Mazmur 143:5-6

143:5 I recall the old days; ¹ 

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on your accomplishments. ² 

143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; ³ 

my soul thirsts for you in a parched ⁴  land. ⁵ 

[143:5]  ¹ tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

[143:5]  ² tn Heb “the work of your hands.”

[143:6]  ³ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

[143:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

[143:6]  ⁵ tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).