Psalm 18:48-50

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 18:48 tn Heb “[the one who] delivers me.” 2 Sam 22:49 reads “and [the one who] brings me out.”
2. Psalm 18:48 tn Heb “lifts me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רום probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt, elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given the psalmist victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority (cf. NIV, NRSV).
3. Psalm 18:48 tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”
4. Psalm 18:49 sn I will give you thanks before the nations. This probably alludes to the fact that the psalmist will praise the Lord in the presence of the defeated nations when they, as his subjects, bring their tribute payments. Ideally the Davidic king was to testify to the nations of God’s greatness. See J. H. Eaton, Kingship and the Psalms (SBT), 182-85.
5. Psalm 18:49 tn Heb “to your name.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his divine characteristics as suggested by his name, in this case “Lord,” the primary name of Israel’s covenant God which suggests his active presence with his people (see Exod 3:12-15).
6. Psalm 18:50 tn Or “the one who.”
7. Psalm 18:50 tn Heb “magnifies the victories of his king.” “His king” refers to the psalmist, the Davidic king whom God has chosen to rule Israel.
8. Psalm 18:50 tn Heb “[the one who] does loyalty.”
9. Psalm 18:50 tn Heb “his anointed [one],” i.e., the psalmist/Davidic king. See Ps 2:2.
10. Psalm 18:50 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
11. Psalm 18:50 sn If David is the author of the psalm (see the superscription), then he here anticipates that God will continue to demonstrate loyalty to his descendants who succeed him. If the author is a later Davidic king, then he views the divine favor he has experienced as the outworking of God’s faithful promises to David his ancestor.