‏ Psalms 27:1-3

Psalm 27 ▼
▼sn Psalm 27. The author is confident of the Lord’s protection and asks the Lord to vindicate him.

By David.

1 The Lord is my light ▼
▼sn “Light” is often used as a metaphor for deliverance and the life/blessings it brings. See Pss 37:6; 97:11; 112:4; Isa 49:6; 51:4; Mic 7:8. Another option is that “light” refers here to divine guidance (see Ps 43:3).
and my salvation.
I fear no one. ▼
▼tn Heb “Whom shall I fear?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one.”

The Lord protects my life.
I am afraid of no one. ▼
▼tn Heb “Of whom shall I be afraid?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “No one!”

2When evil men attack me ▼
▼tn Heb “draw near to me.”

to devour my flesh, ▼
▼sn To devour my flesh. The psalmist compares his enemies to dangerous, hungry predators (see 2 Kgs 9:36; Ezek 39:17).

when my adversaries and enemies attack me, ▼
▼tn Heb “my adversaries and my enemies against me.” The verb “draw near” (that is, “attack”) is understood by ellipsis; see the previous line.

they stumble and fall. ▼
▼tn The Hebrew verbal forms are perfects. The translation assumes the psalmist is generalizing here, but another option is to take this as a report of past experience, “when evil men attacked me…they stumbled and fell.”

3Even when an army is deployed against me,
I do not fear. ▼
▼tn Heb “my heart does not fear.”

Even when war is imminent, ▼
▼tn Heb “if war rises up against me.”

I remain confident. ▼
▼tn Heb “in this [i.e., “during this situation”] I am trusting.”

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