Mazmur 18:18

18:18 They confronted ¹  me in my day of calamity,

but the Lord helped me. ² 

Mazmur 44:24

44:24 Why do you look the other way, ³ 

and ignore ⁴  the way we are oppressed and mistreated? ⁵ 

Mazmur 54:7

54:7 Surely ⁶  he rescues me from all trouble, ⁷ 

and I triumph over my enemies. ⁸ 

Mazmur 88:3

88:3 For my life ⁹  is filled with troubles

and I am ready to enter Sheol. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 116:2-3

116:2 and listened to me. ¹¹ 

As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. ¹² 

116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, ¹³ 

the snares ¹⁴  of Sheol confronted me.

I was confronted ¹⁵  with trouble and sorrow.

Mazmur 118:5

118:5 In my distress ¹⁶  I cried out to the Lord.

The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place. ¹⁷ 

Mazmur 119:153

ר (Resh)

119:153 See my pain and rescue me!

For I do not forget your law.

[18:18]  ¹ tn The same verb is translated “trapped” in v. 5. In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.

[18:18]  ² tn Heb “became my support.”

[44:24]  ³ tn Heb “Why do you hide your face?” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[44:24]  ⁴ tn Or “forget.”

[44:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “our oppression and our affliction.”

[54:7]  ⁶ tn Or “for,” indicating a more specific reason why he will praise the Lord’s name (cf. v. 6).

[54:7]  ⁷ tn The perfects in v. 7 are probably rhetorical, indicating the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance and his own vindication as if they were occurring or had already occurred.

[54:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “and on my enemies my eyes look.”

[88:3]  ⁹ tn Or “my soul.”

[88:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and my life approaches Sheol.”

[116:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”

[116:2]  ¹² tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”

[116:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “surrounded me.”

[116:3]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew noun מצר (“straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.

[116:3]  ¹⁵ tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.

[118:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from the distress.” The noun מֵצַר (metsar, “straits; distress”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:3. In Ps 116:3 מצר should probably be emended to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”).

[118:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the Lord answered me in a wide open place.”