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
22:25 You are the reason I offer praise 4 in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers. 5
33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
For the music director; a psalm of David.
64:1 Listen to me, 8 O God, as I offer my lament!
Protect 9 my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks. 10
72:15 May he live! 11 May they offer him gold from Sheba! 12
May they continually pray for him!
May they pronounce blessings on him all day long! 13
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.
2 tn Heb “hear,
3 tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”
4 tn Heb “from with you [is] my praise.”
5 tn Heb “my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.” When asking the
6 sn Psalm 33. In this hymn the psalmist praises the Lord as the sovereign creator and just ruler of the world who protects and vindicates those who fear him.
7 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.
8 tn Heb “my voice.”
9 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.
10 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.
11 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).
12 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.
13 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.