Mazmur 18:41

18:41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them; ¹ 

they cry out to the Lord, ²  but he does not answer them.

Mazmur 28:2

28:2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,

when I lift my hands ³  toward your holy temple! ⁴ 

Mazmur 34:15

34:15 The Lord pays attention to the godly

and hears their cry for help. ⁵ 

Mazmur 39:4

39:4 “O Lord, help me understand my mortality

and the brevity of life! ⁶ 

Let me realize how quickly my life will pass! ⁷ 

[18:41]  ¹ tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”

[18:41]  ² tn Heb “to the Lord.” The words “they cry out” are supplied in the translation because they are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).

[18:41]  sn They cry out. This reference to the psalmist’s enemies crying out for help to the Lord suggests that the psalmist refers here to enemies within the covenant community, rather than foreigners. However, the militaristic context suggests foreign enemies are in view. Ancient Near Eastern literature indicates that defeated enemies would sometimes cry out for mercy to the god(s) of their conqueror. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 271.

[28:2]  ³ sn I lift my hands. Lifting one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer.

[28:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term דְּבִיר (dÿvir, “temple”) actually refers to the most holy place within the sanctuary.

[34:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord [are] toward the godly, and his ears [are] toward their cry for help.”

[39:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “Cause me to know, O Lord, my end; and the measure of my days, what it is!”

[39:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Let me know how transient I am!”