Mazmur 39:12

39:12 Hear my prayer, O Lord!

Listen to my cry for help!

Do not ignore my sobbing! ¹ 

For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land;

I am at your mercy, just as all my ancestors were. ² 

Mazmur 69:13

69:13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me! ³ 

O God, because of your great loyal love,

answer me with your faithful deliverance! ⁴ 

Mazmur 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ⁵ 

they flatter and deceive. ⁶ 

Mazmur 19:2

19:2 Day after day it speaks out; ⁷ 

night after night it reveals his greatness. ⁸ 

Mazmur 21:10

21:10 You destroy their offspring ⁹  from the earth,

their descendants ¹⁰  from among the human race. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 39:3

39:3 my anxiety intensified. ¹² 

As I thought about it, I became impatient. ¹³ 

Finally I spoke these words: ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 62:11

62:11 God has declared one principle;

two principles I have heard: ¹⁵ 

God is strong, ¹⁶ 

Mazmur 75:7

75:7 For God is the judge! ¹⁷ 

He brings one down and exalts another. ¹⁸ 

Mazmur 88:17

88:17 They surround me like water all day long;

they join forces and encircle me. ¹⁹ 

[39:12]  ¹ tn Heb “do not be deaf to my tears.”

[39:12]  ² tn Heb “For a resident alien [am] I with you, a sojourner like all my fathers.”

[39:12]  sn Resident aliens were dependent on the mercy and goodwill of others. The Lord was concerned that resident aliens be treated properly. See Deut 24:17-22, Ps 146:9.

[69:13]  ³ tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O Lord, [in] a time of favor.”

[69:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”

[12:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “falsehood they speak, a man with his neighbor.” The imperfect verb forms in v. 2 describe what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.

[12:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “[with] a lip of smoothness, with a heart and a heart they speak.” Speaking a “smooth” word refers to deceptive flattery (cf. Ps 5:9; 55:21; Prov 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21; 26:28; 28:23; Isa 30:10). “Heart” here refers to their mind, from which their motives and intentions originate. The repetition of the noun indicates diversity (see GKC 396 §123.f, IBHS 116 §7.2.3c, and Deut 25:13, where the phrase “weight and a weight” refers to two different measuring weights). These people have two different types of “hearts.” Their flattering words seem to express kind motives and intentions, but this outward display does not really reflect their true motives. Their real “heart” is filled with evil thoughts and destructive intentions. The “heart” that is seemingly displayed through their words is far different from the real “heart” they keep disguised. (For the idea see Ps 28:3.) In 1 Chr 12:33 the phrase “without a heart and a heart” means “undivided loyalty.”

[19:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “it gushes forth a word.” The “sky” (see v. 1b) is the subject of the verb. Though not literally speaking (see v. 3), it clearly reveals God’s royal majesty. The sun’s splendor and its movement across the sky is in view (see vv. 4-6).

[19:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “it [i.e., the sky] declares knowledge,” i.e., knowledge about God’s royal majesty and power (see v. 1). This apparently refers to the splendor and movements of the stars. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 2, like the participles in the preceding verse, combine with the temporal phrases (“day after day” and “night after night”) to emphasize the ongoing testimony of the sky.

[21:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “fruit.” The next line makes it clear that offspring is in view.

[21:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “seed.”

[21:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[39:3]  ¹² tn Heb “my heart was hot within me.”

[39:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “In my reflection fire burned.” The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite (past tense) or an imperfect being used in a past progressive or customary sense (“fire was burning”).

[39:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I spoke with my tongue.” The phrase “these words” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[62:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “one God spoke, two which I heard.” This is a numerical saying utilizing the “x” followed by “x + 1” pattern to facilitate poetic parallelism. (See W. M. W. Roth, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament [VTSup], 55-56.) As is typical in such sayings, a list corresponding to the second number (in this case “two”) follows. Another option is to translate, “God has spoken once, twice [he has spoken] that which I have heard.” The terms אַחַת (’akhat, “one; once”) and שְׁתַּיִם (shÿtayim, “two; twice”) are also juxtaposed in 2 Kgs 6:10 (where they refer to an action that was done more than “once or twice”) and in Job 33:14 (where they refer to God speaking “one way” and then in “another manner”).

[62:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “that strength [belongs] to God.”

[75:7]  ¹⁷ tn Or “judges.”

[75:7]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfects here emphasize the generalizing nature of the statement.

[88:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they encircle me together.”