Psalms 20:1
לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃
For the choirmaster. A psalm of David.
KJV To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- Verse 1 continues the psalm's thematic and structural development.
Translator's Introduction
What This Chapter Is About
A royal liturgy spoken by the congregation on behalf of the king as he prepares to go to war. The people pray for God to answer the king from his holy place, to send help from the sanctuary and support from Zion, to remember his offerings and accept his sacrifices. The psalm builds to a declaration of trust: 'Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we call on the name of the LORD our God.' It ends with a final petition for the king's victory and God's answer.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
Psalm 20 is a rare window into the liturgical life of the pre-exilic temple. The congregation speaks to and about the king, praying for his success before battle. The structure suggests a ceremony: the people speak their blessings (vv. 2-6), a solo voice (perhaps a priest or prophet) declares confidence in divine anointing (v. 7), the people affirm their trust (vv. 8-9), and all join in the final petition (v. 10). The theological center is verse 8: the distinction between trusting in military technology (chariots and horses) and trusting in the name (shem) of the LORD. The 'name' in Israelite theology is not a label but the accessible presence of God — to invoke the name is to invoke the person. The psalm insists that Israel's military strategy is ultimately theological: they go to war in the name of the LORD, not in the strength of their arsenal.
Translation Friction
The psalm assumes the legitimacy of the Davidic monarchy and the efficacy of temple sacrifice — the king's offerings and burnt sacrifices (vv. 4) are presented as genuine means of securing divine favor. For post-exilic readers (and for all later readers without king or temple), the psalm requires transposition: from literal king to awaited messiah, from physical temple to spiritual worship, from military battle to spiritual conflict. The psalm also raises the question of how divine favor relates to military outcome — Israel did not always win its wars, even when the king sacrificed and the people prayed.
Connections
Psalm 21 is the companion piece — where Psalm 20 prays for victory before battle, Psalm 21 gives thanks for victory after battle. The pair forms a liturgical unit. The chariots-and-horses statement (v. 8) echoes Deuteronomy 17:16, which prohibits the king from multiplying horses (military power), and Isaiah 31:1, which warns against relying on Egyptian cavalry. The phrase 'the name of the LORD our God' (shem YHVH Eloheinu) connects to the third commandment's prohibition against carrying God's name for emptiness (Exodus 20:7) — here the name is carried into battle as a banner of trust.
Psalms 20:2
יַֽעַנְךָ֣ יְ֭הוָה בְּי֣וֹם צָרָ֑ה יְ֝שַׂגֶּבְךָ֗ שֵׁ֤ם ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֬י יַעֲקֹֽב׃
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob set you safely on high.
KJV The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
שֵׁם shem
"name" — name, reputation, renown, identity, the accessible presence of a person or God
In Israelite thought, a name is not merely a label but contains the essence and authority of the person it represents. God's shem is his self-revelation — the identity he has made known, through which human beings can access his presence and power.
Translator Notes
- The 'name' (shem) of God in Israelite theology functions as a near-synonym for God's presence. The temple was the place where God caused his name to dwell (Deuteronomy 12:5). To pray in God's name is to access God himself through the revealed identity he has shared.
Psalms 20:3
יִשְׁלַח־עֶזְרְךָ֥ מִקֹּ֑דֶשׁ וּ֝מִצִּיּ֗וֹן יִסְעָדֶֽךָּ׃
May he send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion.
KJV Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- The help (ezer) comes from qodesh ('the holy place, the sanctuary') and from Zion — the physical location where God's presence dwells. The theology is spatial: divine aid emanates from the temple and travels to the battlefield. The sanctuary is not merely a place of worship but a base of operations for divine intervention.
Psalms 20:4
יִזְכֹּ֥ר כׇּל־מִנְחֹתֶ֑ךָ וְעוֹלָתְךָ֖ יְדַשְּׁנֶ֣ה סֶֽלָה׃
May he remember all your grain offerings and accept your burnt offering. Selah.
KJV Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- The minchah ('grain offering') and olah ('burnt offering') represent the king's pre-battle worship. The king does not march to war without first offering sacrifice — the military campaign is embedded in liturgical practice. The army's strength begins at the altar.
Psalms 20:5
יִתֶּן־לְךָ֥ כִלְבָבֶ֑ךָ וְֽכׇל־עֲצָתְךָ֥ יְמַלֵּֽא׃
May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans.
KJV Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- The congregation prays that God will align the outcome with the king's intention: kilvavekha ('according to your heart') and kol atsatekha ('all your counsel/strategy'). The assumption is that the king's plans are righteous — his heart's desire is for the good of the nation and the glory of God. The prayer asks God to give the king what he seeks.
Psalms 20:6
נְרַנְּנָ֤ה ׀ בִּ֘ישׁ֤וּעָתֶ֗ךָ וּבְשֵׁם־אֱלֹהֵ֥ינוּ נִדְגֹּ֑ל יְמַלֵּ֥א יְ֝הוָ֗ה כׇּל־מִשְׁאֲלוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
We will shout for joy over your victory and in the name of our God raise our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your requests.
KJV We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- The banner (degel) was a tribal and military standard in ancient Israel (Numbers 2:2). Here the congregation declares that their banner displays God's name rather than a tribal emblem or royal crest. The battle belongs to the LORD, and the banner makes that claim visible.
Psalms 20:7
עַתָּ֤ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּ֤י הוֹשִׁ֥יעַ ׀ יְהוָ֗ה מְשִׁ֫יח֥וֹ יַ֭עֲנֵהוּ מִשְּׁמֵ֣י קׇדְשׁ֑וֹ בִּ֝גְבֻר֗וֹת יֵ֣שַׁע יְמִינֽוֹ׃
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.
KJV Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
מְשִׁיחוֹ meshicho
"his anointed" — his anointed one, the one he has consecrated with oil for a sacred role
meshicho ('his anointed') is the possessive form — this is not any anointed figure but God's own anointed, the king whom God personally chose and set apart. The anointing creates a bond: what threatens the anointed threatens God's own investment.
Translator Notes
- The shift to first-person singular ('now I know') may indicate a prophetic oracle within the liturgy — a moment when a single voice announces divine assurance to the congregation and the king. This voice transforms the congregation's prayer into confident knowledge.
Psalms 20:8
אֵ֤לֶּה בָרֶ֣כֶב וְאֵ֣לֶּה בַסּוּסִ֑ים וַאֲנַ֓חְנוּ ׀ בְּשֵׁם־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣ינוּ נַזְכִּֽיר׃
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we call on the name of the LORD our God.
KJV Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
רֶכֶב rekhev
"chariots" — chariot, chariotry, vehicle of war
The chariot was the dominant offensive weapon of the ancient Near East from the late Bronze Age onward. Egypt, Assyria, and the Canaanite city-states all relied on chariot forces. Israel's theological tradition consistently warns against trusting in this technology, insisting that divine power supersedes military power.
Translator Notes
- The distinction between trusting in chariots/horses and trusting in God's name is foundational to Israelite theology. Deuteronomy 17:16 prohibits the king from multiplying horses. Isaiah 31:1 pronounces woe on those who go to Egypt for horses. The psalm institutionalizes this warning as congregational confession: our security is the name, not the arsenal.
Psalms 20:9
הֵ֭מָּה כָּרְע֣וּ וְנָפָ֑לוּ וַאֲנַ֥חְנוּ קַּ֝֗מְנוּ וַנִּתְעוֹדָֽד׃
They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand firm.
KJV They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- The perfect tenses ('they have collapsed,' 'we have risen') may be prophetic perfects — describing the future outcome with such certainty that past tense is used. The congregation speaks of the battle's result as already accomplished, expressing faith that God's answer is certain.
Psalms 20:10
יְהוָ֥ה הוֹשִׁ֑יעָה הַ֝מֶּ֗לֶךְ יַעֲנֵ֥נוּ בְיוֹם־קׇרְאֵֽנוּ׃
LORD, save the king! Answer us on the day we call.
KJV Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- The textual division of this verse is debated. The Masoretic accents suggest 'LORD, save! May the king answer us on the day we call.' But many translators read 'LORD, save the king! Answer us on the day we call.' The ambiguity may be deliberate, allowing the verse to function as both a prayer for the king and a prayer for the congregation.