Mazmur 43:2

43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. ¹ 

Why do you reject me? ² 

Why must I walk around ³  mourning ⁴ 

because my enemies oppress me?

Mazmur 73:8

73:8 They mock ⁵  and say evil things; ⁶ 

they proudly threaten violence. ⁷ 

Mazmur 74:9-10

74:9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence; ⁸ 

there are no longer any prophets ⁹ 

and we have no one to tell us how long this will last. ¹⁰ 

74:10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?

Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

Mazmur 79:5

79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? ¹¹ 

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ¹²  burn like fire?

Mazmur 80:4

80:4 O Lord God, invincible warrior! ¹³ 

How long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you? ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 89:46

89:46 How long, O Lord, will this last?

Will you remain hidden forever? ¹⁵ 

Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

[43:2]  ¹ tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.

[43:2]  ² tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).

[43:2]  ³ tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.

[43:2]  ⁴ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.

[73:8]  ⁵ tn The verb מוּק (muq, “mock”) occurs only here in the OT.

[73:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “and speak with evil.”

[73:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “oppression from an elevated place they speak.” The traditional accentuation of the MT places “oppression” with the preceding line. In this case, one might translate, “they mock and speak with evil [of] oppression, from an elevated place [i.e., “proudly”] they speak.” By placing “oppression” with what follows, one achieves better poetic balance in the parallelism.

[74:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “our signs we do not see.” Because of the reference to a prophet in the next line, it is likely that the “signs” in view here include the evidence of God’s presence as typically revealed through the prophets. These could include miraculous acts performed by the prophets (see, for example, Isa 38:7-8) or object lessons which they acted out (see, for example, Isa 20:3).

[74:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “there is not still a prophet.”

[74:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and [there is] not with us one who knows how long.”

[79:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ¹² tn Or “jealous anger.”

[80:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי (’elohey) before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot; “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. In this context the term “hosts” (meaning “armies”) has been rendered “invincible warrior.”

[80:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “How long will you remain angry during the prayer of your people.” Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) in an adversative sense here (“at/against the prayer of your people”), but the temporal sense is preferable. The psalmist expects persistent prayer to pacify God.

[89:46]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “How long, O Lord, will hide yourself forever?”