Mazmur 119:81-82

כ (Kaf)

119:81 I desperately long for ¹  your deliverance.

I find hope in your word.

119:82 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your promise to be fulfilled. ² 

I say, ³  “When will you comfort me?”

Mazmur 69:3

69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;

my throat is sore; ⁴ 

my eyes grow tired of looking for my God. ⁵ 

Mazmur 130:6

130:6 I yearn for the Lord, ⁶ 

more than watchmen do for the morning,

yes, more than watchmen do for the morning. ⁷ 

Mazmur 143:7

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ⁸ 

Do not reject me, ⁹ 

or I will join ¹⁰  those descending into the grave. ¹¹ 

Ratapan 4:17

The People of Jerusalem Lament:

ע (Ayin)

4:17 Our eyes continually failed us

as we looked in vain for help. ¹² 

From our watchtowers we watched

for a nation that could not rescue us.

[119:81]  ¹ tn Heb “my soul pines for.” See Ps 84:2.

[119:82]  ² tn Heb “my eyes fail for your word.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision. See Ps 69:3.

[119:82]  ³ tn Heb “saying.”

[69:3]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”

[69:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.

[130:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “my soul for the master.”

[130:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “more than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning.” The words “yes, more” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[143:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[143:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.

[4:17]  ¹² tn Heb “Our eyes failed in vain for help.”