10:11 He says to himself, 1
“God overlooks it;
he does not pay attention;
he never notices.” 2
45:10 Listen, O princess! 3
Observe and pay attention! 4
Forget your homeland 5 and your family! 6
49:7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother; 7
he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price 8
54:2 O God, listen to my prayer!
Pay attention to what I say! 9
86:6 O Lord, hear my prayer!
Pay attention to my plea for mercy!
88:2 Listen to my prayer! 10
Pay attention 11 to my cry for help!
88:14 O Lord, why do you reject me,
and pay no attention to me? 12
94:2 Rise up, O judge of the earth!
Pay back the proud!
102:22 when the nations gather together,
and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord. 13
130:2 O Lord, listen to me! 14
Pay attention to 15 my plea for mercy!
1 tn Heb “he says in his heart.” See v. 6.
2 tn Heb “God forgets, he hides his face, he never sees.”
3 tn Heb “daughter.” The Hebrew noun בת (“daughter”) can sometimes refer to a young woman in a general sense (see H. Haag, TDOT 2:334).
sn Listen, O princess. The poet now addresses the bride.
4 tn Heb “see and turn your ear.” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “see”) is used here of mental observation.
5 tn Heb “your people.” This reference to the “people” of the princess suggests she was a foreigner. Perhaps the marriage was arranged as part of a political alliance between Israel (or Judah) and a neighboring state. The translation “your homeland” reflects such a situation.
6 tn Heb “and the house of your father.”
7 tn Heb “a brother, he surely does not ransom, a man.” The sequence אִישׁ...אָח (’akh...’ish, “a brother…a man”) is problematic, for the usual combination is אָח...אָח (“a brother…a brother”) or אִישׁ...אִישׁ (“a man…a man”). When אִישׁ and אָח are combined, the usual order is אָח...אִישׁ (“a man…a brother”), with “brother” having a third masculine singular suffix, “his brother.” This suggests that “brother” is the object of the verb and “man” the subject. (1) Perhaps the altered word order and absence of the suffix can be explained by the text’s poetic character, for ellipsis is a feature of Hebrew poetic style. (2) Another option, supported by a few medieval Hebrew
8 tn Heb “he cannot pay to God his ransom price.” Num 35:31 may supply the legal background for the metaphorical language used here. The psalmist pictures God as having a claim on the soul of the individual. When God comes to claim the life that ultimately belongs to him, he demands a ransom price that is beyond the capability of anyone to pay. The psalmist’s point is that God has ultimate authority over life and death; all the money in the world cannot buy anyone a single day of life beyond what God has decreed.
9 tn Heb “to the words of my mouth.”
10 tn Heb “may my prayer come before you.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s desire or prayer.
11 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
12 tn Heb “[why] do you hide your face from me?”
13 tn “and the kingdoms to serve the
14 tn Heb “my voice.”
15 tn Heb “may your ears be attentive to the voice of.”