Mazmur 72:20

72:20 This collection of the prayers of David son of Jesse ends here. ¹ 

Mazmur 86:6

86:6 O Lord, hear my prayer!

Pay attention to my plea for mercy!

Mazmur 109:4

109:4 They repay my love with accusations, ² 

but I continue to pray. ³ 

Mazmur 17:1

Psalm 17 ⁴ 

A prayer of David.

17:1 Lord, consider my just cause! ⁵ 

Pay attention to my cry for help!

Listen to the prayer

I sincerely offer! ⁶ 

Mazmur 102:17

102:17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, ⁷ 

and does not reject ⁸  their request. ⁹ 

Mazmur 66:19

66:19 However, God heard;

he listened to my prayer.

Mazmur 6:9

6:9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;

the Lord has accepted ¹⁰  my prayer.

Mazmur 102:1

Psalm 102 ¹¹ 

The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.

102:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!

Pay attention to my cry for help! ¹² 

Mazmur 109:7

109:7 When he is judged, he will be found ¹³  guilty! ¹⁴ 

Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.

Mazmur 65:2

65:2 You hear prayers; ¹⁵ 

all people approach you. ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 88:2

88:2 Listen to my prayer! ¹⁷ 

Pay attention ¹⁸  to my cry for help!

Mazmur 90:1

Book 4
(Psalms 90-106)

Psalm 90 ¹⁹ 

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90:1 O Lord, you have been our protector ²⁰  through all generations!

Mazmur 86:1

Psalm 86 ²¹ 

A prayer of David.

86:1 Listen ²²  O Lord! Answer me!

For I am oppressed and needy.

Mazmur 54:2

54:2 O God, listen to my prayer!

Pay attention to what I say! ²³ 

Mazmur 80:4

80:4 O Lord God, invincible warrior! ²⁴ 

How long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you? ²⁵ 

Mazmur 84:8

84:8 O Lord, sovereign God, ²⁶ 

hear my prayer!

Listen, O God of Jacob! (Selah)

Mazmur 61:1

Psalm 61 ²⁷ 

For the music director; to be played on a stringed instrument; written by David.

61:1 O God, hear my cry for help!

Pay attention to my prayer!

Mazmur 141:2

141:2 May you accept my prayer like incense,

my uplifted hands like the evening offering! ²⁸ 

Mazmur 5:2

5:2 Pay attention to my cry for help,

my king and my God,

for I am praying to you!

Mazmur 35:13

35:13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, ²⁹ 

and refrained from eating food. ³⁰ 

(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) ³¹ 

Mazmur 143:1

Psalm 143 ³² 

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!

Mazmur 72:15

72:15 May he live! ³³  May they offer him gold from Sheba! ³⁴ 

May they continually pray for him!

May they pronounce blessings on him all day long! ³⁵ 

Mazmur 88:13

88:13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;

in the morning my prayer confronts you.

Mazmur 42:8

42:8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, ³⁶ 

and by night he gives me a song, ³⁷ 

a prayer ³⁸  to the living God.

Mazmur 55:1

Psalm 55 ³⁹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song ⁴⁰  by David.

55:1 Listen, O God, to my prayer!

Do not ignore ⁴¹  my appeal for mercy!

Mazmur 142:1

Psalm 142 ⁴² 

A well-written song ⁴³  by David, when he was in the cave; ⁴⁴  a prayer.

142:1 To the Lord I cry out; ⁴⁵ 

to the Lord I plead for mercy. ⁴⁶ 

Mazmur 69:13

69:13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me! ⁴⁷ 

O God, because of your great loyal love,

answer me with your faithful deliverance! ⁴⁸ 

Mazmur 4:1

Psalm 4 ⁴⁹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.

4:1 When I call out, answer me,

O God who vindicates me! ⁵⁰ 

Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place. ⁵¹ 

Have mercy on me ⁵²  and respond to ⁵³  my prayer!

Mazmur 32:6

32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers ⁵⁴  should pray to you

while there is a window of opportunity. ⁵⁵ 

Certainly ⁵⁶  when the surging water ⁵⁷  rises,

it will not reach them. ⁵⁸ 

Mazmur 141:5

141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!

May my head not refuse ⁵⁹  choice oil! ⁶⁰ 

Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. ⁶¹ 

Mazmur 39:12

39:12 Hear my prayer, O Lord!

Listen to my cry for help!

Do not ignore my sobbing! ⁶² 

For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land;

I am at your mercy, just as all my ancestors were. ⁶³ 

Mazmur 122:6

122:6 Pray ⁶⁴  for the peace of Jerusalem!

May those who love her prosper! ⁶⁵ 

Mazmur 66:20

66:20 God deserves praise, ⁶⁶ 

for ⁶⁷  he did not reject my prayer

or abandon his love for me! ⁶⁸ 

Mazmur 25:1

Psalm 25 ⁶⁹ 

By David.

25:1 O Lord, I come before you in prayer. ⁷⁰ 

Mazmur 116:1

Psalm 116 ⁷¹ 

116:1 I love the Lord

because he heard my plea for mercy, ⁷² 

Mazmur 5:3

5:3 Lord, in the morning ⁷³  you will hear ⁷⁴  me; ⁷⁵ 

in the morning I will present my case to you ⁷⁶  and then wait expectantly for an answer. ⁷⁷ 

Mazmur 14:4

14:4 All those who behave wickedly ⁷⁸  do not understand – ⁷⁹ 

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to the Lord.

Mazmur 17:6

17:6 I call to you for you will answer me, O God.

Listen to me! ⁸⁰ 

Hear what I say! ⁸¹ 

Mazmur 140:6

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

O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy!

Mazmur 118:21

118:21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me,

and have become my deliverer.

Mazmur 119:170

119:170 Listen to my appeal for mercy! ⁸² 

Deliver me, as you promised. ⁸³ 

Mazmur 5:1

Psalm 5 ⁸⁴ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; ⁸⁵  a psalm of David.

5:1 Listen to what I say, ⁸⁶  Lord!

Carefully consider my complaint! ⁸⁷ 

Mazmur 55:17

55:17 During the evening, morning, and noontime

I will lament and moan, ⁸⁸ 

and he will hear ⁸⁹  me. ⁹⁰ 

Mazmur 63:4

63:4 For this reason ⁹¹  I will praise you while I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands. ⁹² 

Mazmur 141:1

Psalm 141 ⁹³ 

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!

Mazmur 122:9

122:9 For the sake of the temple of the Lord our God

I will pray for you to prosper. ⁹⁴ 

Mazmur 130:2

130:2 O Lord, listen to me! ⁹⁵ 

Pay attention to ⁹⁶  my plea for mercy!

Mazmur 77:2

77:2 In my time of trouble I sought ⁹⁷  the Lord.

I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. ⁹⁸ 

I ⁹⁹  refused to be comforted.

Mazmur 143:8

143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, ¹⁰⁰ 

for I trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, ¹⁰¹ 

because I long for you. ¹⁰² 

Mazmur 20:9

20:9 The Lord will deliver the king; ¹⁰³ 

he will answer us ¹⁰⁴  when we call to him for help! ¹⁰⁵ 

Mazmur 27:7

27:7 Hear me, ¹⁰⁶  O Lord, when I cry out!

Have mercy on me and answer me!

Mazmur 30:8

30:8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;

I begged the Lord for mercy: ¹⁰⁷ 

Mazmur 44:20

44:20 If we had rejected our God, ¹⁰⁸ 

and spread out our hands in prayer to another god, ¹⁰⁹ 

Mazmur 60:5

60:5 Deliver by your power ¹¹⁰  and answer me, ¹¹¹ 

so that the ones you love may be safe. ¹¹² 

Mazmur 77:4

77:4 You held my eyelids open; ¹¹³ 

I was troubled and could not speak. ¹¹⁴ 

Mazmur 86:3

86:3 Have mercy on me, ¹¹⁵  O Lord,

for I cry out to you all day long!

Mazmur 86:7

86:7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,

for you will answer me.

Mazmur 116:2

116:2 and listened to me. ¹¹⁶ 

As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. ¹¹⁷ 

Mazmur 116:17

116:17 I will present a thank offering to you,

and call on the name of the Lord.

Mazmur 118:5

118:5 In my distress ¹¹⁸  I cried out to the Lord.

The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place. ¹¹⁹ 

Mazmur 119:108

119:108 O Lord, please accept the freewill offerings of my praise! ¹²⁰ 

Teach me your regulations!

Mazmur 119:147

119:147 I am up before dawn crying for help.

I find hope in your word.

Mazmur 119:169

ת (Tav)

119:169 Listen to my cry for help, ¹²¹  O Lord!

Give me insight by your word!

Mazmur 130:3

130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of ¹²²  sins,

O Lord, who could stand before you? ¹²³ 

Mazmur 138:3

138:3 When ¹²⁴  I cried out for help, you answered me.

You made me bold and energized me. ¹²⁵ 

Mazmur 143:6

143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; ¹²⁶ 

my soul thirsts for you in a parched ¹²⁷  land. ¹²⁸ 

Mazmur 10:17

10:17 Lord, you have heard ¹²⁹  the request ¹³⁰  of the oppressed;

you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer. ¹³¹ 

Mazmur 13:3

13:3 Look at me! ¹³²  Answer me, O Lord my God!

Revive me, ¹³³  or else I will die! ¹³⁴ 

Mazmur 20:1

Psalm 20 ¹³⁵ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

20:1 May the Lord answer ¹³⁶  you ¹³⁷  when you are in trouble; ¹³⁸ 

may the God of Jacob ¹³⁹  make you secure!

Mazmur 22:2

22:2 My God, I cry out during the day,

but you do not answer,

and during the night my prayers do not let up. ¹⁴⁰ 

Mazmur 28:2

28:2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,

when I lift my hands ¹⁴¹  toward your holy temple! ¹⁴² 

Mazmur 34:4

34:4 I sought the Lord’s help ¹⁴³  and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

Mazmur 34:15

34:15 The Lord pays attention to the godly

and hears their cry for help. ¹⁴⁴ 

Mazmur 35:14

35:14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother. ¹⁴⁵ 

I bowed down ¹⁴⁶  in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother. ¹⁴⁷ 

Mazmur 41:4

41:4 As for me, I said: ¹⁴⁸ 

“O Lord, have mercy on me!

Heal me, for I have sinned against you!

Mazmur 64:1

Psalm 64 ¹⁴⁹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

64:1 Listen to me, ¹⁵⁰  O God, as I offer my lament!

Protect ¹⁵¹  my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks. ¹⁵² 

Mazmur 69:16

69:16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! ¹⁵³ 

Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

Mazmur 83:1

Psalm 83 ¹⁵⁴ 

A song, a psalm of Asaph.

83:1 O God, do not be silent!

Do not ignore us! ¹⁵⁵  Do not be inactive, O God!

Mazmur 86:5

86:5 Certainly ¹⁵⁶  O Lord, you are kind ¹⁵⁷  and forgiving,

and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.

Mazmur 99:8

99:8 O Lord our God, you answered them.

They found you to be a forgiving God,

but also one who punished their sinful deeds. ¹⁵⁸ 

Mazmur 108:6

108:6 Deliver by your power ¹⁵⁹  and answer me,

so that the ones you love may be safe. ¹⁶⁰ 

Mazmur 119:145

ק (Qof)

119:145 I cried out with all my heart, “Answer me, O Lord!

I will observe your statutes.”

Mazmur 142:5

142:5 I cry out to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my shelter,

my security ¹⁶¹  in the land of the living.”

Mazmur 9:12

9:12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; ¹⁶² 

he did not overlook ¹⁶³  their cry for help ¹⁶⁴ 

Mazmur 20:5

20:5 Then we will shout for joy over your ¹⁶⁵  victory;

we will rejoice ¹⁶⁶  in the name of our God!

May the Lord grant all your requests!

Mazmur 53:4

53:4 All those who behave wickedly ¹⁶⁷  do not understand ¹⁶⁸  –

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to God.

Mazmur 79:6

79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, ¹⁶⁹ 

on the kingdoms that do not pray to you! ¹⁷⁰ 

Mazmur 88:9

88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.

I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;

I spread out my hands in prayer to you. ¹⁷¹ 

Mazmur 99:6

99:6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;

Samuel was one of those who prayed to him. ¹⁷² 

They ¹⁷³  prayed to the Lord and he answered them.

Mazmur 102:2

102:2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble! ¹⁷⁴ 

Listen to me! ¹⁷⁵ 

When I call out to you, quickly answer me!

[72:20]  ¹ tn Heb “the prayers of David, son of Jesse, are concluded.” As noted earlier, v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter. In the present arrangement of the Book of Psalms, not all psalms prior to this are attributed to David (see Pss 1-2, 10, 33, 42-50, 66-67, 71-72) and several psalms attributed to David appear after this (see Pss 86, 101, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 138-145).

[109:4]  ² tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”

[109:4]  ³ tn Heb “and I, prayer.”

[17:1]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “hear, Lord, what is just.”

[17:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”

[102:17]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (’arar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).

[102:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “despise.”

[102:17]  ⁹ tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16-17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.

[6:9]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a preterite here; it is parallel to a perfect and refers to the fact that the Lord has responded favorably to the psalmist’s request.

[102:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 102. The psalmist laments his oppressed state, but longs for a day when the Lord will restore Jerusalem and vindicate his suffering people.

[102:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and may my cry for help come to you.”

[109:7]  ¹³ tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as a jussive, but the use of the imperfect form in the following line suggests that v. 7 anticipates the outcome of the accusation envisioned in v. 6.

[109:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he will go out [as] a criminal” (that is, guilty).

[65:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “O one who hears prayer.”

[65:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to you all flesh comes.”

[88:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “may my prayer come before you.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s desire or prayer.

[88:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[90:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 90. In this communal lament the worship leader affirms that the eternal God and creator of the world has always been Israel’s protector. But God also causes men, who are as transient as grass, to die, and in his fierce anger he decimates his covenant community, whose brief lives are filled with suffering and end in weakness. The community asks for wisdom, the restoration of God’s favor, a fresh revelation of his power, and his blessing upon their labors.

[90:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “place of safety.” See Ps 71:3.

[86:1]  ²¹ sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.

[86:1]  ²² tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[54:2]  ²³ tn Heb “to the words of my mouth.”

[80:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי (’elohey) before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot; “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. In this context the term “hosts” (meaning “armies”) has been rendered “invincible warrior.”

[80:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “How long will you remain angry during the prayer of your people.” Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) in an adversative sense here (“at/against the prayer of your people”), but the temporal sense is preferable. The psalmist expects persistent prayer to pacify God.

[84:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9) but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת in Pss 59:5 and 80:4, 19 as well.

[61:1]  ²⁷ sn Psalm 61. The psalmist cries out for help and expresses his confidence that God will protect him.

[141:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “may my prayer be established [like] incense before you, the uplifting of my hands [like] an evening offering.”

[35:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.” Sackcloth was worn by mourners. When the psalmist’s enemies were sick, he was sorry for their misfortune and mourned for them.

[35:13]  ³⁰ sn Fasting was also a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities, such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

[35:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “and my prayer upon my chest will return.” One could translate, “but my prayer was returning upon my chest,” but the use of the imperfect verbal form sets this line apart from the preceding and following lines (vv. 13a, 14), which use the perfect to describe the psalmist’s past actions.

[143:1]  ³² sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.

[72:15]  ³³ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive, not imperfect. Because the form has the prefixed vav (ו), some subordinate it to what precedes as a purpose/result clause. In this case the representative poor individual might be the subject of this and the following verb, “so that he may live and give to him gold of Sheba.” But the idea of the poor offering gold is incongruous. It is better to take the jussive as a prayer with the king as subject of the verb. (Perhaps the initial vav is dittographic; note the vav at the end of the last form in v. 14.) The statement is probably an abbreviated version of the formula יְחִי הַמֶּלֶךְ (yÿkhiy hammelekh, “may the king live”; see 1 Sam 10:24; 2 Sam 16:16; 1 Kgs 1:25, 34, 39; 2 Kgs 11:12).

[72:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he will give to him some gold of Sheba.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one give”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are the tribute bearers in view here.

[72:15]  ³⁵ tn As in the preceding line, the prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives with a grammatically indefinite subject (“and may one pray…and may one bless”). Of course, the king’s subjects, mentioned in the preceding context, are in view here.

[42:8]  ³⁶ 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 Lord”).

[42:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”

[42:8]  ³⁸ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss read תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) instead of תְּפִלָּה (tÿfillah, “prayer”).

[55:1]  ³⁹ sn Psalm 55. The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.

[55:1]  ⁴⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[55:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “hide yourself from.”

[142:1]  ⁴² sn Psalm 142. The psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.

[142:1]  ⁴³ 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.

[142:1]  ⁴⁴ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm while in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3. See the superscription of Ps 57.

[142:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I cry out.”

[142:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I plead for mercy.”

[69:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O Lord, [in] a time of favor.”

[69:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁹ sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.

[4:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “God of my righteousness.”

[4:1]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “in distress (or “a narrow place”) you make (a place) large for me.” The function of the Hebrew perfect verbal form here is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the psalmist is expressing his certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm (vv. 3, 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“lead me”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[4:1]  ⁵² tn Or “show me favor.”

[4:1]  ⁵³ tn Heb “hear.”

[32:6]  ⁵⁴ tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[32:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the Lord]” and seek his forgiveness (cf. NIV). Some emend the text by combining מְצֹא (mÿtso’, “finding”) with the following term רַק (raq, “only, surely”) and read either ר[וֹ]מָצ (matsor, “distress”; see Ps 31:22) or ק[וֹ]מָצ (matsoq, “hardship”; see Ps 119:143). In this case, one may translate “in a time of distress/hardship” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[32:6]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.

[32:6]  ⁵⁷ sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.

[32:6]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.

[141:5]  ⁵⁹ tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.

[141:5]  ⁶⁰ sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.

[141:5]  ⁶¹ tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.

[39:12]  ⁶² tn Heb “do not be deaf to my tears.”

[39:12]  ⁶³ tn Heb “For a resident alien [am] I with you, a sojourner like all my fathers.”

[39:12]  sn Resident aliens were dependent on the mercy and goodwill of others. The Lord was concerned that resident aliens be treated properly. See Deut 24:17-22, Ps 146:9.

[122:6]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “ask [for].”

[122:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “be secure.”

[66:20]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”

[66:20]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “who.” In a blessing formula after בָּרוּךְ (barukh, “blessed be”) the form אֲשֶׁר (’asher), whether taken as a relative pronoun or causal particle, introduces the basis for the blessing/praise.

[66:20]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “did not turn aside my prayer and his loyal love with me.”

[25:1]  ⁶⁹ sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme.

[25:1]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “to you, O Lord, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. See Pss 86:4; 143:8.

[116:1]  ⁷¹ sn Psalm 116. The psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him from a life threatening crisis and promises to tell the entire covenant community what God has done for him.

[116:1]  ⁷² tn Heb “I love because the Lord heard my voice, my pleas.” It is possible that “the Lord” originally appeared directly after “I love” and was later accidentally misplaced. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls that God heard his cry for help (note the perfect in v. 2a and the narrative in vv. 3-4).

[5:3]  ⁷³ sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).

[5:3]  ⁷⁴ tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”

[5:3]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “my voice.”

[5:3]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.

[5:3]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “and I will watch.”

[14:4]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.

[14:4]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).

[17:6]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “Turn your ear toward me.”

[17:6]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “my word.”

[119:170]  ⁸² tn Heb “may my appeal for mercy come before you.”

[119:170]  ⁸³ tn Heb “according to your speech.”

[5:1]  ⁸⁴ sn Psalm 5. Appealing to God’s justice and commitment to the godly, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from evildoers.

[5:1]  ⁸⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (nÿkhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).

[5:1]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “my words.”

[5:1]  ⁸⁷ tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.

[55:17]  ⁸⁸ tn The first verb is clearly a cohortative form, expressing the psalmist’s resolve. The second verb, while formally ambiguous, should also be understood as cohortative here.

[55:17]  ⁸⁹ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive normally appears in narrational contexts to indicate past action, but here it continues the anticipatory (future) perspective of the preceding line. In Ps 77:6 one finds the same sequence of cohortative + prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive. In this case as well, both forms refer to future actions.

[55:17]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “my voice.”

[63:4]  ⁹¹ tn Or perhaps “then.”

[63:4]  ⁹² sn I will lift up my hands. Lifting up one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer (see Ps 28:2; Lam 2:19) or respect (Ps 119:48).

[141:1]  ⁹³ sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.

[122:9]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “I will seek good for you.” The psalmist will seek Jerusalem’s “good” through prayer.

[130:2]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “my voice.”

[130:2]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “may your ears be attentive to the voice of.”

[77:2]  ⁹⁷ tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.

[77:2]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.

[77:2]  ⁹⁹ tn Or “my soul.” 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).

[143:8]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.

[143:8]  sn The morning is sometimes viewed as the time of divine intervention (see Pss 30:5; 59:16; 90:14).

[143:8]  ¹⁰¹ sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

[143:8]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).

[20:9]  ¹⁰³ tc This translation assumes an emendation of the verbal form הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshi’ah). As it stands, the form is an imperative. In this case the people return to the petitionary mood with which the psalm begins (“O Lord, deliver”). But the immediate context is one of confidence (vv. 6-8), not petition (vv. 1-5). If one takes the final he on the verb “deliver” as dittographic (note the initial he (ה) on the following phrase, “the king”), one can repoint the verbal form as a perfect and understand it as expressing the people’s confidence, “the Lord will deliver the king” (see v. 6). The Hebrew scribal tradition takes “the king” with the following line, in which case it would be best interpreted as a divine title, “may the King answer us” or “the king will answer us” (see Pss 98:6; 145:1). However, the poetic parallelism is better balanced if “the king” is taken with the first line. In this case the referent is the Davidic king, who is earlier called the Lord’s “anointed one” (cf. note on “chosen king” in v. 6; see Pss 21:7; 45:5, 11; 63:11).

[20:9]  ¹⁰⁴ tn If the imperative is retained in the preceding line, then the prefixed verbal form is best taken as a jussive of prayer, “may he answer us.” However, if the imperative in the previous line is emended to a perfect, the prefixed form is best taken as imperfect, “he will answer us” (see the note on the word “king” at the end of the previous line).

[20:9]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “in the day we call.”

[27:7]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “my voice.”

[30:8]  ¹⁰⁷ tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 8 are probably preterites; the psalmist recalls that he prayed in his time of crisis.

[44:20]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “If we had forgotten the name of our God.” To “forget the name” here refers to rejecting the Lord’s authority (see Jer 23:27) and abandoning him as an object of prayer and worship (see the next line).

[44:20]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “and spread out your hands to another god.” Spreading out the hands was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). In its most fundamental sense זר (“another; foreign; strange”) refers to something that is outside one’s circle, often making association with it inappropriate. A “strange” god is an alien deity, an “outside god” (see L. A. Snijders, TDOT 4:54-55).

[60:5]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “right hand.”

[60:5]  ¹¹¹ tn The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”

[60:5]  ¹¹² tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text, “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[77:4]  ¹¹³ 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]  ¹¹⁴ tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.

[86:3]  ¹¹⁵ tn Or “show me favor.”

[116:2]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”

[116:2]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”

[118:5]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “from the distress.” The noun מֵצַר (metsar, “straits; distress”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:3. In Ps 116:3 מצר should probably be emended to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”).

[118:5]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “the Lord answered me in a wide open place.”

[119:108]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “of my mouth.”

[119:169]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “may my cry approach before you.”

[130:3]  ¹²² tn Heb “observe.”

[130:3]  ¹²³ tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”

[138:3]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “in the day.”

[138:3]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “you made me bold in my soul [with] strength.”

[143:6]  ¹²⁶ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

[143:6]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

[143:6]  ¹²⁸ 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).

[10:17]  ¹²⁹ sn You have heard. The psalmist is confident that God has responded positively to his earlier petitions for divine intervention. The psalmist apparently prayed the words of vv. 16-18 after the reception of an oracle of deliverance (given in response to the confident petition of vv. 12-15) or after the Lord actually delivered him from his enemies.

[10:17]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “desire.”

[10:17]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “you make firm their heart, you cause your ear to listen.”

[13:3]  ¹³² tn Heb “see.”

[13:3]  ¹³³ tn Heb “Give light [to] my eyes.” The Hiphil of אוּר (’ur), when used elsewhere with “eyes” as object, refers to the law of God giving moral enlightenment (Ps 19:8), to God the creator giving literal eyesight to all people (Prov 29:13), and to God giving encouragement to his people (Ezra 9:8). Here the psalmist pictures himself as being on the verge of death. His eyes are falling shut and, if God does not intervene soon, he will “fall asleep” for good.

[13:3]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “or else I will sleep [in?] the death.” Perhaps the statement is elliptical, “I will sleep [the sleep] of death,” or “I will sleep [with the sleepers in] death.”

[20:1]  ¹³⁵ sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.

[20:1]  ¹³⁶ tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.

[20:1]  ¹³⁷ sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.

[20:1]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”

[20:1]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.

[22:2]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “there is no silence to me.”

[28:2]  ¹⁴¹ sn I lift my hands. Lifting one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer.

[28:2]  ¹⁴² tn The Hebrew term דְּבִיר (dÿvir, “temple”) actually refers to the most holy place within the sanctuary.

[34:4]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “I sought the Lord.”

[34:15]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord [are] toward the godly, and his ears [are] toward their cry for help.”

[35:14]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “like a friend, like a brother to me I walked about.”

[35:14]  ¹⁴⁶ sn I bowed down. Bowing down was a posture for mourning. See Ps 38:6.

[35:14]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “like mourning for a mother [in] sorrow I bowed down.”

[41:4]  ¹⁴⁸ sn In vv. 4-10 the psalmist recites the prayer of petition and lament he offered to the Lord.

[64:1]  ¹⁴⁹ sn Psalm 64. The psalmist asks God to protect him from his dangerous enemies and then confidently affirms that God will destroy his enemies and demonstrate his justice in the sight of all observers.

[64:1]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “my voice.”

[64:1]  ¹⁵¹ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.

[64:1]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “from the terror of [the] enemy.” “Terror” is used here metonymically for the enemy’s attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist’s life.

[69:16]  ¹⁵³ tn Or “pleasant”; or “desirable.”

[83:1]  ¹⁵⁴ sn Psalm 83. The psalmist asks God to deliver Israel from the attacks of foreign nations. Recalling how God defeated Israel’s enemies in the days of Deborah and Gideon, he prays that the hostile nations would be humiliated.

[83:1]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “do not be deaf.”

[86:5]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Or “for.”

[86:5]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “good.”

[99:8]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “a God of lifting up [i.e., forgiveness] you were to them, and an avenger concerning their deeds.” The present translation reflects the traditional interpretation, which understands the last line as qualifying the preceding one. God forgave Moses and Aaron, but he also disciplined them when they sinned (cf. NIV, NRSV). Another option is to take “their deeds” as referring to harmful deeds directed against Moses and Aaron. In this case the verse may be translated, “and one who avenged attacks against them.” Still another option is to emend the participial form נֹקֵם (noqem, “an avenger”) to נֹקָם (noqam), a rare Qal participial form of נָקַה (naqah, “purify”) with a suffixed pronoun. In this case one could translate, “and one who purified them from their [sinful] deeds” (cf. NEB “and held them innocent”).

[108:6]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “right hand.”

[108:6]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text: “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”

[142:5]  ¹⁶¹ tn Heb “my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.

[9:12]  ¹⁶² tn Heb “for the one who seeks shed blood remembered them.” The idiomatic expression “to seek shed blood” seems to carry the idea “to seek payment/restitution for one’s shed blood.” The plural form דָּמִים (damim, “shed blood”) occurs only here as the object of דָּרַשׁ (darash); the singular form דָּם (dam, “blood”) appears with the verb in Gen 9:5; 42:22; Ezek 33:6. “Them,” the pronominal object of the verb “remembered,” refers to the oppressed, mentioned specifically in the next line, so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:12]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “did not forget.”

[9:12]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “the cry for help of the oppressed.” In this context the “oppressed” are the psalmist and those he represents, whom the hostile nations have threatened.

[20:5]  ¹⁶⁵ sn Your victory. Here the king is addressed (see v. 1).

[20:5]  ¹⁶⁶ tc The Hebrew verb דָּגַל (dagal) occurs only here in the Qal. If accepted as original, it may carry the nuance “raise a banner,” but it is preferable to emend the form to נגיל (“we will rejoice”) which provides better parallelism with “shout for joy” and fits well with the prepositional phrase “in the name of our God” (see Ps 89:16).

[53:4]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8. Ps 14:4 adds כֹּל (kol, “all of”) before “workers of wickedness.”

[53:4]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-6).

[79:6]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “which do not know you.” Here the Hebrew term “know” means “acknowledge the authority of.”

[79:6]  ¹⁷⁰ sn The kingdoms that do not pray to you. The people of these kingdoms pray to other gods, not the Lord, because they do not recognize his authority over them.

[88:9]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “I spread out my hands to you.” Spreading out the hands toward God was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). The words “in prayer” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this.

[99:6]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”

[99:6]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.

[102:2]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me in the day of my trouble.” The idiom “to hide the face” can mean “to ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “to reject” (see Pss 29:7; 30:7; 88:14).

[102:2]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”