Psalms 40:12-17

Context

40:12 For innumerable dangers¹ surround me.

My sins overtake me

so I am unable to see;

they outnumber the hairs of my head

so my strength fails me.²

40:13 Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me!

O Lord, hurry and help me!³

40:14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life

be totally embarrassed and ashamed!⁴

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed!⁵

40:15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”

be humiliated⁶ and disgraced!⁷

40:16 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!

May those who love to experience⁸ your deliverance say continually,⁹

“May the Lord be praised!”¹⁰

40:17 I am oppressed and needy!¹¹

May the Lord pay attention to me!¹²

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O my God, do not delay!

[40:12] ¹tn Or “sinful deeds.” The Hebrew term used here can have a nonmoral nuance (“dangers”) or a moral one (“sinful deeds”) depending on the context. The next line (see “my sins”) seems to favor the moral sense, but the psalmist also speaks of enemies shortly after this (v. 14).

[40:12] ²tn Heb “and my heart abandons me.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of emotional strength and courage. For a similar idea see Ps 38:10.

[40:13] ³tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.

[40:14] ⁴tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones seeking my life to snatch it away.”

[40:14] ⁵tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse (“may those…be…embarrassed and ashamed…may those…be turned back and ashamed”) are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.

[40:15] ⁶tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive in this imprecation.

[40:15] ⁷tn Heb “May they be humiliated according to their shame, those who say to me, ‘Aha! Aha!’”

[40:16] ⁸tn Heb “those who love,” which stands metonymically for its cause, the experience of being delivered by the Lord.

[40:16] ⁹tn The three prefixed verbal forms prior to the quotation are understood as jussives. The psalmist balances out his imprecation against his enemies with a prayer of blessing upon the godly.

[40:16] ¹⁰tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great” (cf. NRSV). See Ps 35:27.

[40:17] ¹¹sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

[40:17] ¹²tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The Lord will pay attention to me” (cf. NRSV). The parallel in Ps 70:5 has, “O God, hurry to me!” For this reason some prefer to emend יַחֲשָׁב (yakhashav, “may he pay attention”) to חוּשָׁה (khushah, “hurry!”). The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward; elsewhere when the Qal of חָשַׁב (khashav, “reckon; consider”) is collocated with the preposition -ל (lamed) and a pronominal suffix there is an accompanying direct object or additional prepositional phrase/adverbial accusative (see Gen 15:6; 2 Sam 19:19; Job 13:24; 19:11; 33:10; Pss 32:2; 41:7; Amos 6:5).