¹tn The Hebrew term hm (“how”) is used here as an adverbial exclamation (see BDB 553).
²tn Heb “many rise up against me.”
³tn Heb “there is no deliverance for him in God.”
⁴sn The function of the Hebrew term hls, transliterated here “Selah,” is uncertain. It may be a musical direction of some kind.
⁵tn Heb “a shield round about me.”
⁶tn Heb “my glory,” or “my honor.” The psalmist affirms that the Lord is his source of honor, i.e., the one who gives him honor in the sight of others. According to BDB (459), the phrase refers to God as the one to whom the psalmist gives honor. But the immediate context focuses on what God does for the psalmist, not vice-versa.
⁷tn Heb “[the one who] lifts my head.” The weary psalmist’s “head is down,” but he is confident the Lord “will lift his head” by giving him renewed physical strength and emotional vigor (see Ps 110:7). Since the figure of “lifting the head” could be understood in various ways by the modern reader, the less ambiguous “give me renewed strength” has been used in the translation.
⁸tn The prefixed verbal form could be an imperfect, yielding the translation “I cry out,” but the verb form in the next line (a vav consecutive with the preterite) suggests this is a brief narrative of what has already happened. Consequently the verb form in v. 4a is better understood as a preterite, “I cried out.” (For another example of the preterite of this same verb form, see Ps 30:8.) Sometime after the crisis arose, the psalmist prayed to the Lord and received an assuring answer. Now he confidently awaits the fulfillment of the divine promise.
⁹sn His holy hill. That is, Zion (see Pss 2:6; 48:1-2). The psalmist recognizes that the Lord dwells in his sanctuary on Mount Zion.
¹⁰tn The three verbal forms that appear in succession here (perfect + vav consecutive with preterite + perfect) are most naturally taken as narrational. When the psalmist received an assuring word from the Lord, he was able to sleep calmly. Because the Lord was protecting him, he awoke safely from his sleep.
¹¹tn Or “supports”; “sustains.” In this explanatory causal clause the imperfect verbal form probably has a habitual or present progressive nuance, for the psalmist is confident of God’s continual protection (see v. 3). Another option is to take the verb as a preterite, “for the Lord protected me.” In this case, the psalmist focuses specifically on the protection God provided while he slept.
¹²tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s continuing attitude as he faces the crisis at hand.
¹³tn Or perhaps “troops.” The Hebrew noun <u sometimes refers to a military contingent or army.
¹⁴tn Heb “who all around take a stand against me.”
¹⁵tn In v. 2 the psalmist describes his enemies as those who “confront” him (<ymq, literally, “rise up against him”). Now, using the same verbal root (<wq) he asks the Lord to rise up (hmwq) in his defense.
¹⁶tn Elsewhere in the psalms the particle yk, when collocated with a perfect verbal form and subordinated to a preceding imperative directed to God, almost always has an explanatory or causal force (“for, because”) and introduces a motivating argument for why God should respond positively to the request (see Pss 5:10; 6:2; 12:1; 16:1; 41:4; 55:9; 56:1; 57:1; 60:2; 69:1; 74:20; 119:94; 123:3; 142:6; 143:8). (On three occasions the yk is recitative after a verb of perception [“see/know that,” see Pss 4:3; 25:19; 119:159]). If yk is taken as explanatory here, then the psalmist is arguing that God should deliver him now because that is what God characteristically does. However, such a motivating argument is not used in the passages cited above. The motivating argument usually focuses on the nature of the psalmist’s dilemma or the fact that he trusts in the Lord. For this reason it is unlikely that yk has its normal force here. Most scholars understand the particle yk as having an asseverative (emphasizing) function here (“indeed, yes”; NEB leaves the particle untranslated).
¹⁷tn If the particle yk is taken as explanatory, then the perfect verbal forms in v. 7b would describe God’s characteristic behavior. However, as pointed out in the preceding note on the word “yes,” the particle probably has an asseverative force here. If so, the perfects may be taken as indicating rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s assault on his enemies as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm, as expressed before (vv. 3-6) and after this (v. 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“Strike all my enemies on the jaw, break the teeth of the wicked”). See IBHS 494-95. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
¹⁸sn The expression break the teeth may envision violent hand-to hand combat, though it is possible that the enemies are pictured here as a dangerous animal (see Job 29:17).
¹⁹tn In the psalms the Hebrew term <yuvr (“wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.
²⁰tn Heb “to the Lord [is] deliverance.”
²¹tn Heb “upon your people [is] your blessing.” In this context God’s “blessing” includes deliverance/protection, vindication, and sustained life (see Pss 21:3, 6; 24:5).
²²sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.