Text -- Psalms 17:1-2 (NET)

Psalm 17

17:1 A prayer of David. Lord, consider my just cause! Pay attention to my cry for help! Listen to the prayer I sincerely offer! 17:2 Make a just decision on my behalf! Decide what is right!

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 17:1

¹ sn Psalm 17. The psalmist asks God to intervene on his behalf because his life is threatened by dangerous enemies. He appeals to divine justice, for he is certain of his own innocence. Because he is innocent, he expects to encounter God and receive an assuring word.

² tn Heb “hear, Lord, what is just.”

³ tn Heb “Listen to my prayer, [made] without lips of deceit.”

NET Notes: Psa 17:2

¹ tn Heb “From before you may my justice come out.” The prefixed verbal form יָצָא (yatsa’) could be taken as an imperfect, but following the imperatives in v. 1, it is better understood as a jussive of prayer.

² tn Heb “May your eyes look at what is right.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as jussive. (See also the preceding note on the word “behalf.”)