9:13 when they prayed: 1
“Have mercy on me, 2 Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me, 3
O one who can snatch me away 4 from the gates of death!
39:12 Hear my prayer, O Lord!
Listen to my cry for help!
Do not ignore my sobbing! 5
For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land;
I am at your mercy, just as all my ancestors were. 6
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song 8 by David.
55:1 Listen, O God, to my prayer!
Do not ignore 9 my appeal for mercy!
1 tn The words “when they prayed,” though not represented in the Hebrew text, are supplied in the translation for clarification. The petition in vv. 13-14 is best understood as the cry for help which the oppressed offered to God when the nations threatened. The
2 tn Or “show me favor.”
3 tn Heb “see my misery from the ones who hate me.”
4 tn Heb “one who lifts me up.”
5 tn Heb “do not be deaf to my tears.”
6 tn Heb “For a resident alien [am] I with you, a sojourner like all my fathers.”
sn Resident aliens were dependent on the mercy and goodwill of others. The Lord was concerned that resident aliens be treated properly. See Deut 24:17-22, Ps 146:9.
7 sn Psalm 55. The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.
8 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.
9 tn Heb “hide yourself from.”