66:17 I cried out to him for help 1
and praised him with my tongue. 2
66:18 If I had harbored sin in my heart, 3
the Lord would not have listened.
66:19 However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
66:20 God deserves praise, 4
for 5 he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me! 6
1 tn Heb “to him [with] my mouth I called.”
2 tn Heb “and he was extolled under my tongue.” The form רוֹמַם (romam) appears to be a polal (passive) participle from רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), but many prefer to read רוֹמָם, “high praise [was under my tongue]” (cf. NEB). See BDB 928 s.v. רוֹמָם.
3 tn Heb “sin if I had seen in my heart.”
4 tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”
5 tn Or “who.” In a blessing formula after בָּרוּךְ (barukh, “blessed be”) the form אֲשֶׁר (’asher), whether taken as a relative pronoun or causal particle, introduces the basis for the blessing/praise.
6 tn Heb “did not turn aside my prayer and his loyal love with me.”