STROPHE DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
| NASB | NKJV | NRSV | TEV | NJB |
| Prayer for Victory Over Enemies | The Assurance of God’s Saving Work | Prayer for the King’s Victory in Battle | A Prayer for Victory | Prayer for the King |
| MT Intro For the choir director. A Psalm of David. |
||||
| 20:1-3 | 20:1-3 | 20:1-3 | 20:1-5 | 20:1-2 |
| 20:3-4 | ||||
| 20:4-5 | 20:4-5 | 20:4-5 | ||
| 20:5a | ||||
| 20:5b | ||||
| 20:6-9 | 20:6 | 20:6-8 | 20:6-8 | 20:6 |
| 20:7-8 | 20:7-8 | |||
| 20:9 | 20:9 | 20:9 | 20:9 |
READING CYCLE THREE (see
“Bible
Interpretation Seminar”)
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which
means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the
light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not
relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare
your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is
the key to following the original author’s intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every
paragraph has one and only one subject.
- First paragraph
- Second paragraph
- Third paragraph, etc.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS
- This may have been a liturgical prelude to battle, as Psalm 21 is a liturgy of welcoming
home the victorious king and army. - The offerings of Ps. 20:3 (i.e., “meal” and “fat”) may have been
the expected sacrificial offerings before a battle. - The song/shout and the banners of Ps. 20:5 may have been the expected ways of welcoming
home a victorious king. Psalm 21 may be the song referred to in Ps. 20:5.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 20:1-3
1May
the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob set
you securely on high!
2May
He send you help from the sanctuary
And
support you from Zion!
3May
He remember all your meal offerings
And
find your burnt offering acceptable! Selah.
20:1-3,4-5 This strophe is a prayer, as is Ps. 20:4-5, to plead with YHWH to help His
covenant representative (i.e., the Davidic king, cf. 1 Sam. 8:7; 10:19) in battle (cf. Ps. 20:5,7).
Notice the series of IMPERFECTS used in a JUSSIVE sense
(cf. NASB, NRSV, REB, NIV, JPSOA, i.e., prayer requests) in Ps. 20:1-5.
- May the Lord answer you – BDB 772, KB 851, Qal
IMPERFECT - May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high – BDB 960, KB 1305, Piel
IMPERFECT - May He send you help from the sanctuary – BDB 1018, KB 1511, Qal
IMPERFECT - May He support you from Zion – BDB 703, KB 761, Qal IMPERFECT
- May He remember all your meal offerings – BDB 269, KB 269, Qal
IMPERFECT - May He grant you your heart’s desire – BDB 678, KB 733, Qal
IMPERFECT, cf. Ps. 21:2; 37:4 - May He fulfill all your counsel/purpose – BDB 569, KB 583, Piel
IMPERFECT - May He fulfill all your petitions – same as #7
20:1 “in the day of trouble” This is a recurrent phrase (cf. Gen. 35:3;
2 Kgs. 19:3; Ps. 50:15; 77:2; 86:7; Pro. 24:10; 25:19; Isa. 37:3; Jer. 16:19; Obad. 1:12,14;
Nah. 1:7; Hab. 3:16). It stands for many different life problems that occur in this fallen
world. The news is that God is aware of our problems (i.e., Exod. 3:7-8) and is with us in
the midst of those problems. He is the answer to all human need and amazingly He is pursuing us!
The term “day” (BDB 398) has several connotations.
▣ “the name of the God of Jacob” There are two Special Topics that illuminate
this phrase.
| ▣ | |
| NASB | ”set you securely on high” |
| NKJV | ”defend you” |
| NRSV, TEV, NJB, LXX | ”protect you” |
| JPSOA | ”keep you safe” |
| REB | ”be your tower of strength” |
The MT VERB (BDB 960, KB 1305, Piel IMPERFECT
used in a JUSSIVE sense) is from the root “to be high,” and thereby
inaccessible and secure (cf. Ps. 59:1; 69:29; 91:14; 107:41). This is the same imagery of a high,
defensible fortress used in Ps. 18:2!
20:2 “from the sanctuary. . .from Zion” These are parallel lines of poetry. Both
refer to the temple in Jerusalem. It was not built in David’s day but the tabernacle was
there. Jerusalem was built on seven hills; the temple was built on Mt. Moriah (cf. 1 Chr. 21:18;
2 Chr. 3:1). Mt. Zion was the site of the Jebusite fortress captured by David (cf. 2 Sam. 5:7;
1 Chr. 11:5), as well as the site for his palace. It came to be the name used for the entire city
of Jerusalem and the phrase “daughter of Zion” for the Israelite people (cf. 2 Kgs. 19:21).
Notice that Ps. 20:6 uses the phrase “from His holy heaven,” which is
another parallel.
20:3 “Selah” See note at Ps. 3:2 and Introduction to Psalms, VII.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 20:4-5
4May
He grant you your heart’s desire
And
fulfill all your counsel!
5We
will sing for joy over your victory,
And
in the name of our God we will set up our banners.
May the Lord
fulfill all your petitions.
20:4 “your heart’s desire” This is “the” issue of peace and trust. A good
example of an appropriate desire for a Davidic King is Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple
(cf. 1 Kgs. 8:22-61).
| 20:5 | |
| NASB | ”We will sing for joy” |
| NKJV, LXX | ”we will rejoice” |
| NRSV, TEV, JPSOA | ”we shout for joy” |
| NJB | ”with joy we can hail. . .” |
| REB | ”Let us sing aloud your praise” |
This VERB (BDB 943, KB 1247, Piel COHORTATIVE)
denotes a “shout” for good or bad, depending on the context. Here it is rejoicing over
the military victory accomplished by YHWH (cf. Zeph. 3:14).
▣ “we will set up our banners” This follows דגל (BDB 186,
KB 213, Qal IMPERFECT [found only here in the OT] used in a COHORTATIVE
sense). It would be an expected welcome procedure for the victorious king and military.
The NET Bible (p. 875) recommends an emendation to another verbal root,
נגיל, from BDB 162 with PREPOSITION. The NET Bible suggests
this fits the parallelism better and also notes Ps. 89:16, where the VERB is used
in connection with “in Your name.”
▣ “petitions” This rare NOUN (BDB 982) is found only twice
in the OT, here and Ps. 37:4. The VERB root (BDB 981) means “ask.” The
root occurs in several names (cf. 1 Sam. 9:2,3,5; 1 Chr. 1:48,49; 4:24; 6:24).
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 20:6-9
6Now
I know that the Lordsaves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy
heaven
With the saving
strength of His right hand.
7Some
boast in chariots and some in horses,
But we will boast in the name of the
Lord, our God.
8They have bowed down and
fallen,
But we have risen
and stood upright.
9Save,
O Lord;
May
the King answer us in the day we call.
20:6-9 The psalmist (i.e., the King, a priest, or a collective SINGULAR;
Ps. 20:9 fits this last option best) affirms his confidence that YHWH will respond appropriately.
- Now I know ‒ BDB 393, KB 390, Qal PERFECT
- YHWH saves ‒ BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil PERFECT
The VERB denotes a settled confidence (cf. Ps. 56:9; 118:6;
Rom. 8:31-39). YHWH will hear and answer positively (cf. Ps. 20:6b,c). The King and the covenant
people are part of a larger universal redemptive plan for all humanity.
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH’S ETERNAL
REDEMPTIVE PLAN)
20:6 “His anointed” This is the Hebrew VERB “anoint”
(BDB 603), which became a popular title for God’s Special Coming King (cf. Ps. 2:2; 18:50). See Special Topics
▣ “His right hand” This is a Hebrew idiom of power, authority to act.
20:7 The VERB “boast” (BDB 269, KB 269, Hiphil
IMPERFECT) is literally “cause to remember,” with the connotation
of rejoicing or praising in some past event or blessing or person. It denotes that in which one
trusts.
- human power (i.e., chariots, horses, soldiers, weaponry, etc.)
- YHWH and His promises
The concept of “boasting” is significant in the Bible; note especially
Jer. 9:23-24. See the use of the concept in Paul’s writings in the Special Topic below.
Here are some good parallel texts – Deut. 20:1; 31:6,8; Jdgs. 7:2; 1 Sam. 17:45,47;
2 Chr. 20:17; 32:8; Ps. 33:16,17; 44:2-3,4-8; 60:11-12; 146:3-7; 147:10; Pro. 21:31; Isa. 31:3;
Jer. 17:5; Zech. 4:6! What are you trusting in/boasting about?
20:8 Note the antithetical parallelism. There are consequences to our words/actions!
20:9 “Save, O Lord” This is an exclamatory prayer
request (BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil IMPERATIVE (cf. Ps. 3:7; 6:4; 17:13).
▣ “May the King answer us in the day we call” The grammatical form of the
VERB is a Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense.
The LXX and several English translations see it referring to the prayers of the people for the King
(cf. Ps. 20:6; Ps. 21:7; NRSV; TEV; NJB; REB) or “King” may refer to YHWH (cf. Targums’
UBS Handbook, p. 202; also note Ps. 98:6; 145:1).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE
KINGDOM OF GOD
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are
responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this
section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
- List all the prayer requests that start with “may. . .” in verses 1-5.
- What does “may He grant you your heart’s desire” mean?
- Does verse 5 imply a military victory? Why?
- Who is YHWH’s “anointed”?
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