Mazmur 143:1-7

Psalm 143 ¹ 

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 ²  your servant,

for no one alive is innocent before you. ³ 

143:3 Certainly ⁴  my enemies ⁵  chase me.

They smash me into the ground. ⁶ 

They force me to live ⁷  in dark regions, ⁸ 

like those who have been dead for ages.

143:4 My strength leaves me; ⁹ 

I am absolutely shocked. ¹⁰ 

143:5 I recall the old days; ¹¹ 

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on your accomplishments. ¹² 

143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; ¹³ 

my soul thirsts for you in a parched ¹⁴  land. ¹⁵ 

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ¹⁶ 

Do not reject me, ¹⁷ 

or I will join ¹⁸  those descending into the grave. ¹⁹ 

[143:1]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”

[143:2]  ³ tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”

[143:3]  ⁴ tn Or “for.”

[143:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”

[143:3]  ⁷ tn Or “sit.”

[143:3]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[143:4]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

[143:5]  ¹² tn Heb “the work of your hands.”

[143:6]  ¹³ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

[143:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

[143:6]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ¹⁹ 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.