Mazmur 68:1

Psalm 68 ¹ 

For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.

68:1 God springs into action! ² 

His enemies scatter;

his adversaries ³  run from him. ⁴ 

Mazmur 69:1

Psalm 69 ⁵ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ⁶  by David.

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck. ⁷ 

Mazmur 77:1

Psalm 77 ⁸ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.

77:1 I will cry out to God ⁹  and call for help!

I will cry out to God and he will pay attention ¹⁰  to me.

Mazmur 102:1

Psalm 102 ¹¹ 

The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.

102:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!

Pay attention to my cry for help! ¹² 

Mazmur 142:1

Psalm 142 ¹³ 

A well-written song ¹⁴  by David, when he was in the cave; ¹⁵  a prayer.

142:1 To the Lord I cry out; ¹⁶ 

to the Lord I plead for mercy. ¹⁷ 

[68:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.

[68:1]  ² tn Or “rises up.” The verb form is an imperfect, not a jussive. The psalmist is describing God’s appearance in battle in a dramatic fashion.

[68:1]  ³ tn Heb “those who hate him.”

[68:1]  ⁴ sn The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action, Lord! Then your enemies will be scattered and your adversaries will run from you.”

[69:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.

[69:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.

[69:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.

[77:1]  ⁸ sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.

[77:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.

[77:1]  ¹⁰ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).

[102:1]  ¹¹ sn Psalm 102. The psalmist laments his oppressed state, but longs for a day when the Lord will restore Jerusalem and vindicate his suffering people.

[102:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and may my cry for help come to you.”

[142:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 142. The psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.

[142:1]  ¹⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[142:1]  ¹⁵ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm while in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3. See the superscription of Ps 57.

[142:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I cry out.”

[142:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I plead for mercy.”