5:3 Lord, in the morning 1 you will hear 2 me; 3
in the morning I will present my case to you 4 and then wait expectantly for an answer. 5
18:41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; 6
they cry out to the Lord, 7 but he does not answer them.
For the music director; a psalm of David.
20:1 May the Lord answer 9 you 10 when you are in trouble; 11
may the God of Jacob 12 make you secure!
22:2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up. 13
69:13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me! 14
O God, because of your great loyal love,
answer me with your faithful deliverance! 15
91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him honor.
102:2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble! 16
Listen to me! 17
When I call out to you, quickly answer me!
A psalm of David.
143:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!
Pay attention to my plea for help!
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me!
143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!
My strength is fading. 19
Do not reject me, 20
or I will join 21 those descending into the grave. 22
1 sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).
2 tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “
3 tn Heb “my voice.”
4 tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.
5 tn Heb “and I will watch.”
6 tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”
7 tn Heb “to the
sn They cry out. This reference to the psalmist’s enemies crying out for help to the
8 sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.
9 tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the
10 sn May the
11 tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”
12 tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.
13 tn Heb “there is no silence to me.”
14 tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O
15 tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”
16 tn Heb “do not hide your face from me in the day of my trouble.” The idiom “to hide the face” can mean “to ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “to reject” (see Pss 29:7; 30:7; 88:14).
17 tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
18 sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.
19 tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”
20 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).
21 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
22 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.