Romans 7:24

7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Psalms 6:3

6:3 I am absolutely terrified, ¹ 

and you, Lord – how long will this continue? ² 

Psalms 6:9

6:9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;

the Lord has accepted ³  my prayer.

Psalms 42:1-5

Book 2
(Psalms 42-72)

Psalm 42 ⁴ 

For the music director; a well-written song ⁵  by the Korahites.

42:1 As a deer ⁶  longs ⁷  for streams of water,

so I long ⁸  for you, O God!

42:2 I thirst ⁹  for God,

for the living God.

I say, ¹⁰  “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?” ¹¹ 

42:3 I cannot eat, I weep day and night; ¹² 

all day long they say to me, ¹³  “Where is your God?”

42:4 I will remember and weep! ¹⁴ 

For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,

shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival. ¹⁵ 

42:5 Why are you depressed, ¹⁶  O my soul? ¹⁷ 

Why are you upset? ¹⁸ 

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 55:1-2

Psalm 55 ²⁰ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song ²¹  by David.

55:1 Listen, O God, to my prayer!

Do not ignore ²²  my appeal for mercy!

55:2 Pay attention to me and answer me!

I am so upset ²³  and distressed, ²⁴  I am beside myself, ²⁵ 

Psalms 69:3

69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;

my throat is sore; ²⁶ 

my eyes grow tired of looking for my God. ²⁷ 

Psalms 77:1-3

Psalm 77 ²⁸ 

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

77:1 I will cry out to God ²⁹  and call for help!

I will cry out to God and he will pay attention ³⁰  to me.

77:2 In my time of trouble I sought ³¹  the Lord.

I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. ³² 

I ³³  refused to be comforted.

77:3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;

I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” ³⁴  (Selah)

Psalms 88:1-3

Psalm 88 ³⁵ 

A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; ³⁶  a well-written song ³⁷  by Heman the Ezrachite.

88:1 O Lord God who delivers me! ³⁸ 

By day I cry out

and at night I pray before you. ³⁹ 

88:2 Listen to my prayer! ⁴⁰ 

Pay attention ⁴¹  to my cry for help!

88:3 For my life ⁴²  is filled with troubles

and I am ready to enter Sheol. ⁴³ 

Psalms 102:5

102:5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,

my bones protrude from my skin. ⁴⁴ 

Psalms 102:20

102:20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,

and to set free those condemned to die, ⁴⁵ 

Psalms 119:81-82

כ (Kaf)

119:81 I desperately long for ⁴⁶  your deliverance.

I find hope in your word.

119:82 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your promise to be fulfilled. ⁴⁷ 

I say, ⁴⁸  “When will you comfort me?”

Psalms 143:4-7

143:4 My strength leaves me; ⁴⁹ 

I am absolutely shocked. ⁵⁰ 

143:5 I recall the old days; ⁵¹ 

I meditate on all you have done;

I reflect on your accomplishments. ⁵² 

143:6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer; ⁵³ 

my soul thirsts for you in a parched ⁵⁴  land. ⁵⁵ 

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ⁵⁶ 

Do not reject me, ⁵⁷ 

or I will join ⁵⁸  those descending into the grave. ⁵⁹ 

Luke 22:44

22:44 And in his anguish ⁶⁰  he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.] ⁶¹ 

Luke 22:2

22:2 The ⁶²  chief priests and the experts in the law ⁶³  were trying to find some way ⁶⁴  to execute ⁶⁵  Jesus, ⁶⁶  for they were afraid of the people. ⁶⁷ 

Colossians 1:2

1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁶⁸  brothers and sisters ⁶⁹  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁷⁰  from God our Father! ⁷¹ 

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ⁷²  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Colossians 1:8

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

[6:3]  ¹ tn Heb “my being is very terrified.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[6:3]  ² tn Heb “and you, Lord, how long?” The suffering psalmist speaks in broken syntax. He addresses God, but then simply cries out with a brief, but poignant, question: How long will this (= his suffering) continue?

[6:9]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a preterite here; it is parallel to a perfect and refers to the fact that the Lord has responded favorably to the psalmist’s request.

[42:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalms 42 and 43 into a single psalm.

[42:1]  ⁵ 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.

[42:1]  ⁶ tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (’ayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (’ayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.

[42:1]  ⁷ tn Or “pants [with thirst].”

[42:1]  ⁸ tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[42:2]  ⁹ tn Or “my soul thirsts.”

[42:2]  ¹⁰ tn The words “I say” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[42:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “When will I go and appear [to] the face of God?” Some emend the Niphal verbal form אֵרָאֶה (’era’eh, “I will appear”) to a Qal אֶרְאֶה (’er’eh, “I will see”; see Gen 33:10), but the Niphal can be retained if one understands ellipsis of אֶת (’et) before “face” (see Exod 34:24; Deut 31:11).

[42:3]  ¹² tn Heb “My tears have become my food day and night.”

[42:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “when [they] say to me all the day.” The suffixed third masculine plural pronoun may have been accidentally omitted from the infinitive בֶּאֱמֹר (be’ÿmor, “when [they] say”). Note the term בְּאָמְרָם (bÿ’omram, “when they say”) in v. 10.

[42:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “These things I will remember and I will pour out upon myself my soul.” “These things” are identified in the second half of the verse as those times when the psalmist worshiped in the Lord’s temple. The two cohortative forms indicate the psalmist’s resolve to remember and weep. The expression “pour out upon myself my soul” refers to mourning (see Job 30:16).

[42:4]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “for I was passing by with the throng [?], I was walking with [?] them to the house of God; with a voice of a ringing shout and thanksgiving a multitude was observing a festival.” The Hebrew phrase בַּסָּךְ אֶדַּדֵּם (bassakh ’eddaddem, “with the throng [?] I was walking with [?]”) is particularly problematic. The noun סָךְ (sakh) occurs only here. If it corresponds to הָמוֹן (hamon, “multitude”) then one can propose a meaning “throng.” The present translation assumes this reading (cf. NIV, NRSV). The form אֶדַּדֵּם (“I will walk with [?]”) is also very problematic. The form can be taken as a Hitpael from דָּדָה (dadah; this verb possibly appears in Isa 38:15), but the pronominal suffix is problematic. For this reason many emend the form to ם[י]אַדִּרִ (’adirim, “nobles”) or ם-רִ[י]אַדִ (’adirim, “great,” with enclitic mem [ם]). The present translation understands the latter and takes the adjective “great” as modifying “throng.” If one emends סָךְ (sakh, “throng [?]”) to סֹךְ (sokh, “shelter”; see the Qere of Ps 27:5), then ר[י]אַדִּ (’addir) could be taken as a divine epithet, “[in the shelter of] the majestic one,” a reading which may find support in the LXX and Syriac Peshitta.

[42:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”

[42:5]  ¹⁷ sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.

[42:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and [why] are you in turmoil upon me?” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the descriptive present nuance of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.

[42:5]  ¹⁹ tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of his face.” The verse division in the Hebrew text is incorrect. אֱלֹהַי (’elohay, “my God”) at the beginning of v. 7 belongs with the end of v. 6 (see the corresponding refrains in 42:11 and 43:5, both of which end with “my God” after “saving acts of my face”). The Hebrew term פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”) should be emended to פְּנֵי (pÿney, “face of”). The emended text reads, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention.

[55:1]  ²⁰ sn Psalm 55. The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.

[55:1]  ²¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[55:1]  ²² tn Heb “hide yourself from.”

[55:2]  ²³ tn Or “restless” (see Gen 27:40). The Hiphil is intransitive-exhibitive, indicating the outward display of an inner attitude.

[55:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in my complaint.”

[55:2]  ²⁵ tn The verb is a Hiphil cohortative from הוּם (hum), which means “to confuse someone” in the Qal and “to go wild” in the Niphal. An Arabic cognate means “to be out of one’s senses, to wander about.” With the vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, the cohortative probably indicates the result or effect of the preceding main verb. Some prefer to emend the form to וְאֵהוֹמָה (vÿ’ehomah), a Niphal of הוּם (hum), or to וְאֶהַמֶה (vÿ’ehameh), a Qal imperfect from הָמָה (hamah, “to moan”). Many also prefer to take this verb with what follows (see v. 3).

[69:3]  ²⁶ tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”

[69:3]  ²⁷ 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.

[77:1]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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).

[77:2]  ³¹ tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.

[77:2]  ³² tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.

[77:2]  ³³ tn Or “my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[77:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).

[88:1]  ³⁵ sn Psalm 88. The psalmist cries out in pain to the Lord, begging him for relief from his intense and constant suffering. The psalmist regards God as the ultimate cause of his distress, but nevertheless clings to God in hope.

[88:1]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew phrase מָחֲלַת לְעַנּוֹת (makhalat lÿ’annot) may mean “illness to afflict.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term מָחֲלַת also appears in the superscription of Ps 53.

[88:1]  ³⁷ 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.

[88:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “O Lord God of my deliverance.” In light of the content of the psalm, this reference to God as the one who delivers seems overly positive. For this reason some emend the text to אַלֹהַי שִׁוַּעְתִּי (’alohay shivva’tiy, “[O Lord] my God, I cry out”). See v. 13.

[88:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “[by] day I cry out, in the night before you.”

[88:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “may my prayer come before you.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating the psalmist’s desire or prayer.

[88:2]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[88:3]  ⁴² tn Or “my soul.”

[88:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and my life approaches Sheol.”

[102:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “from the sound of my groaning my bone[s] stick to my flesh.” The preposition at the beginning of the verse is causal; the phrase “sound of my groaning” is metonymic for the anxiety that causes the groaning. The point seems to be this: Anxiety (which causes the psalmist to groan) keeps him from eating (v. 4). This physical deprivation in turn makes him emaciated – he is turned to “skin and bones,” so to speak.

[102:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[119:81]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “my soul pines for.” See Ps 84:2.

[119:82]  ⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “saying.”

[143:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[143:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “in my midst my heart is shocked.” For a similar use of the Hitpolel of שָׁמֵם (shamem), see Isa 59:16; 63:5.

[143:5]  ⁵¹ tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.”

[143:5]  ⁵² tn Heb “the work of your hands.”

[143:6]  ⁵³ tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer.

[143:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1.

[143:6]  ⁵⁵ tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[143:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ⁵⁹ 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.

[22:44]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “And being in anguish.”

[22:44]  ⁶¹ tc Several important Greek mss (Ì⁷⁵ א¹ A B N T W 579 1071*) along with diverse and widespread versional witnesses lack 22:43-44. In addition, the verses are placed after Matt 26:39 by ˹³. Floating texts typically suggest both spuriousness and early scribal impulses to regard the verses as historically authentic. These verses are included in א*^,2 D L Θ Ψ 0171 ˹ Ï lat Ju Ir Hipp Eus. However, a number of mss mark the text with an asterisk or obelisk, indicating the scribe’s assessment of the verses as inauthentic. At the same time, these verses generally fit Luke’s style. Arguments can be given on both sides about whether scribes would tend to include or omit such comments about Jesus’ humanity and an angel’s help. But even if the verses are not literarily authentic, they are probably historically authentic. This is due to the fact that this text was well known in several different locales from a very early period. Since there are no synoptic parallels to this account and since there is no obvious reason for adding these words here, it is very likely that such verses recount a part of the actual suffering of our Lord. Nevertheless, because of the serious doubts as to these verses’ authenticity, they have been put in brackets. For an important discussion of this problem, see B. D. Ehrman and M. A. Plunkett, “The Angel and the Agony: The Textual Problem of Luke 22:43-44,” CBQ 45 (1983): 401-16.

[22:2]  ⁶² tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[22:2]  ⁶³ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[22:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “were seeking how.”

[22:2]  ⁶⁵ tn The Greek verb here means “to get rid of by execution” (BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω 2; cf. also L&N 20.71, which states, “to get rid of someone by execution, often with legal or quasi-legal procedures”).

[22:2]  ⁶⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:2]  ⁶⁷ sn The suggestion here is that Jesus was too popular to openly arrest him. The verb were trying is imperfect. It suggests, in this context, that they were always considering the opportunities.

[1:2]  ⁶⁸ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁶⁹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁷¹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.

[1:4]  ⁷² tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).