Psalms 69:3

69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;

my throat is sore; ¹ 

my eyes grow tired of looking for my God. ² 

Psalms 144:7

144:7 Reach down ³  from above!

Grab me and rescue me from the surging water, ⁴ 

from the power of foreigners, ⁵ 

[69:3]  ¹ tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”

[69:3]  ² tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.

[144:7]  ³ tn Heb “stretch out your hands.”

[144:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful foreign enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see the next line and Ps 18:16-17).

[144:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”