uW Translation Notes:

Psalm 20 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

Psalm 20 is considered to be one of the “royal psalms.” See the Introduction to Psalms for more information about the royal psalms. 1. Prayer for the king that Yahweh would protect and help him in battle (1–2) 2. Prayer that Yahweh would accept the king’s offerings (3) 3. Prayer that Yahweh would fulfill the king’s desires and plans (4) 4. Anticipation of Yahweh giving his king victory (5) 5. Expression of confidence in Yahweh (6–8) 6. Closing prayer (9)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Psalm

Trust

In verse 7 David asserts that trusting in Yahweh is better than trusting in military might. (See: trust)

Translation Issues in This Psalm

In verses 1–5 who do the pronouns “you” and “your” refer to?

In this psalm all occurrences of the pronouns “you” and “your” that occur in verses 1–5 are singular and refer to Yahweh’s anointed king mentioned in verse 6. Because verse 6 identifies who the pronouns “you” and “your” refer to, you do not need to make this explicit in your translation. Also, if your language has both singular and plural second person pronouns, you should use the singular forms each time you translate the pronouns “you” and “your” in verses 1–5.

Note 1 topic: translate-unknown

לַ⁠מְנַצֵּ֗חַ

(Some words not found in UHB: to,choirmaster song of,David )

The word translated as chief musician likely refers to the person in charge of music for worship. Some languages may have a term for a music leader. Alternate translation: [For the music director] or [For the leader of worship music]