Psalms 20–9
Psalm 20:1-9
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Psa.20.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מזמור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לדוד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 16:4-7 (thematic): Describes the appointment of Levites as singers and directors of music—parallels the psalm superscription's instruction 'for the director of music' (למנצח) indicating liturgical musical leadership.
- Psalm 150:3-5 (thematic): A doxology that specifies praise with various instruments (trumpet, lute, harp, cymbals), reflecting the musical setting implied by the superscription 'for the director of music.'
- Nehemiah 12:46 (thematic): Records the organization of the singers and gatekeepers who gave thanks and praised God—an example of structured temple/music leadership comparable to the role invoked by למנצח in psalm headings.
- Colossians 3:16 (thematic): New Testament instruction to let the word of Christ dwell 'in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs'—reflects the ongoing practice of directing and using music in corporate worship implied by psalm superscriptions.
- Ephesians 5:19 (thematic): Urges believers to address one another 'in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs,' connecting the Psalm's musical/directional heading with the New Testament emphasis on sung worship and leadership in song.
Alternative generated candidates
- To the chief musician. A psalm of David.
- To the chief musician. A psalm of David.
Psa.20.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יענך: VERB,qal,yiqtol,3,m,sg,obj:2,ms
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ביום: PREP
- צרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ישגבך: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 121:1-2 (thematic): Both appeal to Yahweh as the source of help in times of need—'my help comes from the LORD' parallels the petition that the LORD answer in the day of trouble.
- Psalm 46:1 (thematic): Declares God as refuge and present help in trouble, echoing the petition for God's protective response in distress.
- Psalm 124:8 (verbal): Explicitly links deliverance to 'the name of the LORD'—'Our help is in the name of the LORD' closely parallels invoking the name of the God of Jacob for protection.
- Numbers 6:24-26 (allusion): The priestly blessing petitions God's protection and favor; thematically similar to asking that the name of God 'lift you up' or protect you in trouble.
- Psalm 18:6 (verbal): 'In my distress I called to the LORD… he heard' mirrors the request that the LORD answer in the day of trouble and intervene on behalf of the supplicant.
Alternative generated candidates
- May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob exalt you.
- May the LORD answer you on the day of trouble; may the Name of the God of Jacob set you on high.
Psa.20.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עזרך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2,m,sg
- מקדש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומציון: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יסעדך: VERB,hiphil,impf,3,m,sg,obj:2ms
Parallels
- Psalm 18:6 (verbal): Speaker cries for help and God hears 'from his temple' — verbal parallel to help sent 'from the sanctuary' in Ps 20:3.
- Psalm 20:6 (structural): Same psalm: petitions for divine help continue with assurance God will 'answer...from his holy heaven,' a close thematic/locational parallel to 'from the sanctuary...from Zion.'
- Psalm 121:1-2 (thematic): Both verses affirm that help/protection comes from the LORD (from his dwelling), emphasizing divine aid as originating with God rather than human resources.
- Isaiah 52:7 (allusion): The proclamation of salvation to Zion connects Zion as the source/recipient of God's saving action, resonating with Ps 20:3's appeal for support 'from Zion.'
Alternative generated candidates
- May he send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion.
- May he send you help from the sanctuary, and sustain you from Zion.
Psa.20.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יזכר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- מנחתך: NOUN,f,sg,cs+2ms
- ועולתך: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,poss:2ms
- ידשנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,obj:3,f,sg
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Ps.21:2 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language: 'He has given him his heart's desire' / 'may he give you your heart's desire' — a parallel royal prayer/benediction formula.
- Gen.8:20-21 (thematic): Noah's burnt offering and God's favorable acceptance ('the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma') parallels the petition that God remember and accept the burnt offering.
- Ps.141:2 (thematic): Prayer is likened to sacrifice ('Let my prayer be counted as incense… as the evening sacrifice'), connecting petitions with sacrificial acceptance as in Ps 20:4.
- Ps.50:14-15 (thematic): Combines offering and petition ('Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving… Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you') — linking sacrificial acts with God's responsive help, similar to Ps 20's request that God regard offerings and grant aid.
Alternative generated candidates
- May he remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah.
- May he remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offering. Selah.
Psa.20.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יתן: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- כלבבך: DET+NOUN,m,sg,abs+pr,2,m,sg
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- עצתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ימלא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ps.20.4 (verbal): Almost identical petition in preceding verse: 'May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed,' echoing request that God fulfill one's heart's desire and counsel.
- Ps.21.2 (verbal): Very similar language: 'You have given him his heart's desire,' affirming that God grants the king's desires—close verbal parallel to granting the heart's wishes.
- Ps.37.4 (thematic): 'Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart' — same theme that God grants the heart's desires when rightly oriented toward him.
- Ps.145:19 (verbal): 'He fulfills the desire of those who fear him'—uses near-identical vocabulary about God fulfilling desires, reinforcing the theological promise in Ps 20:5.
- John 15:7 (thematic): 'If you abide in me... ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you' — New Testament parallel linking relational fidelity to God with the granting of requests/desires.
Alternative generated candidates
- May he grant you the desire of your heart and fulfill all your plans.
- May he grant you according to your heart and fulfill all your counsel.
Psa.20.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נרננה: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- בישועתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff2
- ובשם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- נדגל: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- ימלא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- משאלותיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 20:4 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same psalm: expresses the petition that God grant the heart's desire and fulfill plans—closely mirrored by 'May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.'
- Psalm 21:1-2 (thematic): Both psalms celebrate divine salvation for the king and state that God grants the king's desires and answers his requests ('You have given him his heart’s desire; you have not withheld the request of his lips').
- Psalm 145:19 (thematic): Declares that God 'fulfills the desire of those who fear him,' echoing the theme of God answering and granting petitions and salvation in Psalm 20:6.
- Psalm 37:4 (thematic): Promises that delighting in the LORD results in God giving the desires of the heart, thematically related to God fulfilling petitions and granting salvation.
- Psalm 20:9 (structural): Parallel petition-form at the close of the psalm—'O LORD, save the king! May he answer us on the day we call'—which reinforces the communal plea for God to fulfill requests and grant salvation.
Alternative generated candidates
- We will shout for joy at your salvation; in the name of our God we will raise banners. May the LORD grant all your petitions.
- We will shout for joy at your salvation; in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
Psa.20.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עתה: ADV
- ידעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- כי: CONJ
- הושיע: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- משיחו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- יענהו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg+obj3,m
- משמי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- קדשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בגברות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ישע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ימינו: NOUN,m,sg,suff-3ms
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 22:51 (verbal): David's victory-song (paralleled with Psalm 18) uses nearly identical language: God 'gives great salvation to his king' and 'shows steadfast love to his anointed,' echoing 'the LORD saves his anointed.'
- Psalm 18:50 (18:49 MT/Num) (verbal): Psalm 18 (a close parallel to 2 Samuel 22) contains the same tradition of God rescuing and favoring 'his anointed,' reflecting the same royal-salvation motif found in Ps 20:7.
- Psalm 3:4 (verbal): Psalmist testimony 'I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill' parallels Ps 20:7's claim that God 'answers him from his holy heaven,' linking divine response from a sacred divine locus.
- Exodus 15:6 (thematic): The Song at the Red Sea celebrates God's right hand as the instrument of victory ('Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power'), which parallels Ps 20:7's reference to salvation accomplished by 'the saving might of his right hand.'
- Psalm 118:15-16 (thematic): This psalm celebrates rejoicing and salvation tied to 'the right hand of the LORD' doing valiantly; it echoes Ps 20:7's association of God's right hand with deliverance on behalf of the king.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the mighty saving power of his right hand.
- Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
Psa.20.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- ברכב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואלה: CONJ+DEM,pl,abs
- בסוסים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואנחנו: CONJ+PRON,1,pl
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- נזכיר: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 31:1 (verbal): Explicitly condemns relying on Egypt, horses and chariots rather than on the LORD—language and critique closely parallel Ps 20:7–8.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (verbal): Declares that a king or warrior is not saved by military strength and that the warhorse is a vain hope—directly echoes the theme of trust in God, not in horses/chariots.
- Proverbs 21:31 (thematic): ‘The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the LORD’—contrasts human military preparation with divine sovereignty, paralleling Ps 20:8's choice to trust God's name.
- Psalm 118:8-9 (thematic): ‘It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man’—captures the same decision to rely on God rather than on human/military power found in Ps 20:8.
- 1 Samuel 17:45-47 (thematic): David rejects conventional military power (sword/spear) and attributes victory to the name of the LORD—structurally and thematically parallels the psalm’s reliance on God's name rather than horses/chariots.
Alternative generated candidates
- Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will call upon the name of the LORD our God.
- Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will call upon the name of the LORD our God.
Psa.20.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- כרעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ונפלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואנחנו: CONJ+PRON,1,pl
- קמנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- ונתעודד: CONJ+VERB,hit,impf,1,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 68:1-2 (verbal): Both texts depict God arising and the consequent overthrow/scattering of his foes—an explicit motif of enemies falling while the faithful are upheld.
- Psalm 44:5 (thematic): Like Ps 20:9, this verse affirms that through God the community will push down or tread on enemies, highlighting divine-enabled victory and the people's standing.
- Judges 7:22 (structural): Gideon's battle report shows a reversal—the enemy is routed and falls while Israel remains standing—paralleling the image of foes fallen and God's people risen.
- Exodus 14:13-14,28 (thematic): At the Red Sea the Israelites stand (saved) while the pursuing Egyptians are overwhelmed and perish—a prominent OT instance of enemies falling and the people preserved/standing.
Alternative generated candidates
- They are bowed down and have fallen, but we have risen and stand upright.
- They will collapse and fall, but we will rise and stand firm.
To the chief musician. A psalm of David.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob uphold you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary; may he sustain you from Zion.
May he remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offering. Selah.
May he grant you the desire of your heart and fulfill all your plans.
We will shout for joy in your salvation; in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heavens with the mighty saving power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will call upon the name of the LORD our God.
They are bowed down and have fallen, but we rise and stand upright.