Mazmur 17:1

Psalm 17 ¹ 

A prayer of David.

17:1 Lord, consider my just cause! ² 

Pay attention to my cry for help!

Listen to the prayer

I sincerely offer! ³ 

Mazmur 39:13

39:13 Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy

before I pass away. ⁴ 

Mazmur 43:1

Psalm 43 ⁵ 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ⁶  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ⁷  from deceitful and evil men! ⁸ 

Mazmur 90:15

90:15 Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us,

in proportion to the years we have experienced ⁹  trouble!

Mazmur 140:6

140:6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy!

Mazmur 141:1

Psalm 141 ¹⁰ 

A 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!

[17:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 17. The psalmist asks God to intervene on his behalf because his life is threatened by dangerous enemies. He appeals to divine justice, for he is certain of his own innocence. Because he is innocent, he expects to encounter God and receive an assuring word.

[17:1]  ² tn Heb “hear, Lord, what is just.”

[17:1]  ³ tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”

[39:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “Gaze away from me and I will smile before I go and am not.” The precise identification of the initial verb form (הָשַׁע, hasha’) is uncertain. It could be from the root שָׁעָע (sha’a’, “smear”), but “your eyes” would be the expected object in this case (see Isa 6:10). The verb may be an otherwise unattested Hiphil form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “to gaze”) meaning “cause your gaze to be.” Some prefer to emend the form to the Qal שְׁעֵה (shÿ’eh, “gaze”; see Job 14:6). If one does read a form of the verb “to gaze,” the angry divine “gaze” of discipline would seem to be in view (see vv. 10-11). For a similar expression of this sentiment see Job 10:20-21.

[43:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

[43:1]  ⁶ tn Or “argue my case.”

[43:1]  ⁷ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

[43:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.

[90:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “have seen.”

[141:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.