27:9 Do not reject me! 1
Do not push your servant away in anger!
You are my deliverer! 2
Do not forsake or abandon me,
O God who vindicates me!
36:4 He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed;
he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; 3
he does not reject what is evil. 4
43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. 5
Why do you reject me? 6
Why must I walk around 7 mourning 8
because my enemies oppress me?
50:22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God! 9
Otherwise I will rip you to shreds 10
and no one will be able to rescue you.
143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!
My strength is fading. 11
Do not reject me, 12
or I will join 13 those descending into the grave. 14
1 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
2 tn Or “[source of] help.”
3 tn Heb “he takes a stand in a way [that is] not good.” The word “way” here refers metaphorically to behavior or life style.
4 tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 highlight the characteristic behavior of the typical evildoer.
5 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.
6 tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).
7 tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.
8 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
9 tn Heb “[you who] forget God.” “Forgetting God” here means forgetting about his commandments and not respecting his moral authority.
10 sn Elsewhere in the psalms this verb is used (within a metaphorical framework) of a lion tearing its prey (see Pss 7:2; 17:12; 22:13).
11 tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”
12 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
13 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
14 tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.