Mazmur 143:3-6

143:3 Certainly ¹  my enemies ²  chase me.

They smash me into the ground. ³ 

They force me to live ⁴  in dark regions, ⁵ 

like those who have been dead for ages.

143:4 My strength leaves me; ⁶ 

I am absolutely shocked. ⁷ 

143:5 I recall the old days; ⁸ 

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on your accomplishments. ⁹ 

143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; ¹⁰ 

my soul thirsts for you in a parched ¹¹  land. ¹² 

[143:3]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[143:3]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”

[143:3]  ⁴ tn Or “sit.”

[143:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[143:4]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

[143:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “the work of your hands.”

[143:6]  ¹⁰ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

[143:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

[143:6]  ¹² 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).