3:4 To the Lord I cried out, 1
and he answered me from his holy hill. 2 (Selah)
118:21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me,
and have become my deliverer.
119:26 I told you about my ways 3 and you answered me.
Teach me your statutes!
138:3 When 4 I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me. 5
1 tn The prefixed verbal form could be an imperfect, yielding the translation “I cry out,” but the verb form in the next line (a vav [ו] consecutive with the preterite) suggests this is a brief narrative of what has already happened. Consequently the verb form in v. 4a is better understood as a preterite, “I cried out.” (For another example of the preterite of this same verb form, see Ps 30:8.) Sometime after the crisis arose, the psalmist prayed to the Lord and received an assuring answer. Now he confidently awaits the fulfillment of the divine promise.
2 sn His holy hill. That is, Zion (see Pss 2:6; 48:1-2). The psalmist recognizes that the
3 tn Heb “my ways I proclaimed.”
4 tn Heb “in the day.”
5 tn Heb “you made me bold in my soul [with] strength.”