Mazmur 6:6

6:6 I am exhausted as I groan;

all night long I drench my bed in tears; ¹ 

my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. ² 

Mazmur 32:3-4

32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, ³ 

my whole body wasted away, ⁴ 

while I groaned in pain all day long.

32:4 For day and night you tormented me; ⁵ 

you tried to destroy me ⁶  in the intense heat ⁷  of summer. ⁸  (Selah)

Mazmur 38:2

38:2 For your arrows pierce ⁹  me,

and your hand presses me down. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 38:8-10

38:8 I am numb with pain and severely battered; ¹¹ 

I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel. ¹² 

38:9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire; ¹³ 

my groaning is not hidden from you.

38:10 My heart beats quickly;

my strength leaves me;

I can hardly see. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 77:3-9

77:3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;

I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” ¹⁵  (Selah)

77:4 You held my eyelids open; ¹⁶ 

I was troubled and could not speak. ¹⁷ 

77:5 I thought about the days of old,

about ancient times. ¹⁸ 

77:6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;

I will think very carefully.”

I tried to make sense of what was happening. ¹⁹ 

77:7 I asked, ²⁰  “Will the Lord reject me forever?

Will he never again show me his favor?

77:8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?

Has his promise ²¹  failed forever?

77:9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has his anger stifled his compassion?”

Mazmur 119:20

119:20 I desperately long to know ²² 

your regulations at all times.

Mazmur 119:81-83

כ (Kaf)

119:81 I desperately long for ²³  your deliverance.

I find hope in your word.

119:82 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your promise to be fulfilled. ²⁴ 

I say, ²⁵  “When will you comfort me?”

119:83 For ²⁶  I am like a wineskin ²⁷  dried up in smoke. ²⁸ 

I do not forget your statutes.

Mazmur 119:131

119:131 I open my mouth and pant,

because I long ²⁹  for your commands.

[6:6]  ¹ tn Heb “I cause to swim through all the night my bed.”

[6:6]  ² tn Heb “with my tears my bed I flood/melt.”

[32:3]  ³ tn Heb “when I was silent.”

[32:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “my bones became brittle.” The psalmist pictures himself as aging and growing physically weak. Trying to cover up his sin brought severe physical consequences.

[32:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “your hand was heavy upon me.”

[32:4]  ⁶ tc Heb “my [?] was turned.” The meaning of the Hebrew term לְשַׁד (lÿshad) is uncertain. A noun לָשָׁד (lashad, “cake”) is attested in Num 11:8, but it would make no sense to understand that word in this context. It is better to emend the form to לְשֻׁדִּי (lÿshuddiy, “to my destruction”) and understand “your hand” as the subject of the verb “was turned.” In this case the text reads, “[your hand] was turned to my destruction.” In Lam 3:3 the author laments that God’s “hand” was “turned” (הָפַךְ, hafakh) against him in a hostile sense.

[32:4]  sn You tried to destroy me. The psalmist’s statement reflects his perspective. As far as he was concerned, it seemed as if the Lord was trying to kill him.

[32:4]  ⁷ tn The translation assumes that the plural form indicates degree. If one understands the form as a true plural, then one might translate, “in the times of drought.”

[32:4]  ⁸ sn Summer. Perhaps the psalmist suffered during the hot season and perceived the very weather as being an instrument of divine judgment. Another option is that he compares his time of suffering to the uncomfortable and oppressive heat of summer.

[38:2]  ⁹ 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 Lord as a warrior who shoots arrows at him (see Ps 7:12-13).

[38:2]  ¹⁰ 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).

[38:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I am numb and crushed to excess.”

[38:8]  ¹² tn Heb “I roar because of the moaning of my heart.”

[38:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “O Lord, before you [is] all my desire.”

[38:10]  ¹⁴ 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).

[77:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).

[77:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).

[77:4]  ¹⁷ tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.

[77:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the years of antiquity.”

[77:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will remember my song in the night, with my heart I will reflect. And my spirit searched.” As in v. 4, the words of v. 6a are understood as what the psalmist said earlier. Consequently the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 10). The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive at the beginning of the final line is taken as sequential to the perfect “I thought” in v. 6.

[77:7]  ²⁰ tn As in vv. 4 and 6a, the words of vv. 7-9 are understood as a quotation of what the psalmist said earlier. Therefore the words “I asked” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[77:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “word,” which may refer here to God’s word of promise (note the reference to “loyal love” in the preceding line).

[119:20]  ²² tn Heb “my soul languishes for longing for.”

[119:81]  ²³ tn Heb “my soul pines for.” See Ps 84:2.

[119:82]  ²⁴ tn Heb “my eyes fail for your word.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision. See Ps 69:3.

[119:82]  ²⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

[119:83]  ²⁶ tn Or “even though.”

[119:83]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew word נֹאד (no’d, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20).

[119:83]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in the smoke.”

[119:131]  ²⁹ tn The verb occurs only here in the OT.