Mazmur 25:16-18
Konteks25:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone 1 and oppressed!
25:17 Deliver me from my distress; 2
rescue me from my suffering! 3
25:18 See my pain and suffering!
Forgive all my sins! 4
Mazmur 38:1-22
KonteksA psalm of David, written to get God’s attention. 6
38:1 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger!
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury! 7
38:2 For your arrows pierce 8 me,
and your hand presses me down. 9
38:3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment; 10
I am deprived of health because of my sin. 11
38:4 For my sins overwhelm me; 12
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
38:5 My wounds 13 are infected and starting to smell, 14
because of my foolish sins. 15
38:6 I am dazed 16 and completely humiliated; 17
all day long I walk around mourning.
38:7 For I am overcome with shame 18
and my whole body is sick. 19
38:8 I am numb with pain and severely battered; 20
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel. 21
38:9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire; 22
my groaning is not hidden from you.
38:10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me;
I can hardly see. 23
38:11 Because of my condition, 24 even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance; 25
my neighbors stand far away. 26
38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me; 27
those who want to harm me speak destructive words;
all day long they say deceitful things.
38:13 But I am like a deaf man – I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak. 28
38:14 I am like a man who cannot hear
and is incapable of arguing his defense. 29
38:15 Yet 30 I wait for you, O Lord!
You will respond, O Lord, my God!
38:16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me; 31
when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me. 32
38:17 For I am about to stumble,
and I am in constant pain. 33
38:18 Yes, 34 I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous; 35
those who hate me without cause outnumber me. 36
38:20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me. 37
38:21 Do not abandon me, O Lord!
My God, do not remain far away from me!
38:22 Hurry and help me, 38 O Lord, my deliverer!
Mazmur 42:1-11
KonteksBook 2
(Psalms 42-72)
For the music director; a well-written song 40 by the Korahites.
42:1 As a deer 41 longs 42 for streams of water,
so I long 43 for you, O God!
for the living God.
I say, 45 “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?” 46
42:3 I cannot eat, I weep day and night; 47
all day long they say to me, 48 “Where is your God?”
42:4 I will remember and weep! 49
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival. 50
42:5 Why are you depressed, 51 O my soul? 52
Why are you upset? 53
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 54
so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, 56
from Hermon, 57 from Mount Mizar. 58
42:7 One deep stream calls out to another 59 at the sound of your waterfalls; 60
all your billows and waves overwhelm me. 61
42:8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, 62
and by night he gives me a song, 63
a prayer 64 to the living God.
42:9 I will pray 65 to God, my high ridge: 66
“Why do you ignore 67 me?
Why must I walk around mourning 68
because my enemies oppress me?”
42:10 My enemies’ taunts cut into me to the bone, 69
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 70
42:11 Why are you depressed, 71 O my soul? 72
Why are you upset? 73
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. 74
Mazmur 69:1-3
KonteksFor the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” 76 by David.
69:1 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck. 77
69:2 I sink into the deep mire
where there is no solid ground; 78
I am in 79 deep water,
and the current overpowers me.
69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;
my throat is sore; 80
my eyes grow tired of looking for my God. 81
Mazmur 109:22-25
Konteks109:22 For I am oppressed and needy,
and my heart beats violently within me. 82
109:23 I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; 83
I am shaken off like a locust.
109:24 I am so starved my knees shake; 84
I have turned into skin and bones. 85
109:25 I am disdained by them. 86
When they see me, they shake their heads. 87
[25:16] 1 tn That is, helpless and vulnerable.
[25:17] 2 tc Heb “the distresses of my heart, they make wide.” The text makes little if any sense as it stands, unless this is an otherwise unattested intransitive use of the Hiphil of רָחַב (rakhav, “be wide”). It is preferable to emend the form הִרְחִיבוּ (hirkhivu; Hiphil perfect third plural “they make wide”) to הַרְחֵיב (harkhev; Hiphil imperative masculine singular “make wide”). (The final vav [ו] can be joined to the following word and taken as a conjunction.) In this case one can translate, “[in/from] the distresses of my heart, make wide [a place for me],” that is, “deliver me from the distress I am experiencing.” For the expression “make wide [a place for me],” see Ps 4:1.
[25:17] 3 tn Heb “from my distresses lead me out.”
[25:18] 4 tn Heb “lift up all my sins.”
[38:1] 5 sn Psalm 38. The author asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. He confesses his sin and recognizes that the crisis he faces is the result of divine discipline. Yet he begs the Lord not to reject him.
[38:1] 6 tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “to cause to remember.” The same form, the Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the heading of Ps 70. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).
[38:1] 7 tn The words “continue to” are supplied in the translation of both lines. The following verses make it clear that the psalmist is already experiencing divine rebuke/punishment. He asks that it might cease.
[38:1] sn Compare Ps 38:1 with Ps 6:1, which has similar wording.
[38:2] 8 tn The verb Hebrew נָחַת (nakhat) apparently here means “penetrate, pierce” (note the use of the Qal in Prov 17:10). The psalmist pictures the
[38:2] 9 tn Heb “and your hand [?] upon me.” The meaning of the verb נָחַת (nakhat) is unclear in this context. It is preferable to emend the form to וַתָּנַח (vattanakh) from the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”). In this case the text would read literally, “and your hand rests upon me” (see Isa 25:10, though the phrase is used in a positive sense there, unlike Ps 38:2).
[38:3] 10 tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh from before your anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger at the psalmist’s sin.
[38:3] 11 tn Heb “there is no health in my bones from before my sin.”
[38:4] 12 tn Heb “pass over my head.”
[38:5] 13 sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows.
[38:5] 14 tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB).
[38:5] 15 tn Heb “from before my foolishness.”
[38:6] 16 tn The verb’s precise shade of meaning in this context is not entirely clear. The verb, which literally means “to bend,” may refer to the psalmist’s posture. In Isa 21:3 it seems to mean “be confused, dazed.”
[38:6] 17 tn Heb “I am bowed down to excess.”
[38:7] 18 tn Heb “for my loins are filled with shame.” The “loins” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. The present translation assumes that נִקְלֶה (niqleh) is derived from קָלָה (qalah, “be dishonored”). Some derive it instead from a homonymic root קָלָה (qalah), meaning “to roast.” In this case one might translate “fever” (cf. NEB “my loins burn with fever”).
[38:7] 19 tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh” (see v. 3).
[38:8] 20 tn Heb “I am numb and crushed to excess.”
[38:8] 21 tn Heb “I roar because of the moaning of my heart.”
[38:9] 22 tn Heb “O Lord, before you [is] all my desire.”
[38:10] 23 tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).
[38:11] 24 tn Or “wound,” or “illness.”
[38:11] 25 tn Heb “stand [aloof].”
[38:11] 26 tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.”
[38:12] 27 tn Heb “lay snares.”
[38:13] 28 sn I am like a deaf man…like a mute. The psalmist is like a deaf mute; he is incapable of defending himself and is vulnerable to his enemies’ deception (see v. 14).
[38:14] 29 tn Heb “and there is not in his mouth arguments.”
[38:15] 30 tn Or perhaps “surely.”
[38:16] 31 tn Heb “For I said, ‘Lest they rejoice over me.’” The psalmist recalls the motivating argument of his petition. He probably prefaced this statement with a prayer for deliverance (see Pss 7:1-2; 13:3-4; 28:1).
[38:16] 32 tn Heb “they will magnify against me.” See Pss 35:26; 55:13.
[38:17] 33 tn Heb “and my pain [is] before me continually.”
[38:18] 34 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.
[38:19] 35 tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).
[38:20] 37 tn Heb “the ones who repay evil instead of good accuse me, instead of my pursuing good.”
[38:22] 38 tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Ps 22:19.
[42:1] 39 sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew
[42:1] 40 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.
[42:1] 41 tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (’ayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (’ayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.
[42:1] 42 tn Or “pants [with thirst].”
[42:1] 43 tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
[42:2] 44 tn Or “my soul thirsts.”
[42:2] 45 tn The words “I say” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
[42:2] 46 tn Heb “When will I go and appear [to] the face of God?” Some emend the Niphal verbal form אֵרָאֶה (’era’eh, “I will appear”) to a Qal אֶרְאֶה (’er’eh, “I will see”; see Gen 33:10), but the Niphal can be retained if one understands ellipsis of אֶת (’et) before “face” (see Exod 34:24; Deut 31:11).
[42:3] 47 tn Heb “My tears have become my food day and night.”
[42:3] 48 tn Heb “when [they] say to me all the day.” The suffixed third masculine plural pronoun may have been accidentally omitted from the infinitive בֶּאֱמֹר (be’ÿmor, “when [they] say”). Note the term בְּאָמְרָם (bÿ’omram, “when they say”) in v. 10.
[42:4] 49 tn Heb “These things I will remember and I will pour out upon myself my soul.” “These things” are identified in the second half of the verse as those times when the psalmist worshiped in the
[42:4] 50 tc Heb “for I was passing by with the throng [?], I was walking with [?] them to the house of God; with a voice of a ringing shout and thanksgiving a multitude was observing a festival.” The Hebrew phrase בַּסָּךְ אֶדַּדֵּם (bassakh ’eddaddem, “with the throng [?] I was walking with [?]”) is particularly problematic. The noun סָךְ (sakh) occurs only here. If it corresponds to הָמוֹן (hamon, “multitude”) then one can propose a meaning “throng.” The present translation assumes this reading (cf. NIV, NRSV). The form אֶדַּדֵּם (“I will walk with [?]”) is also very problematic. The form can be taken as a Hitpael from דָּדָה (dadah; this verb possibly appears in Isa 38:15), but the pronominal suffix is problematic. For this reason many emend the form to ם[י]אַדִּרִ (’adirim, “nobles”) or ם-רִ[י]אַדִ (’adirim, “great,” with enclitic mem [ם]). The present translation understands the latter and takes the adjective “great” as modifying “throng.” If one emends סָךְ (sakh, “throng [?]”) to סֹךְ (sokh, “shelter”; see the Qere of Ps 27:5), then ר[י]אַדִּ (’addir) could be taken as a divine epithet, “[in the shelter of] the majestic one,” a reading which may find support in the LXX and Syriac Peshitta.
[42:5] 51 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
[42:5] 52 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
[42:5] 53 tn Heb “and [why] are you in turmoil upon me?” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the descriptive present nuance of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.
[42:5] 54 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of his face.” The verse division in the Hebrew text is incorrect. אֱלֹהַי (’elohay, “my God”) at the beginning of v. 7 belongs with the end of v. 6 (see the corresponding refrains in 42:11 and 43:5, both of which end with “my God” after “saving acts of my face”). The Hebrew term פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”) should be emended to פְּנֵי (pÿney, “face of”). The emended text reads, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention.
[42:6] 55 tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.
[42:6] 56 tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” “Remember” is here used metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). As the next line indicates, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates, is in view.
[42:6] 57 tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.
[42:6] 58 tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mits’ar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.
[42:7] 59 tn Heb “deep calls to deep.” The Hebrew noun תְּהוֹם (tÿhom) often refers to the deep sea, but here, where it is associated with Hermon, it probably refers to mountain streams. The word can be used of streams and rivers (see Deut 8:7; Ezek 31:4).
[42:7] 60 tn The noun צִנּוֹר (tsinnor, “waterfall”) occurs only here and in 2 Sam 5:8, where it apparently refers to a water shaft. The psalmist alludes to the loud rushing sound of mountain streams and cascading waterfalls. Using the poetic device of personification, he imagines the streams calling out to each other as they hear the sound of the waterfalls.
[42:7] 61 tn Heb “pass over me” (see Jonah 2:3). As he hears the sound of the rushing water, the psalmist imagines himself engulfed in the current. By implication he likens his emotional distress to such an experience.
[42:8] 62 sn The psalmist believes that the Lord has not abandoned him, but continues to extend his loyal love. To this point in the psalm, the author has used the name “God,” but now, as he mentions the divine characteristic of loyal love, he switches to the more personal divine name Yahweh (rendered in the translation as “the
[42:8] 63 tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”
[42:8] 64 tc A few medieval Hebrew
[42:9] 65 tn The cohortative form indicates the psalmist’s resolve.
[42:9] 66 tn This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3.
[42:9] 68 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.
[42:10] 69 tc Heb “with a shattering in my bones my enemies taunt me.” A few medieval Hebrew
[42:10] 70 sn “Where is your God?” The enemies ask this same question in v. 3.
[42:11] 71 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
[42:11] 72 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
[42:11] 73 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
[42:11] 74 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.
[69:1] 75 sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.
[69:1] 76 tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.
[69:1] 77 tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.
[69:2] 78 tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”
[69:2] 79 tn Heb “have entered.”
[69:3] 80 tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”
[69:3] 81 tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.
[109:22] 82 tc The verb in the Hebrew text (חָלַל, khalal) appears to be a Qal form from the root חלל meaning “pierced; wounded.” However, the Qal of this root is otherwise unattested. The translation assumes an emendation to יָחִיל (yakhil), a Qal imperfect from חוּל (khul, “tremble”) or to חֹלַל (kholal), a polal perfect from חוּל (khul). See Ps 55:4, which reads לִבִּי יָחִיל בְּקִרְבִּי (libbiy yakhil bÿqirbbiy, “my heart trembles [i.e., “beats violently”] within me”).
[109:23] 83 tn Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.
[109:24] 84 tn Heb “my knees stagger from fasting.”
[109:24] 85 tn Heb “and my flesh is lean away from fatness [i.e., “lean so as not to be fat”].”
[109:25] 86 tn Heb “as for me, I am a reproach to them.”
[109:25] 87 sn They shake their heads. Apparently shaking the head was a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 22:7; Lam 2:15.
