Psalms 86:17

86:17 Show me evidence of your favor! 1 

Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, 2 

for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me. 3 

Psalms 116:15

116:15 The Lord values

the lives of his faithful followers. 4 

1 tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.

2 tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.

3 tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).

4 tn Heb “precious in the eyes of the Lord [is] the death of his godly ones.” The point is not that God delights in or finds satisfaction in the death of his followers! The psalmist, who has been delivered from death, affirms that the life-threatening experiences of God’s followers get God’s attention, just as a precious or rare object would attract someone’s eye. See Ps 72:14 for a similar expression of this belief.