letting out a battle cry. Your battle-cry was the sound of thunder and your attack was the striking of lightning, which instantly vaporizes water. The two of them together caused the sea, your enemy, to be scattered.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• In the MT of Psalm 18, the psalmist appears to be directly addressing YHWH, as expressed by the second person suffixes on מִגַּעֲרָתְךָ because of your rebuke and אַפֶּךָ your anger. But this is not the case in the Samuel text. The change applies to each instance, making it seem intentional.
• The noun “water channels” (אָפִיק) is frequently associated with “water” (מַיִם) (See Joel 1:20; 4:18; Ps 42:2; Song 5:12), but never with יָם “sea”. The Samuel text is thus probably a result of haplography due to the final yod of אֲפִיקֵי (vis., the scribe's eye skipped over the first mem).
• The initial waw introduces an event that is sequential to the events described in vv. 14–15, cf. ESV “Then the channels of the sea were open...”

v. 17

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
17a	יִשְׁלַ֣ח מִ֭מָּרוֹם יִקָּחֵ֑נִי	He stretched forth his hand from on high and took me.
17b	יַֽ֝מְשֵׁ֗נִי מִמַּ֥יִם רַבִּֽים׃	He pulled me out from many waters.

Expanded Paraphrase

He stretched forth his hand from on high, above where I was, and took me in order to rescue me. He pulled me out from many waters, whose breaker waves and torrents surrounded me almost to the point of dragging me down to the place of the dead.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• We have supplied the word “hand” to 17a. in our translation. This is because of the verb “he pulled me up” (יַֽמְשֵׁנִי). The implication is that God had to send out (יִשְׁלַח) his hand in order to pull David up (cf. SDBH “action by which humans stretch out their hand, right hand, or finger in order to point with it or to put it in position for another action”).
• We have translated יִשְׁלַח and יַמְשֵׁנִי as past tense He stretched forth and He pulled me, respectively, even though they are yiqtol forms. On the preterite yiqtol see our exegetical issue.

v. 18

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
18a	יַצִּילֵ֗נִי מֵאֹיְבִ֥י עָ֑ז	He rescued me from my strong enemy.
18b	וּ֝מִשֹּׂנְאַ֗י כִּֽי־אָמְצ֥וּ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃	And [he rescued me] from those who hate me. For they were too powerful for me.

Expanded Paraphrase

He rescued me from my strong enemy, that is, all those who are more powerful than I. And [he rescued me] from those who hate me. For they were too powerful for me to deliver myself and therefore I needed a rescuer.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Most modern translations translate עָז strong here simply as an adjective (e.g., ESV “from my powerful enemy”). This seems to contradict the requirement of the definiteness of the attributive, but there are cases where an attributive adjective is without the article (Gen 37:2; 43:13; Num 14:37; 1 Sam 2:23; Jer 2:21; Bekins forthcoming).
• We translate אָמְצוּ מִמֶּנִּי not as “they were stronger than I” but as they were too powerful for me. Some translations choose the former (e.g., LEB). This is because comparative constructions in Biblical Hebrew do not specify whether two objects themselves are being compared or one object and something associated with the second object. In light of the context the latter interpretation is to be preferred. The enemies “rushed upon” (יְקַדּמוּנִי) the psalmist when he was “experiencing calamity” (בְיוֹם אֵידִי). Thus, the psalmist does not intend to say that they are categorically stronger than him, but rather that at a specific time he was unable to overcome them.
• We have translated אָמְצוּ with preterite were...powerful for the sake of economy. The literal meaning is something like “for they had become too powerful.”
• Vaticanus divides this verse into three lines, where “and those who hate me” (וּמִשֹּׂנְאַי) gets its own line. But this is most likely secondary, due to the length of the translation of this phrase into Greek (καὶ ἐκ τῶν μισούντων με,).

v. 19

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
19a	יְקַדְּמ֥וּנִי בְיוֹם־אֵידִ֑י	They rushed upon me at the time of my calamity.
19b	וַֽיְהִי־יְהוָ֖ה *מִשְׁעָ֣ן* לִֽי׃	And YHWH was the one in whom I trusted.

Expanded Paraphrase

Just as death's traps ‘rushed upon’ me, they, the enemies, rushed upon me at the time of my calamity. And even though I was in distress, YHWH was the one in whom I trusted.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Ps 18:18 has here וַֽיְהִי־יְהוָה לְמִשְׁעָן לִי, whereas the Samuel text has only וַיְהִי יְהוָה מִשְׁעָן לִי, without the lamed. We prefer the latter, since the meaning of the former (“he has become...”) would imply that YHWH was, at one time, not the one in whom David trusted.
• By calling God literally a “support” (מִשְׁעָן) the psalmist is saying that God is the one on whom he can count.

v. 20

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
20a	וַיּוֹצִיאֵ֥נִי לַמֶּרְחָ֑ב	And he brought me out into relief.
20b	יְ֝חַלְּצֵ֗נִי כִּ֘י חָ֥פֵֽץ בִּֽי׃	He delivered me. For he is pleased with me.

Expanded Paraphrase

And he brought me out of my distress, from which I called out to YHWH (v. 7) into relief, that is, a wide place. He delivered me. For he is pleased with me, since I am righteous (vv. 21–22), innocent (v. 21), and obedient (v. 22).

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• We are explicitly told what it means for God to “delight in” or be “pleased with” somebody: “By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me” (בְּזֹאת יָדַעְתִּי כִּֽי־חָפַצְתָּ בִּי כִּ֤י לֹֽא־יָרִיעַ אֹיְבִי עָלָי׃ ) (Ps 41:12).
• With the preposition bet, חָפֵֽץ means “to delight,” “enjoy,” or pleased with. When the following word does not have bet, חָפֵֽץ means simply to “want”

YHWH vindicates David (vv. 21–30)

Vv. 21–30 flank the half-way point of the Psalm. That is, v. 25 closes the first hals and v. 26 opens the second half.

Two things have to be true in order for YHWH to vindicate David. First, YHWH must be perfectly just. YHWH's justice is the topic that undergirds vv. 26–30. When the righteous have recognize YHWH's perfect justice, they may experience a sense of well-being. Second, David must be righteous. David's righteousness is the topic of vv. 21–25. When David's righteousness meets YHWH's justice, David's triumph over his enemy is a sure sign that YHWH has vindicated him.

David's righteousness (vv. 21–25)

v. 21

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
21a	יִגְמְלֵ֣נִי יְהוָ֣ה כְּצִדְקִ֑י	YHWH deals well with me according to my righteousness.
21b	כְּבֹ֥ר יָ֝דַ֗י יָשִׁ֥יב לִֽי׃	He repays me according to the cleanliness of my hands.

Expanded Paraphrase

Because he is pleased with me YHWH deals well with me by delivering me when I cry out for help according to my righteousness, that is, according to my legal status before him, afforded to me on account of obeying his law. He repays me according to the cleanliness of my hands.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• We have translated יִגְמְלֵנִי as “he deals well with me.” This meaning seems more inherent to the word itself rather than something derived from the context. A more contextual meaning is offered by SDBH “action by which humans or deities act towards a person in a way that has consequences and can result either in retribution or a reward.” Our translation attempts to avoid redundancy with the following line.
• The preposition “like, as” (כְּ) on “according to my righteousness” (כְּצִדְקִי) and “according to the cleanliness...” (כְּבֹר) may be read as “in imitation of”, i.e., “in imitation of my righteousness...”.
• The reference to righteousness and purity (i.e., qualities that hold over time) suggest habitual semantics for he deals well with me (יִגְמְלֵנִי) and He repays (יָשִׁיב).

v. 22

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
22a	כִּֽי־שָׁ֭מַרְתִּי דַּרְכֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה	For I have kept the ways of YHWH.
22b	וְלֹֽא־רָ֝שַׁ֗עְתִּי מֵאֱלֹהָֽי׃	And I have not turned from my God towards wicked ways.

Expanded Paraphrase

For I have kept the ways of YHWH, that is, the patterns of behavior that he has prescribed through his law. And I have not turned from my God towards wicked ways.

Grammatical Diagram

See v. 21.

Notes

• The verb רָשַׁעְתִּי on its own means “to do wickedness”, “but the unusual construction of this verb with following מן, plus the parallelism, imply the sense “depart, wander in wickedness” (from the ways of the Lord).” (Craigie 2004, 170).

v. 23

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
23a	כִּ֣י כָל־מִשְׁפָּטָ֣יו לְנֶגְדִּ֑י	For all of his rules are before me.
23b	וְ֝חֻקֹּתָ֗יו לֹא־אָסִ֥יר מֶֽנִּי׃	And I will not turn his decrees away from me.

Expanded Paraphrase

For all of his rules are before me, that is, I constantly meditate on your laws and commandments (Psalm 119) as well as commend them to others (cf. 1 Kgs 2:3). And I will not turn his decrees away from me.

Grammatical Diagram

See v. 21.

Notes

• MT-Psalms text reads וְחֻקֹּתָיו לֹא־אָסִיר מֶנִּי and I will not turn his decrees away from me, whereas in the Samuel text we get וְחֻקֹּתָיו לֹא־אָסוּר מִמֶּנָּה “and as for his statutes—I will not turn from them.” We prefer to maintain the MT-Psalms reading here.
• With before me (לְנֶגְדִּי) the psalmist is saying that both he and God's משפטים are “facing” each other.
• Vv. 22 and 23 both have “for” (כִּי)-clauses. Rather than v. 23 grounding v. 22, both serve as the grounds for v. 21. Evidence for this is the fact that “the ways of YHWH” (דַּרְכֵי יְהוָה) (v. 22a) and “rules” (מִשְׁפָּט) (v. 23a) are parallel elsewhere, in Psalm 119:30. Thus, rather than conveying two separate ideas and therefore commenting on each other, vv. 22 and 23 most likely have the same basic idea (David's righteous living before YHWH), and that one idea is grounding v. 21.

v. 24

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
24a	וָאֱהִ֣י תָמִ֣ים עִמּ֑וֹ	And I have become blameless before him.
24b	וָ֝אֶשְׁתַּמֵּ֗ר מֵעֲוֺנִֽי׃	And I have kept myself from commiting iniquity.

Expanded Paraphrase

And I have therefore become blameless before him. And I have kept myself from committing iniquity, that is, deliberate violations of your law.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• There is no real difference in meaning between the forms וָאֱהִי/וָאֶשְׁתַּמֵּר and I have become/and I have kept myself in the Psalms text and the ones with final heh in the Samuel text since both are wayyiqtol forms. 5/6Ḥevb attests to the shorter forms (Charlesworth et. al. 2000, 158), and so that will be our preferred option.
• We maintain MT-Psalms' reading of עִמוֹ before (lit., “with”) him rather than MT-2 Samuel's reading לוֹ “to him”, since the meanings are more or less similar and largely a matter of style.
• In saying that the psalmist has kept himself, literally, “from my iniquity” (מֵעֲוֹנִי), he is saying that he has not engaged in the act of sinning.
• We have translated עִמּוֹ as before him even though the preposition עִם ordinarily means “with”. “Before” captures the idea of doing right actions in the proximity of (that is, “with”) God.
• The wayyiqtols in this verse and in 25a express purpose/result semantics. Thus, “I have kept the way of the lord (vv. 22–23) with the result that I have become (וָאֱהִי), etc.
• A number of translations reflect an interpretation where and I have become blameless (וָאֱהִי תָמִים) continues the grounds for v. 21. Being “blameless”, however, most naturally follows as a result, not the grounds, of keeping God's ways.

v. 25

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
25a	וַיָּֽשֶׁב־יְהוָ֣ה לִ֣י כְצִדְקִ֑י	And YHWH has repaid me according to my righteousness,
25b	כְּבֹ֥ר יָ֝דַ֗י לְנֶ֣גֶד עֵינָֽיו׃	according to the cleanliness of my hands before his eyes.

Expanded Paraphrase

And that is why YHWH has repaid me according to my righteousness, because I have kept his ways, and constantly keep his law before me as I read it, meditate on it and commend it to others. In other words, I obey YHWH's commandments. YHWH has repaid me according to the cleanliness of my hands before his eyes, that is, my purity, since just as one's hands may be free of dirt, so one may be free of guilt.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• MT-Psalms has the reading כְּבֹר יָדַי according to the cleanliness of my hands whereas MT-Samuel has just כְּבֹרִי “according to my cleanliness.” There are a number of reasons to prefer the former reading, mainly because “cleanliness” (בֹּר) is always in a bound phrase with another word.
• Note that the Samuel text has the feminine word צִדְקָה (in כְּצִדְקָתִי) “righteousness” whereas the Psalms text has the masculine word צֶדֶק (in כְצִדְקִי) righteousness. “The two forms do not differ in meaning, as far as we can prove” (TWOT: 752). Since this is the second occurrence of this difference (cf. v. 21), it is probably a matter of style.

YHWH's just character (vv. 26–30)

v. 26

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
26a	עִם־חָסִ֥יד תִּתְחַסָּ֑ד	You act faithfully with a faithful person.
26b	עִם־גְּבַ֥ר תָּ֝מִ֗ים תִּתַּמָּֽם׃	You act blamelessly with a blameless person.

Expanded Paraphrase

The principle behind you dealing well with me on account of my obedience, that is, you maintaining your covenant obligations because I maintain mine, is that you reciprocate to a person according to their behavior: You act faithfully with a faithful person. You act blamelessly with a blameless person.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• MT-Psalms has the word גֶּבֶר “man” whereas MT-Samuel has the word גִּבּוֹר “hero.” Cross and Freedman (1953, 28) simply delete this word. The difference most likely comes down to one of style and so we maintain both readings, that is, neither the text of MT-Samuel nor MT-Psalms should be changed in any way.
• A number of grammars and translators understand these hithpa'els as basically reflexive and hence treat them as “to show oneself as”. But this understanding does not adequately capture the dynamics of the participants performing the actions for each other. The constructions more closely resemble a reciprocal construction cross-linguistically. The meaning of 26a, for example, would be something like “You and a faithful person act faithfully with each other.”

v. 27

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
27a	עִם־נָבָ֥ר תִּתְבָּרָ֑ר	You act with purity with one who purifies himself.
27b	וְעִם־עִ֝קֵּ֗שׁ תִּתְפַּתָּֽל׃	And with a twisted person you act wittily.

Expanded Paraphrase

You act with purity with one who purifies himself. And with a twisted person you act wittily, that is, you are intent on outwitting, tricking, and deceiving those who deceive others.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The text of Psalms (first alternative) has the form תִּתְפַּתָּל you act wittily whereas the text of Samuel (second alternative) has the form תִּתַּפָּל. On the basis of (1) the external evidence,(2) a fitting parallel member for the עִקֵּשׁ verb, (3) the obscure meaning of the root תפל, and (4) a likely process by which תתפל could have arisen (haplography), we prefer the text of the Psalm as it stands—תִּתְפַּתָּֽל.
• The text of Samuel reads תִּתָּבר whereas the Psalms text reads תִּתְבָּרָר You act with purity . The ancient versions translate both passages the same. The difference seems to be merely one of spelling. MT-Psalms spelling is preferable.
• We analyze the fronted phrase and with a twisted person (וְעִם־עִקֵּשׁ) as a contrastive topic, since the comment on the topic is of a different nature than of the previous topics. One may therefore translate the waw as “but”, as, for example, the NIV does, “but to the devious...”.

v. 28

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
28a	כִּֽי־אַ֭תָּה עַם־עָנִ֣י תוֹשִׁ֑יעַ	For you save a humble people.
28b	וְעֵינַ֖יִם רָמ֣וֹת תַּשְׁפִּֽיל׃	And you bring down eyes that look down on others.

Expanded Paraphrase

For, that is, an example of you reciprocating behavior is that you save a humble people, that is, when someone is made to have a low status of well-being, you condescend to them and save them from their dire situation. And you bring down eyes of proud people, whose eyes that look down in pride on others whom they perceive are inferior to them. And so, just as prideful people bring down others in their estimation and treat them as less in their interactions, you bring down these prideful people.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The Psalms text begins with the consonants כי אתה עם (that is, כִּי־אַתָּה עַם lit., “for you a people”) whereas the Samuel text begins with ואת עם (that is, וְאֶת־עַם lit., “and a people”). We prefer the consonants ואת, vocalized as וְאַתַּ. This reading has much external support and explains how the reading with כִּי “for” could have arisen. For the sake of readability, we will write this out fully as אַתָּה (cf. the ketiv את and qere אַתָּה in 1 Sam 24:19; Ps 6:4; Job 1:10; Eccl 7:22; Neh 9:6).
• Psalms has וְעֵינַיִם רָמוֹת תַּשְׁפִּיל׃ and you bring down eyes that look down on others, whereas the Samuel text has וְעֵינֶיךָ עַל־רָמִים תַּשְׁפִּיל “and your eyes will lower upon the proud(?).” The Psalms text is preferable on external as well as semantic grounds. The meaning of the Samuel text is unclear (what does it mean for God's eyes to “lower” upon the proud). Cross and Freedman argue that the Samuel text is “corrupt”. The Psalms text has wide external support, among which are 5/6Ḥev1b (ועינ[י]ם֯ רמות תשפיל) and 11Q8 (רמות תשפיל). Internally, the idea of proud eyes being brought low is also an attested biblical idiom (Isa 13:11; 25:11). Finally, the Psalms reading maintains a symmetrical parallelism—each line consists of the object noun phrase, followed by a 2nd person verb.
• The participle of the verb רוּם “to be high up” can be used with different body parts to express pride and arrogance.
• Verse 28 begins a series of “for” ( כִּי)-clauses, each grounding the unit previous to it. Thus, v. 28 grounds vv. 26–27 by restating the principle in a different way, v. 29 grounds v. 28 giving an example of it, and v. 30 grounds v. 29, again, by giving an example that shows how David knows v. 29 to be true. These series of grounding may be illustrated in the following visual.

• The you (אַתָּה) is a topic shift, this time in its prototypical expression as subject. a humble people (עַם־עָנִי ) is fronted for contrastive focus. One may assume that God saves “somebody”. The focused constituent provides the answer in relation to a set of possible alternatives. Consequently, eyes that look down on others (וְעֵינַיִם רָמוֹת) is a parallel focus construction—since it occupies the same place in the clause—of the same type (contrastive). The following visual spells out these relationships.

v. 29

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
29a	כִּֽי־אַ֭תָּה תָּאִ֣יר נֵרִ֑י יְהוָ֥ה	For you light my lamp, YHWH.
29b	אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י יַגִּ֥יהַּ חָשְׁכִּֽי׃	My God gives light to my darkness.

Expanded Paraphrase

For I myself am often humbled and whenever I have been near death on account of hostile enemies you light my lamp, YHWH, that is, you sustain my life, which was thought to a flame that burns within a person (Prov 20:27) that needs you to sustain it (Prov 13:9; 20:20; 24:20; Job 18:5). Otherwise the flame would go out and that person would die. My God gives light to my darkness, that is, situations in which I almost encountered death.

Grammatical Diagram

See v. 28.

Notes

• MT-Psalms contains the verb תאיר (that is, תָּאִיר you light) between “you” (אַתָּה) and “my lamp” (נֵרִי) (viz., the order is אתה תאיר נרי). MT-Samuel does not contain this verb, but instead has אתה נרי (that is “you are my lamp” [אַתָּה נֵירִי]). An argument could be made that a longer reading is suitable in in the Samuel text as reflected in 4Q51. Assuming this is the case the reading of MT-Psalms תאיר is to be preferred on both internal and external evidence.
• In MT-Psalms, the word after יהוה is אֱלֹהַי my God. In MT-Samuel, it is ויהיה (with a conjunction waw) “and YHWH”. This difference is most likely one of style, and so we prefer to maintain both texts as they stand.
• Verse 29. With the major greek witnesses and 5/6ḤevPsalms (see Charlesworth et al. 2000, 157), we group YHWH (יְהוָה) with what precedes it, contrary to the Masoretic accents.
• By asking God to “light his lamp” David is asking God to preserve his life:

v. 30

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
30a	כִּֽי־בְ֭ךָ *אָרִ֣ץ* גְּד֑וּד	For by you I can rout an army.
30b	וּ֝בֵֽאלֹהַ֗י אֲדַלֶּג־שֽׁוּר׃	And by my God I can scale a wall.

Expanded Paraphrase

For you always strengthen me in the face of potential danger from hostile enemies so that there is no chance of my life being snuffed out. When you strengthen me I cannot be defeated. Rather I defeat any hostile enemies. When I defeat them, they flee in many directions (cf. Deut 28:17). Therefore, by you I can rout an army. And not only can I rout an army by your strength, but by the strength of my God, which he gives to me, I can scale a wall that fortifies a city after I have brought down the wall, which was a necessary step in a military campaign (Joel 2:9).

Grammatical Diagram

See v. 28.

Notes

• We maintain MT-Psalms and Samuel's גְּדוּד wall here.
• The form אר(וּ)ץ “I will run” creates a difficulty in the a-line; what does it mean to “run an army”? We have chosen to revocalize to אָרִץ “I will rout”.
• The word שֽׁוּר wall is an Aramaic term used only here and in Gen 49:22, where it refers to the walls of a well. Here the reference is clearly to a city wall that would have been fortified. Getting past a city's fortified wall was a part of capturing the city in a military campaign (cf. Joel 2:9). “Leaping” over the wall may be a reference to jumping over the rubble of the wall after it has been destroyed.
• The fronted bet-phrases are restrictive focus. The fact that the psalmist experiences success in military endeavours is presupposed. Contrary to normal expectations, it is the Lord, rather than his own strength, that he asserts to be the source of his ability, as brought out in the following expansion.

David defeats his enemies (vv. 31–43)

One of the most striking features of Psalm 18 is that David depicts God's deliverance one way in the first half of the psalm (deliverance from the waters) and another way in this second half of the psalm (deliverance through being strengthened). One way to interpret this structure is that these are two representations of the same reality. At the same time that David defeats his visible enemies through the strength that God gives him, God defeats David's invisible enemies.

Since a victory lies at the heart of this section (vv. 36–39), the emotional tone is clearly one of triumph.

v. 31

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
31a	הָאֵל֮ תָּמִ֪ים דַּ֫רְכּ֥וֹ	God—His way is perfect.
31b	אִמְרַֽת־יְהוָ֥ה צְרוּפָ֑ה	The sayings of YHWH are true.
31c	מָגֵ֥ן ה֝֗וּא לְכֹ֤ל ׀ הַחֹסִ֬ים בּֽוֹ׃	He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.

Expanded Paraphrase

God—he acts in the manner just described, reciprocating peoples actions back to them, and therefore delivering me when I am in distress, because His way, that is, the patterns in which YHWH interacts with people, is perfect in that he acts with justice (Deut 32:4) and with full knowledge (Job 37:16), so that no fault may be found in his actions. The sayings of YHWH, that is, everything you say in your law and through you prophets that make your purpose in the world manifest (see Lam 2:17) are true because they can be tested over and over as if it was metal refined in a fire, but will always be proven to be reliable. Since one can be confident that YHWH's words are true, one may always know for certain that He is a shield, that is, he provides protection, to all those who take refuge in him (cf. Prov 18:10, Nah 1:7).

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The word אִמְרָה, which we have translated as sayings most likely refers to God's covenant with David. Note that we have translated saying(אִמְרָה) as plural even though it is singular. This is because the reference is to a class (the class of all of YHWH's sayings) rather than a particular “saying”. The singular reading is offered in the grammatical diagram.
• “[T]he definite article may also be used with a common noun that describes multiple potential referents but has conventionally become restricted to a single referent, in which case it functions like a name. Common examples include הָאֱלֹהִים and הָאֵל God or הַבַּעַל ‘Baal’, as well as the use of הַנָּהָר to refer uniquely to the Euphrates and הַכִּכָּר for the Jordan plain (Gen 19.17, etc.)” (Bekins forthcoming; emphasis ours).
• In v. 30, the psalmist was the subject and most likely the topic. Now in v. 31 the attention shifts to God and his characteristics, which is why God (הָאֵל) is fronted. The word perfect (תָּמִים) is fronted in order to express surprise. The following visual gives a paraphrase of this line.

• When David says that YHWH's words are true (lit., צְרוּפָה “refined”) he is expressing his confidence that YHWH's words always accomplish their purpose, that they are reliable.

v. 32

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
32a	כִּ֤י מִ֣י אֱ֭לוֹהַּ מִבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה	For who is God besides YHWH?
32b	וּמִ֥י צ֝֗וּר זוּלָתִ֥י אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃	And who is a rock besides our God,

Expanded Paraphrase

For who is God besides YHWH? Nobody! He is the only one who is perfectly just, and whose words are never in vain. And who is a rock of protection besides our God,

Grammatical Diagram

See v. 31.

Notes

• The Psalms text uses זוּלָתִי besides in the b-line whereas the Samuel text uses מִבַּלְעֲדֵי “besides”, but this is most likely a stylistic difference.
• The a-line of the Psalms text has אֱלוֹהַּ God whereas the a-line of the Samuel text has אֵל “God”. This also is simply a matter of style.
• The preposition מִבַּלְעֲדֵי literally means “from besides him”, that is, it means besides from a third-party vantage point (see footnote). The preposition זוּלָתִי besides is closely related in meaning and probably once meant something like “which is not him”.
• The for (כִּי) here is clearly not a logical/event-oriented כִּי. Rather the כִּי is a speech-act/subjective כִּי. In v. 32 the psalmist is grounding the illocution of v. 31. There the psalmist expresses his confidence that God's ways are indeed perfect. He can make this illocutionary move because he knows that there is none like God (v. 32).

v. 33

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
33a	הָ֭אֵל הַמְאַזְּרֵ֣נִי חָ֑יִל	the God who arms me with strength
33b	וַיִּתֵּ֖ן תָּמִ֣ים דַּרְכִּֽי׃	and makes my endeavor secure?

Expanded Paraphrase

the God who arms me with strength and, by giving me strength, he subsequently makes my endeavor in battle secure? Nobody!

Grammatical Diagram

See v. 31.

Notes

• MT-Samuel reads מָעוּזִּי “my strength” where MT-Psalms reads הַמְאַזְּרֵנִי who arms me We prefer MT-Psalms's reading.
• MT-Psalms has the definite article preceding the element mentioned in the previous point, whereas MT-Samuel does not. There is good external evidence for the article.
• The first word of v. 33b in MT-Samuel reads ויתר (vocalized וַיַּתֵּר “?”) whereas it reads ויתן (vocalized וַיִּתֵּן and makes) in MT-Psalms. We maintain the reading in Psalms.
• The sequence 'God (lit., “the God” [הָאֵל]) plus the participle occurs both in v. 33 of Psalm 18 // 2 Sam 22 and v. 48. In both cases, God is mentioned in the previous line (viz., the last line of vv. 32 and 47). The most straightforward reading, therefore, is to analyze the הָאֵל in v. 33 in apposition to אֱלֹהֵינוּ in v. 32 and the הָאֵל in v. 48 in apposition to אֱלוֹהֵי יִשְׁעִי in v. 47. This הָאֵל is then modified by the following participial phrase relative clause and continued by the following wayyiqtol.
• Most English translations translate חָיל strength with the preposition “with” (e.g., ESV “equipped me with strength”). This makes the idea “strength” seem like an adjunct, whose correlate is an adverbial accusative. This adjunct-status is further reflected in Jerome's use of the Latin ablative fortitudine i.e., “with respect to strength”. Note, however that the governing verb (הַמְאַזְּרֵנִי) is in the piel, one of whose functions is to increase transitivity (GKC §117cc). In the qal, the verb can take the body part girded as an object (e.g., Job 1:17 “gird your hips” [תֶּאְזֹר מָתְנֶיךָ]). However there also seems to be evidence that the object with which a body part is girded can be the object; consider that in 2 Kings 1:8—with a passive use of the verb—the body part is in a prepositional phrase whereas the thing on the body part is the encoded subject (prototypically the object of a the corresponding active verb): אֵזוֹר עוֹר אָזוּר בְּמָתְנָיו “a leather belt girded around his waist).
• The verb and (he) makes (וַיִּתֵּן) continues the habitual semantics of the preceding clause.

v. 34

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
34a	מְשַׁוֶּ֣ה רַ֭גְלַי כָּאַיָּל֑וֹת	He makes my feet like those of deer.
34b	וְעַ֥ל בָּ֝מֹתַ֗י יַעֲמִידֵֽנִי׃	And he causes me to stand upon my heights.

Expanded Paraphrase

He makes my feet sure-footed like those of deer, so that I do not fall in battle before my enemies. And, rather than my falling in battle before my enemies, he causes me to stand upon my heights—another name for a battlefield (2 Sam 1:19, 25)—in that only I am left standing, while my enemies are felled.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The piel of שׁוה is used with reference to “leveling” (Isa 28:25) the ground. Some extend the idea of “leveling off” to account for the meaning “soothe” in Ps 131:2. Our occurrence here in Ps 18:34//2 Sam 22:34 is also considered an extension of the meaning “to level”. If something is “level” then it is the “same” as what is around it. The meaning “to make the same” makes sense in the context, and is supported by the synonyms of the (intransitive) usage of this verb in the qal.
• The word heights (בָמָה) literally means “high places”, and is often used in reference to mountains where Israel sacrificed to other gods (e.g., 1 Kgs 11:7; Jer 19:5). The word can also be used to refer to a battle-field (e.g., 2 Sam 1:19, 25), from which it came to have metaphorical associations with victory. Thus, at times, God is said to tread upon “heights” (cf. Deut 32:13; Isa 58:14; Amos 4:13; Job 9:8; Mic 1:3, etc) as a way to refer to his dominion and sovereignty. Similarly, when the psalmist compares himself to “hinds” on “high places”, the reference is to “sure-footed walking like that of a mountain goat”; and “the metaphor is one of victory and sovereignty over the land” (Crenshaw 1972, 49).

v. 35

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
35a	מְלַמֵּ֣ד יָ֭דַי לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה	He trains my hands for war.
35b	וְֽ*נִחַ֥ת* קֶֽשֶׁת־נְ֝חוּשָׁ֗ה זְרוֹעֹתָֽי׃	And he strengthens my arms with a bow of bronze.

Expanded Paraphrase

He trains my hands for war. And, one way he trains me for war is that he strengthens my arms with a bow of bronze, that is, he strengthens me both by placing an unwieldy weapon in my hands (cf. Ezek 30:23–24) and giving me the strength to wield it.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• On the text and the meaning of MT-Psalms' וְֽנִחֲתָה “and it descends(?)” (in our CBC And he strengthens [וְֽנִחַת]) see our exegetical issue.
• By saying that God “strengthens” the psalmist with a a bow of bronze (קֶשֶׁת נְחוּשָׁה), he means that God is equipping him with a powerful bow. This image is fitting in a context where the psalmist literally says that God is equipping him (מְאַזְּרֵנִי v. 33).
• The weqatal here (and he strengthens [וְנִחַת]) has its regular value of denoting a posterior (i.e., a “future”, an event that happens after another event; see JM §119c). Without reference point movement, the meaning becomes something that is done habitually.

v. 36

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
36a	וַתִּתֶּן־לִי֮ מָגֵ֪ן יִ֫שְׁעֶ֥ךָ	And you give me the shield of your victory.
36b	וִֽימִינְךָ֥ תִסְעָדֵ֑נִי	And your right hand supports me.
36c	וְֽ*עֶזְרָתְךָ֥* תַרְבֵּֽנִי׃	And your help makes me great.

Expanded Paraphrase

And you give me the shield of your victory in that you protect me, like a shield would, by making me victorious. If my enemies are defeated, they cannot harm me. And your right hand supports me, that is, by your power you provide me with military strength. Your power becomes my power. And, because you supply me with power to defeat my enemies, your help makes me numerically great. My dynasty will continue and you will also protect them because of the promise you made to me (2 Sam 17:12–16; Ps 89:28–29).

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• MT-Psalms has וְֽעַנְוַתְךָ “and your humility” while MT-Sam has וַעֲנֹתְךָ “and your answering”. Both are derived from the two putative homophones ענה where one means “to answer” and the other means “to be bowed down, afflicted”. With the text of Samuel attested in 4Q51, we read your help (עֶזְרָתְךָ).
• MT-Psalms has the extra clause and your right hand supports me (וִֽימִינְךָ תִסְעָדֵנִי) whereas MT-Samuel does not. It is well-supported by other ancient versions. This and other considerations lead us to maintain it.
• Whenever the hiphil of רבה takes a person as the object, it only ever means to “multiply” in the sense of giving someone much offspring (e.g. Gen 17:2; 28:3; 48:4; Deut 17:17; Isa 51:2) Since the speaker here is David, the reference must be to the continuation of David's dynasty (cf. Jerome multiplicavit “he multiplied”).
• The wayyiqtol and you give (וַתִּתֶּן) may be understood to express a nuance of a summary statement, “and thus you give...”.

v. 37

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
37a	תַּרְחִ֣יב צַעֲדִ֣י תַחְתָּ֑י	You enlarged my steps underneath me.
37b	וְלֹ֥א מָ֝עֲד֗וּ קַרְסֻלָּֽי׃	And my ankles did not falter.

Expanded Paraphrase

You enlarged my steps underneath me, so that I could run faster. And even though I was running at great speeds, at which there is a potential to stumble (see Prov 4:12), my ankles did not falter.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Note that the Samuel text has the form תַּחְתֵּנִי “under me,” with an extra nun as opposed to the simple nominal-type suffix of תַחְתָּי underneath me.
• The qal of the verbal root מעד is rare and defined by SDBH as “literally: (one's feet or steps) slip; hence: = process by which one's journey through life does not go as intended or expected.”
• The word “ankle” (קַרְסֹל) is either an Aramaism or an Aramaic loan word. The word can refer to any joint of any major limb in the body (cf. Targum רכובתי “my knees”). The qal of מעד elsewhere occurs with אֲשֻׁרָיו “his steps” (Ps 37:31) and רָֽגֶל “foot”, and thus most likely refers to the major joint of the foot—the ankle, the structures of which (e.g., the subtalar joint) provide stability both for the foot and for the structures above the ankle.

v. 38

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
38a	אֶרְדּ֣וֹף א֭וֹיְבַי וְאַשִּׂיגֵ֑ם	I chased my enemies and I overtook them.
38b	וְלֹֽא־אָ֝שׁוּב עַד־כַּלּוֹתָֽם׃	And I would not relent until their destruction.

Expanded Paraphrase

I chased my enemies and then, since I was running faster than they were, I overtook them. And after I overtook them, I began to beat them, and I would not relent until their destruction.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The Psalms text reads וְאַשִּׂיגֵם and I overtook them whereas the Samuel text reads וָאַשְׁמִידֵם “and I will destroy them”. Since both variants are fully supported externally, make good sense in the context, and have a synonymous relationship characteristic of other word-pairs in the comparison of the two versions, it seems best to maintain both texts as they are.
• Our translation I would not relent of לֹֽא־אָשׁוּב reflects an interpretation of the verb as future-in-the-past. That is, it refers to an event that happens after another past event.

v. 39

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
39a	אֶ֭מְחָצֵם וְלֹא־יֻ֣כְלוּ ק֑וּם	I violently beat them, and they could not stand.
39b	יִ֝פְּל֗וּ תַּ֣חַת רַגְלָֽי	They fell beneath my feet.

Expanded Paraphrase

I violently beat them, and the violent beating was so bad that they could not stand. They fell beneath my feet, that is, when they fell I put my foot on top of their necks, which was an ultimate sign of victory for me and defeat for them (see Gen. 49:8; Josh 10:24).

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• For cases of יכל being complemented by the bare infinitive (without lamed) see Gen 24:50; 37:4; 44:1; Exod 18:18, 23; Num 22:37, 38; Deut 1:9; 14:24; Isa 46:2; 47:11, 12; Ps 36:13; 78:20; Prov 30:21; Lam 1:14. Syntactically the bare infinitive may either serve as the complement of the verb or as an adverbial modifier (they will have no ability with respect to standing up). Taking it as a complement is preferable due to the scope of negation. On the adverbial reading, the scope is limited קוּם, which would strongly implicate that they are able to do something else (viz., they cannot stand, but they can do other stuff). The point the psalmist is trying to express, however, is that the enemies will completely incapacitated. The complement reading lends itself better to all elements being within the scope of negation.
• At the beginning of the verse the Samuel version has וָאֲכַלֵּם, whereas the Psalms version does not. Since וָאֲכַלֵּם represents a conflation based on the previous word in MT 2 Sam 22:38 (כַּלּוֹתָם), it is most likely that the original hymn only had one כלה verb. We therefore prefer the MT of Psalms as it stands (which has the כלה-verb at the end of v. 38)
• The verb in the clause I violently beat them (אֶמְחָצֵם) appears only in poetic texts and has very strong associations with violence and gore—smashing "heads" is especially common (cf. Hab 3:13; Pss 68:22; 110:6; cf. Num 24:17; Jdg 5:26).

v. 40

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
40a	וַתְּאַזְּרֵ֣נִי חַ֭יִל לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה	And you armed me with strength for war.
40b	תַּכְרִ֖יעַ קָמַ֣י תַּחְתָּֽי׃	You make those who rise up against me kneel underneath me.

Expanded Paraphrase

And, by giving me strength so that I can defeat my enemies, who are also your enemies, as I have just narrated, this is how you armed me with strength for war. Your arming me for war so I can defeat my enemies is something you always do: You make those who rise up against me kneel underneath me.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The Samuel text here has the form תזרני (vocalized וַתַּזְרֵנִי) whereas the Psalms text has תאזרני (that is, and you armed me [וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי]). Most agree, however, that the form in the Samuel text is simply an orthographic variant, perhaps reflecting a spoken form where the alef would have been quiescent (see Cross et. al. 2005, 184; McCarter 1984, 460). This is confirmed in 4Q51, which clearly has the consonants תאזר, where the alef is visible.
• Major modern lexica gloss the hiphil of כרע as “to cause to bow down” (DCH, BDB, HALOT). It does not make sense, however, to bow down “beneath” (תַּחַת) someone. The sole meaning in the qal however, is that of kneeling. We have therefore interpreted it as referring to kneeling. Most likely the hiphil of כרע is to be understood here as part of the fuller sequence כָרַע וְנָפַל “bow down and fall” (cf. Hupfeld 1855, 350). Note that the sequnece is split up in this psalm. The verbal root נפל “fall” occurs in v. 39 and the root כרע occurs in this verse.
• The wayyiqtol form of וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי and you armed me may be understood to carry the nuance of a summary statement “and thus you armed me.”
• The lack of waw as well as the switch to second-person suggests a shift in the verbal semantics. We have therefore analyzed תַּכְרִיעַ You make...kneel as having habitual semantics.

v. 41

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
41a	וְֽאֹיְבַ֗י נָתַ֣תָּה לִּ֣י עֹ֑רֶף	And you have made my enemies retreat from me.
41b	וּ֝מְשַׂנְאַ֗י אַצְמִיתֵֽם׃	And as for those who hate me, I wipe them out.

Expanded Paraphrase

And you have made my enemies retreat from me. And as for those who hate me, I wipe them out.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The Samuel text has the consonants תתה in place of the verb you have made (נָתַתָּה), vocalized by the MT as תַּתָּה. The Samuel vocalization (תַּתָּה) appears to be some kind of 2nd person yiqtol form, for which we would expect תִּתֶּן. The versions unanimously interpret the verb as past-tense in both cases. And given that the form in MT Samuel is anomalous, it is “evidently an error, the initial nun being lost by an unexplained parablepsis” (Cross et. al. 2005, 189) (that is, a scribe's eye skipped over the nun somehow).

v. 42

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
42a	יְשַׁוְּע֥וּ וְאֵין־מוֹשִׁ֑יעַ	They cry out for help, and there is no rescuer.
42b	אֶל*־יְ֝הוָ֗ה וְלֹ֣א עָנָֽם׃*	[They cry out for help] to YHWH, and he has not answered them.

Expanded Paraphrase

They cry out for help, and unlike when I cry out for help and you answer me (cf. vv. 4, 7) there is no rescuer for them, whereas there was a rescuer for me—you, YHWH! [They cry out for help] to YHWH, and he has not answered them, whereas you, YHWH, do answer me.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The MT of Psalms has the verb they cry out for help (יְשַׁוְּעוּ) from the root שוע, whereas the MT of Samuel has the verb יִשְׁעוּ from שעה “to look”. We prefer the former.
• MT-Psalms introduces the second stich with the preposition “upon” (עַל) whereas MT-Samuel introduces it with to (אֶל). We have preferred the latter.

v. 43

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
43a	*וְֽאֶשְׁחָקֵ֗ם כְּעָפָ֥ר עַל־פְּנֵי־*אֹרַח	And I crush them like the dust on the road.
43b	כְּטִ֖יט חוּצ֣וֹת *אֶרְקָעֵם*׃	I beat them like the mud of the streets.

Expanded Paraphrase

And I crush them until they are like the dust on the road, which is merely trampled upon all day and cannot do anything in retaliation. I beat them until they are like the mud of the streets, which is merely trampled upon all day and cannot do anything in retaliation.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The final verb in the MT Psalms text is I will empty them out (אֲרִיקֵם). In the MT Samuel text, there are two verbs “I will crush them; I will beat them” (אֲדִקֵּם אֶרְקָעֵם). We prefer only I beat them (אֶרְקעֵם) as the last verb.
• In the Psalms text, the noun dust (עָפָר) is modified by the phrase “upon the face of the wind” (עַל־פְּנֵי־רוּחַ) whereas in the Samuel text it is in construct with אָ֑רֶץ “earth”. A third variant will be considered, that of 4Q51, in which [עפר] “dust” is in construct with פני ארח lit., “face of a path”. We prefer this last reading.
• We have translated I crush them for אֶשְׁחָקֵם. This root is rare, but the few other uses as well as versional/extra-biblical uses suggest such a meaning.
• In the qal the verb from the root רקע (in the text as I crush them [אֶרְקָעֵם]) can refer to stomping on something with the feet (Ezek 6:11; 25:6). In this context, the enemies have been subdued underneath the psalmist's feet (vv. 38–42) and thus this is most likely the intended meaning here.
• The picture of עָפָר עַל־פְּנֵי־אֹרַח is that of dust on the road. The word “face” (פָנֶה) is often used to refer to the surface of something (see e.g., Gen 2.6; Ps 104:30; Job 38:30 etc). The concept of being “upon” the road is therefore expressed using a construction (the bound phrase) that signifies part-whole relations.
• The waw on the verb וְאֶשְׁחָקֵם may be understood to express a nuance of “so”. It joins to a section consisting of vv. 40–42, bringing it to a climax.

David praises YHWH for victory (vv. 44–50)

In this final section, David declares how God will exalt him in the future and concludes with overt expressions of praise. Overall, these verses constitute praise for future strength and victory. As such, concomitant confidence and joy abound.

v. 44

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
44a	*תְּפַלְּטֵנִי֮ מֵרִ֪יבֵ֫י *עַםִ֥ים	You will deliver me from peoples' indictments.
44b	תְּ֭שִׂימֵנִי לְרֹ֣אשׁ גּוֹיִ֑ם	You will make me head of nations.
44c	עַ֖ם לֹא־יָדַ֣עְתִּי יַֽעַבְדֽוּנִי׃	A people I do not know will serve me.

Expanded Paraphrase

You will deliver me from people's indictments, that is, whenever someone tries to question my righteousness or the cleanliness of my hands (v. 25), the effect of which would be that you would no longer listen to or deliver me. You will make me head of nations because I will win every battle I enter since you give me the strength to do it—since you, YHWH, are my strength (cf. v. 2). The nations will show allegiance to me and bring me tribute thereafter. A people I do not know will serve me.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• MT-Psalms has the form עָם “people” in the first line, whereas MT-Samuel has the form עַמִּי “my people”. The evidence, however, seems to point to the reading עַמִּים peoples.
• MT-Psalms has the form תְּשִׂימֵנִי you will make me in the second line whereas MT-Samuel has תִּשְׁמְרֵנִי “you will keep me”. We maintain MT-Psalms's text here.
• Note the shift of the verb tenses here to future.
• The phrase a people I do not know (עַם לֹא־יָדַעְתִּי) comes first in its clause as a sort of announcement in order to express the certainty of the speaker that the event will happen.

v. 45

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
45a	לְשֵׁ֣מַֽע אֹ֭זֶן יִשָּׁ֣מְעוּ לִ֑י	As soon as they hear rumors of me they will show obedience to me.
45b	בְּנֵֽי־נֵ֝כָ֗ר יְכַחֲשׁוּ־לִֽי׃	Foreigners will submit to me.

Expanded Paraphrase

With the great strength you give me my defeat of those hostile towards me will be so severe that as soon as they, nations and people I do not even know, hear rumors of me they will show obedience to me. Foreigners will submit to me.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The niphal of שמע (in the text as they will show obedience [יִשָּׁמְעוּ]) gives the verb the nuance that the inclination to show obedience came suddenly upon the foreign nations.
• The lamed on לְשֵׁמַע lit., “at a report” (we have translated as soon as they hear rumors) may be understood as “in relation to”, that is, “they will show themselves obedient (יִשָּׁמְעוּ) in relation to a report.”

v. 46

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
46a	בְּנֵי־נֵכָ֥ר יִבֹּ֑לוּ	Foreigners will lose heart
46b	וְ֝יַחְרְג֗וּ מִֽמִּסְגְּרֽוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃	and tremble from their fortresses.

Expanded Paraphrase

Foreigners will lose heart and surrender to me since, after losing heart, they would be easily susceptible to defeat, just like a plant is easily blown whenever it withers due to lack of sunlight, and tremble from their fortresses in fear, just like the mountains trembled in fear at you, YHWH (cf. v. 8).

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The noun “fortress” (מִסְגֶּרֶת) (in our text from their fortresses [מִמִּסְגְּרוֹתֵיהֶם]) regularly appear in building accounts, where it denotes a “rim” (Exod 32:25, 27; 37:12, 14) or a “panel” (1 Kgs 7.28, 29, 31, 32, 35, 36; 2 Kgs 16:17). The most obvious semantic gloss would therefore be “enclosure” (cf. BDB). This has motivated interpretations of מִסְגֶּרֶת here and in Mic 7:17 such as “prison” (HALOT) or “stronghold, fortress” (SDBH, cf. many English translations).
• We have glossed יַחְרְגוּ as (they) tremble, mostly on the basis of cognate evidence.

v. 47

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
47a	חַי־יְ֭הוָה וּבָר֣וּךְ צוּרִ֑י	YHWH lives! And my rock is blessed!
47b	וְ֝יָר֗וּם אֱלוֹהֵ֥י יִשְׁעִֽי׃	And the God of my rescue is exalted!

Expanded Paraphrase

YHWH lives! Not merely in the ordinary sense of a physical condition, but in the sense that he possesses an exceeding amount of strength (cf. SDBH) and is active in the world. And my rock is blessed! And the God of my rescue is exalted above all others in his status!

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• Some versions reflect ברוך אלהי (e.g., Psalms-LXX, Ge'ez, Vul; 2 Sam-Vul) whereas the MT of both the Psalms text and the Samuel text (as well as other ancient versions) reflect ברוך צורי (that is, my rock is blessed [וּבָרוּךְ צוּרִי]). We maintain the reading with צוּר “rock” since translating this word as “God” seems largely a matter of translation technique.
• The MT of Samuel has an additional “rock” (צוּר) in the second line, whereas it is absent in Psalms. The external evidence favors the Psalm reading over the Samuel reading. Admittedly, it is difficult to see how the צור reading came about (perhaps dittography). The internal evidence is not insignificant, even though perhaps somewhat inconclusive. We therefore consider the Psalm reading superior.
• God is often said to be living (חַי), but “living” here does not simply mean “not dead”. Rather it is a reference to God's active involvement with his creation and his chosen ones (Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10; 1 Sam 17:26; 2 Kgs 19:4; Jer 10:10; Hos 2:1; Ps 42:3; 84:3; see TDOT 4:339); cf. passages where God is exhorted to קוּם “arise!” (Num 5:10; Ps 68:2).
• We have understood all three clauses to be statements (e.g., YHWH lives! [חַי יְהוָה]) rather than wishes (e.g., חַי יְהוָה “May the Lord live!”). Some of the forms of the words as well as the way certain phrases are used throughout the Bible support this interpretation.
• The words “living” (חַי) and “blessed” (וּבָרוּךְ) occur first in their clauses because the psalmist is asserting that YHWH does indeed have those properties. They may be paraphrased as “YHWH is indeed living; My rock is indeed blessed.”

v. 48

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
48a	הָאֵ֗ל הַנּוֹתֵ֣ן נְקָמ֣וֹת לִ֑י	God—who gives me vengance,
48b	וַיַּדְבֵּ֖ר עַמִּ֣ים תַּחְתָּֽי׃	and subdues peoples underneath me.

Expanded Paraphrase

God—who gives me vengance against my enemies and subdues peoples underneath me.

Grammatical Diagram

See v. 47.

Notes

• The first word of the b-line in the Psalms text is וידבר (that is, “and subdues” [וַיַּדְבֵּר]) whereas the first word in the b-line of the Samuel text is ומוריד (from ירד “to go down”). It seems that the two different texts are simply the result of either stylistic choice or dialect differences. We prefer to maintain both texts as they stand.

v. 49

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
49a	מְפַלְּטִ֗י מֵאֹ֫יְבָ֥י	You who deliver me from my enemies
49b	אַ֣ף מִן־קָ֭מַי תְּרוֹמְמֵ֑נִי	will indeed exalt me over those who rise up against me.
49c	מֵאִ֥ישׁ חָ֝מָ֗ס תַּצִּילֵֽנִי׃	You will rescue me from the violent man.

Expanded Paraphrase

You who deliver me from my enemies will indeed exalt me over those who rise up against me. You will rescue me from the violent man.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The first word of the Psalms text is מפלטי (that is, delivers me [מְפַלְּטִי]), whereas the first word of the Samuel text of מוֹצִיאִי “the one who brought me out”. The difference here, it seems, is largely one of style. We therefore maintain both texts as they stand.
• The conjunction that begins v. 49b is אַף indeed in the Psalms text but וְ “and” in the Samuel text. Again, this seems to be largely a matter of style.
• The final word of the Samuel and Psalms text is תַּצִּילֵנִי you will rescue me, whereas the 4Q51 (a Dead Sea Scroll containing a version of Samuel) has the consonants תצרני “You will guard me.” The external evidence is inconclusive, whereas the internal evidence favors נצל, which is the reading we adopt. That is, we maintain the text as it stands.
• The phrase violent man (אִישׁ חָמָס) refers to someone who plots and schemes against the innocent.

v. 50

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
50a	עַל־כֵּ֤ן ׀ אוֹדְךָ֖ בַגּוֹיִ֥ם ׀ יְהוָ֑ה	Therefore I shall praise you among the nations, YHWH!
50b	וּלְשִׁמְךָ֥ אֲזַמֵּֽרָה׃	And I shall sing praise to your name,

Expanded Paraphrase

Therefore after you deliver me from my enemies and subdue foreign nations underneath me I shall praise you among the nations, YHWH, so that they may hear of your works! And I shall sing praise to your name,

Grammatical Diagram

Notes

• The Psalms text has the form אזמרה, with an extra he at the end, (that is אֲזַמֵּֽרָה I shall sing praise) while the Samuel text has אזמר without the extra he. Contrary to what Young (2005, 63–64) argues for this verse, this cannot be a matter of stylistic difference because the pattern is not consistent. It is not clear how the he would have fallen out. Most likely the Samuel form is simply a defective spelling (viz., אזמרָ).
• We have translated אוֹדְךָ as expressing intention I shall praise you.... More specifically, however, the cohortative maybe “used as a self-encouragement to praise God” (BHRG §19.5.1.2).

v. 51

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-Clear
51a	מַגְדִּיל֮ יְשׁוּע֪וֹת מַ֫לְכּ֥וֹ	you who makes the deliverance of his king spectacular,
51b	וְעֹ֤שֶׂה חֶ֨סֶד ׀ לִמְשִׁיח֗וֹ	and performs acts of loyalty for his anointed one
51c	לְדָוִ֥ד וּלְזַרְע֗וֹ עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃	for Daivd, and for his seed, forever.”

Expanded Paraphrase

you who makes the deliverance of his king spectacular by powerfully manifesting yourself and by equipping him with strength, and performs acts of loyalty for his anointed one, for David on account of the covenant between us, and for his seed, forever.”

Grammatical Diagram

See v. 50.

Notes

• MT-Samuel has the qere מִגְדּוֹל “tower?”. This reading, however, has no external support. The participle in the MT-Psalms's text is therefore preferred.

Legends

Grammatical diagram

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

Grammatical Term	Definition	Diagram	Example
Clausal Additions
Subject	The subject performs the action of the active verb or receives the action of a passive verb. With intransitive verbs	Indicated at the beginning of the main clausal line, and followed by a vertical line that crosses over the main clause line (separating the subject from the predicate).
Direct Object	Object that receives the direct action of a (transitive) verb	Indicate with a vertical line up from main clausal line
Predicate adjective/ Subject complement	A word used with a linking verb (ex. "to be"), renaming or restating the subject. Can be a whole prepositional phrase.	Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line. It can be on a stand if it is an embedded clause.
Object Complement	Word following a direct object to state what it has become.	Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line.
Infinitives	Can be subject, adverbial, or an infinitive construct.	Indicate with double vertical lines that cross the main clausal line. If used adverbially (ie. an embedded clause), place on a stand.
Participles	A verbal noun/adjective that can be used in three positions: (1) substantival; (2) attributive; (3) predicative.	Indicate with a round vertical line. Substantival participles are placed on a stand (they are embedded). Attributive participles are placed with a rounded line underneath what is modified.
Modifiers
Adjectives	A word modifying a noun to indicate quality, quantity, extent, or differentiating something from something else.	Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified.
Adverbs	A word that modifies a verb, adverb, adjective, prepositional phrase, clause, or sentence to express a relation (ex. manner, quality, or time).	Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified.
Construct relationships	Construction can express many different relationships between two (or more) nouns. English grammarians call this construction a ‘Construct’ (our term) or ‘Genitive’ phrase; Hebrew grammarians call it smīḵūt (סְמִיכוּת).	Indicate with a stair-step down from the modified word/clause/phrase.
Prepositional phrases	A phrase that consists of a preposition and its object and has adjectival or adverbial value	Indicate with a slanted vertical line connecting to a new clause.
Connectives	(1) Coordinating conjunctions join together words or word groups of equal grammatical rank (2) Subordinating conjunctions join a main clause and a clause which does not form a complete sentence by itself.	Indicate with a dashed line down from a vertical line marker.
Embedded clause	A clause inside another clause which can include substantival participles, adverbial infinitives, and prepositional phrases.	Indicate using stilts.
Particles
Subordinating particle	Indicates a dependent clause.	Indicate with a dashed line down from the antecedent to the pronoun.
Apposition	A word that is functioning as an explanatory equivalent as another in the sentence	Place on a line apart from the diagram but next to the word it is the equivalent of with an equal sign in between.
Vocative	Indicating a person being addressed (usually with a 2nd person verb)	Place on a line apart from the diagram next to the '()' indicating the gapped subject an equal sign in between.

Master Diagram

Shapes and colours on grammatical diagram

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

	Prepositional phrase	Construct chain	Construct chain within a prepositional phrase	Phrase-level waw	Article and כֹּל
Diagram Shading
Definition	- A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition plus its object. The phrase usually modifies the clause or another constituent in the clause.	- A construct chain, also called a 'genitive phrase', is a grammatical encoding of the relationship 'A of B,' in which A is a phonologically modified noun (in the construct state), and B is a phonologically unmodified noun (the absolute state).	- Some construct chains occur within prepositional phrases	- A waw conjunction can join units of all sizes. Phrase level waw join units at the word or phrase level (i.e., below the level of the clause).	- Definite articles tell you something about the identifiability or inclusiveness about the word it is attached to - כֹּל is a quantifier that tells you about the scope of a word it is attached to

Expanded paraphrase

For legend, click "Expand" to the right

• Close but Clear (CBC) translation
• Assumptions which provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences

Bibliography

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Footnotes

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