¹ sn In vv. 4-10 the psalmist recites the prayer of petition and lament he offered to the Lord.

² tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).

³ tn The words “It said” are not included in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁴ sn I removed the burden. The Lord speaks metaphorically of how he delivered his people from Egyptian bondage. The reference to a basket/burden probably alludes to the hard labor of the Israelites in Egypt, where they had to carry loads of bricks (see Exod 1:14).

⁵ tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8-10 appear to recall what the Lord commanded the generation of Israelites that experienced the events described in v. 7. Note the statement in v. 11, “my people did not listen to me.”

⁶ tn Or perhaps “command.”

⁷ tn The Hebrew particle אִם (“if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (GKC 321 §109.b). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.

⁸ tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the introductory note for this psalm.

⁹ tn Or “my life.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “from a lip of falsehood.”

¹¹ tn Heb “from a tongue of deception.”

¹² tn The words “he said” are added in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

¹³ tn Heb “for I desired it.”