Psalm 44:3-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 44:3 tn Or “take possession of.”
2. Psalm 44:3 tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.
3. Psalm 44:3 tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7; 20:6; 21:8).
4. Psalm 44:3 tn Heb “your arm.”
5. Psalm 44:3 tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).
6. Psalm 44:3 tn Or “favorable toward.”
7. Psalm 44:4 sn The speaker changes here to an individual, perhaps the worship leader or the king. The oscillation between singular (vv. 4, 6) and plural (vv. 1-3, 5, 7-8) in vv. 1-8 may reflect an antiphonal ceremony.
8. Psalm 44:4 tc The LXX assumes a participle here (מְצַוֶּה [m^etsavveh], “the one who commands/decrees”) which would stand in apposition to “my God.” It is possible that the MT, which has the imperative (צַוֵּה, tsavveh) form, has suffered haplography of the letter mem (ם). Note that the preceding word (אֱלֹהִים, ʾelohim) ends in mem. Another option is that the MT is divided in the wrong place; perhaps one could move the final mem from אֱלֹהִים to the beginning of the next word and read מְצַוֶּה אֱלֹהָי (ʾelohay m^etsavveh, “[You are my king,] my God, the one who decrees”).tn Or “command.” This may be the Israelites’ petition prior to the battle. See the introductory note to the psalm.
9. Psalm 44:4 tn That is, Israel. See Pss 14:7; 22:23.
10. Psalm 44:5 tn Heb “by you.”
11. Psalm 44:5 tn Heb “gore” (like an ox). If this portion of the psalm contains the song of confidence/petition the Israelites recited prior to battle, then the imperfects here and in the next line may express their expectation of victory. Another option is that the imperfects function in an emphatic generalizing manner. In this case one might translate, “you [always] drive back…you [always] trample down.”sn The Hebrew verb translated “drive back” is literally “gore”; the imagery is that of a powerful wild ox that “gores” its enemies and tramples them underfoot.
12. Psalm 44:5 tn Heb “in your name.” The Lord’s “name” refers here to his revealed character or personal presence. Specifically in this context his ability to deliver, protect, and energize for battle is in view (see Ps 54:1).
13. Psalm 44:5 sn The image of the powerful wild ox continues; see the note on the phrase “drive back” in the preceding line.
14. Psalm 44:5 tn Heb “those who rise up [against] us.”