9:12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; 1
he did not overlook 2 their cry for help 3
22:24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering 4 of the oppressed; 5
he did not ignore him; 6
when he cried out to him, he responded. 7
37:14 Evil men draw their swords
and prepare their bows,
to bring down 8 the oppressed and needy,
and to slaughter those who are godly. 9
40:17 I am oppressed and needy! 10
May the Lord pay attention to me! 11
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O my God, do not delay!
70:5 I am oppressed and needy! 12
O God, hurry to me! 13
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O Lord, 14 do not delay!
74:19 Do not hand the life of your dove 15 over to a wild animal!
Do not continue to disregard 16 the lives of your oppressed people!
88:15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth. 17
I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain. 18
1 tn Heb “for the one who seeks shed blood remembered them.” The idiomatic expression “to seek shed blood” seems to carry the idea “to seek payment/restitution for one’s shed blood.” The plural form דָּמִים (damim, “shed blood”) occurs only here as the object of דָּרַשׁ (darash); the singular form דָּם (dam, “blood”) appears with the verb in Gen 9:5; 42:22; Ezek 33:6. “Them,” the pronominal object of the verb “remembered,” refers to the oppressed, mentioned specifically in the next line, so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “did not forget.”
3 tn Heb “the cry for help of the oppressed.” In this context the “oppressed” are the psalmist and those he represents, whom the hostile nations have threatened.
4 tn Or “affliction”; or “need.”
5 sn In this verse the psalmist refers to himself in the third person and characterizes himself as oppressed.
6 tn Heb “he did not hide his face from him.” For other uses of the idiom “hide the face” meaning “ignore,” see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9. Sometimes the idiom carries the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 27:9; 88:14).
7 tn Heb “heard.”
8 tn Heb “to cause to fall.”
9 tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.
10 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.
11 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The
12 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.
13 tn Ps 40:17 has “may the Lord pay attention to me.”
14 tn Ps 40:17 has “my God” instead of “
15 sn Your dove. The psalmist compares weak and vulnerable Israel to a helpless dove.
16 tn Heb “do not forget forever.”
17 tn Heb “and am dying from youth.”
18 tn Heb “I carry your horrors [?].” The meaning of the Hebrew form אָפוּנָה (’afunah), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. It may be an adverb meaning “very much” (BDB 67 s.v.), though some prefer to emend the text to אָפוּגָה (’afugah, “I am numb”) from the verb פוּג (pug; see Pss 38:8; 77:2).