Text -- Psalms 69:1-11 (NET)

Psalm 69

69:1 For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” by David. Deliver me, O God, for the water has reached my neck. 69:2 I sink into the deep mire where there is no solid ground; I am in deep water, and the current overpowers me. 69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help; my throat is sore; my eyes grow tired of looking for my God. 69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head. Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, outnumber me. They make me repay what I did not steal! 69:5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins; my guilt is not hidden from you. 69:6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me, O sovereign Lord and king! Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me, O God of Israel! 69:7 For I suffer humiliation for your sake and am thoroughly disgraced. 69:8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger; they act as if I were a foreigner. 69:9 Certainly zeal for your house consumes me; I endure the insults of those who insult you. 69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food, which causes others to insult me. 69:11 I wear sackcloth and they ridicule me.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 69:1

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

² tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.

³ tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.

NET Notes: Psa 69:2

¹ tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”

² tn Heb “have entered.”

NET Notes: Psa 69:3

¹ tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”

² 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.

NET Notes: Psa 69:4

¹ tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).

² tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).

³ tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (’az, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows.

sn They make me repay what I did not steal. The psalmist’s enemies falsely accuse him and hold him accountable for alleged crimes he did not even commit.

NET Notes: Psa 69:5

¹ tn Heb “you know my foolishness.”

² sn The psalmist is the first to admit that he is not perfect. But even so, he is innocent of the allegations which his enemies bring against him (v. 5b). God, who is aware of his foolish sins and guilt, can testify to the truth of his claim.

NET Notes: Psa 69:6

¹ tn Heb “O Master, Lord of hosts.” Both titles draw attention to God’s sovereign position.

NET Notes: Psa 69:7

¹ tn Heb “carry, bear.”

² tn Heb “on account of you.”

³ tn Heb “and shame covers my face.”

NET Notes: Psa 69:8

¹ tn Heb “and I am estranged to my brothers, and a foreigner to the sons of my mother.”

NET Notes: Psa 69:9

¹ tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.

² tn Or “devotion to.”

³ sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.

⁴ tn Heb “the insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”

sn Jn 2:17 applies the first half of this verse to Jesus’ ministry in the context of John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple.

NET Notes: Psa 69:10

¹ sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

² tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”

NET Notes: Psa 69:11

¹ tn Heb “and I am an object of ridicule to them.”