Mazmur 18:41

18:41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; ¹ 

they cry out to the Lord, ²  but he does not answer them.

Amsal 1:28

1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;

they will diligently seek ³  me, but they will not find me.

Yohanes 9:31

9:31 We know that God doesn’t listen to ⁴  sinners, but if anyone is devout ⁵  and does his will, God ⁶  listens to ⁷  him. ⁸ 

[18:41]  ¹ tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”

[18:41]  ² tn Heb “to the Lord.” The words “they cry out” are supplied in the translation because they are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[18:41]  sn They cry out. This reference to the psalmist’s enemies crying out for help to the Lord suggests that the psalmist refers here to enemies within the covenant community, rather than foreigners. However, the militaristic context suggests foreign enemies are in view. Ancient Near Eastern literature indicates that defeated enemies would sometimes cry out for mercy to the god(s) of their conqueror. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 271.

[1:28]  ³ tn Heb “look to.” The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to look”) is used figuratively of intensely looking (=seeking) for deliverance out of trouble (W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 366); cf. NLT “anxiously search for.” It is used elsewhere in parallelism with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek rescue”; Hos 5:15). It does not mean “to seek early” (cf. KJV) as is popularly taught due to etymological connections with the noun שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”; so BDB 1007 s.v. שָׁחַר).

[9:31]  ⁴ tn Grk “God does not hear.”

[9:31]  ⁵ tn Or “godly.”

[9:31]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:31]  ⁷ tn Or “hears.”

[9:31]  ⁸ tn Grk “this one.”