Mazmur 4:2

4:2 You men, ¹  how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? ² 

How long ³  will you love what is worthless ⁴ 

and search for what is deceptive? ⁵  (Selah)

Mazmur 5:2-3

5:2 Pay attention to my cry for help,

my king and my God,

for I am praying to you!

5:3 Lord, in the morning ⁶  you will hear ⁷  me; ⁸ 

in the morning I will present my case to you ⁹  and then wait expectantly for an answer. ¹⁰ 

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[4:2]  ² tn Heb “how long my honor to shame?”

[4:2]  ³ tn The interrogative construction עַד־מֶה (’ad-meh, “how long?”), is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “emptiness.”

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “a lie.” Some see the metonymic language of v. 2b (“emptiness, lie”) as referring to idols or false gods. However, there is no solid immediate contextual evidence for such an interpretation. It is more likely that the psalmist addresses those who threaten him (see v. 1) and refers in a general way to their sinful lifestyle. (See R. Mosis, TDOT 7:121.) The two terms allude to the fact that sinful behavior is ultimately fruitless and self-destructive.

[5:3]  ⁶ sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).

[5:3]  ⁷ tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”

[5:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “my voice.”

[5:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.

[5:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will watch.”