Mazmur 141:1--143:12
KonteksA psalm of David.
141:1 O Lord, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me!
Pay attention to me when I cry out to you!
141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,
my uplifted hands like the evening offering! 2
141:3 O Lord, place a guard on my mouth!
Protect the opening 3 of my lips! 4
141:4 Do not let me have evil desires, 5
or participate in sinful activities
with men who behave wickedly. 6
I will not eat their delicacies. 7
141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!
May my head not refuse 8 choice oil! 9
Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. 10
141:6 They will be thrown down the side of a cliff by their judges. 11
They 12 will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.
141:7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil, 13
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
141:8 Surely I am looking to you, 14 O sovereign Lord.
In you I take shelter.
Do not expose me to danger! 15
141:9 Protect me from the snare they have laid for me,
and the traps the evildoers have set. 16
141:10 Let the wicked fall 17 into their 18 own nets,
while I escape. 19
A well-written song 21 by David, when he was in the cave; 22 a prayer.
142:1 To the Lord I cry out; 23
to the Lord I plead for mercy. 24
142:2 I pour out my lament before him;
I tell him about 25 my troubles.
142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, 26
you watch my footsteps. 27
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
142:4 Look to the right and see!
No one cares about me. 28
I have nowhere to run; 29
no one is concerned about my life. 30
142:5 I cry out to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my security 31 in the land of the living.”
142:6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble! 32
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
that I may give thanks to your name.
Because of me the godly will assemble, 34
for you will vindicate me. 35
A psalm of David.
143:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!
Pay attention to my plea for help!
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me!
143:2 Do not sit in judgment on 37 your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you. 38
143:3 Certainly 39 my enemies 40 chase me.
They smash me into the ground. 41
They force me to live 42 in dark regions, 43
like those who have been dead for ages.
143:4 My strength leaves me; 44
I am absolutely shocked. 45
143:5 I recall the old days; 46
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on your accomplishments. 47
143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; 48
my soul thirsts for you in a parched 49 land. 50
143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!
My strength is fading. 51
Do not reject me, 52
or I will join 53 those descending into the grave. 54
143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, 55
for I trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, 56
because I long for you. 57
143:9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord!
I run to you for protection. 58
143:10 Teach me to do what pleases you, 59
for you are my God.
May your kind presence 60
lead me 61 into a level land. 62
143:11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation, 63 revive me! 64
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble! 65
143:12 As a demonstration of your loyal love, 66 destroy my enemies!
Annihilate 67 all who threaten my life, 68
for I am your servant.
[141:1] 1 sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.
[141:2] 2 tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”
[141:3] 3 tn Heb “door.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.
[141:3] 4 sn My mouth…my lips. The psalmist asks God to protect him from speaking inappropriately or sinfully.
[141:4] 5 tn Heb “do not turn my heart toward an evil thing.”
[141:4] 6 tn Heb “to act sinfully in practices in wickedness with men, doers of evil.”
[141:4] 7 sn Their delicacies. This probably refers to the enjoyment that a sinful lifestyle appears to offer.
[141:5] 8 tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.
[141:5] 9 sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.
[141:5] 10 tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.
[141:6] 11 tn Heb “they are thrown down by the hands of a cliff, their judges.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult and the meaning uncertain. The perfect verbal form is understood as rhetorical; the psalmist describes the anticipated downfall of the wicked as if it had already occurred. “Their judges” could be taken as the subject of the verb, but this makes little, if any, sense. The translation assumes the judges are the agents and that the wicked, mentioned earlier in the psalm, are the subjects of the verb.
[141:6] 12 tn It is unclear how this statement relates to the preceding sentence. Perhaps the judges are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the verb “will listen,” and “my words” are the referent of the pronominal subject (“they”) of the phrase “are pleasant.” The psalmist may be affirming here his confidence that he will be vindicated when he presents his case before the judges, while the wicked will be punished.
[141:7] 13 tn Heb “like splitting and breaking open in the earth.” The meaning of the statement and the point of the comparison are not entirely clear. Perhaps the psalmist is suggesting that he and other godly individuals are as good as dead; their bones are scattered about like dirt that is dug up and tossed aside.
[141:8] 14 tn Heb “my eyes [are] toward you.”
[141:8] 15 tn Heb “do not lay bare my life.” Only here is the Piel form of the verb collocated with the term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”). In Isa 53:12 the Lord’s servant “lays bare (the Hiphil form of the verb is used) his life to death.”
[141:9] 16 tn Heb “and the traps of the doers of evil.”
[141:10] 17 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate, “the wicked will fall.”
[141:10] 19 tn Heb “at the same [that] I, until I pass by.” Another option is to take יַחַד (yakhad) with the preceding line, “let the wicked fall together into their own nets.”
[142:1] 20 sn Psalm 142. The psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.
[142:1] 21 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
[142:1] 22 sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm while in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3. See the superscription of Ps 57.
[142:1] 23 tn Heb “[with] my voice to the
[142:1] 24 tn Heb “[with] my voice to the
[142:2] 25 tn Heb “my trouble before him I declare.”
[142:3] 26 tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”
[142:3] 27 tn Heb “you know my path.”
[142:4] 28 tn Heb “there is no one who recognizes me.”
[142:4] 29 tn Heb “ a place of refuge perishes from me.”
[142:4] 30 tn Heb “there is no one who seeks for the sake of my life.”
[142:5] 31 tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the
[142:6] 32 tn Heb “for I am very low.”
[142:7] 33 tn Heb “bring out my life.”
[142:7] 34 tn Or “gather around.”
[142:7] 35 tn The Hebrew idiom גָּמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.
[143:1] 36 sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.
[143:2] 37 tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”
[143:2] 38 tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”
[143:3] 40 tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).
[143:3] 41 tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”
[143:3] 43 sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).
[143:4] 44 tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”
[143:4] 45 tn Heb “in my midst my heart is shocked.” For a similar use of the Hitpolel of שָׁמֵם (shamem), see Isa 59:16; 63:5.
[143:5] 46 tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”
[143:5] 47 tn Heb “the work of your hands.”
[143:6] 48 tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.
[143:6] 49 tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.
[143:6] 50 tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
[143:7] 51 tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”
[143:7] 52 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
[143:7] 53 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
[143:7] 54 tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.
[143:8] 55 tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.
[143:8] sn The morning is sometimes viewed as the time of divine intervention (see Pss 30:5; 59:16; 90:14).
[143:8] 56 sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).
[143:8] 57 tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).
[143:9] 58 tn Heb “to you I cover,” which makes no sense. The translation assumes an emendation to נַסְתִּי (nastiy, “I flee,” a Qal perfect, first singular form from נוּס, nos). Confusion of kaf (כ) and nun (נ) is attested elsewhere (see P. K. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 48). The collocation of נוּס (“flee”) with אֶל (’el, “to”) is well-attested.
[143:10] 59 tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.
[143:10] 60 tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).
[143:10] 61 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.
[143:10] 62 sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery.
[143:11] 63 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
[143:11] 64 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 11-12a are understood as expressing the psalmist’s desire. Note the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.
[143:11] 65 tn Heb “by your justice bring out my life from trouble.”
[143:12] 66 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
[143:12] 67 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the mood of the preceding imperfect.
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