“O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God! For our iniquities have climbed higher than our heads, and our guilt extends to the heavens.
38:4 For my sins overwhelm me; 4
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
40:12 For innumerable dangers 5 surround me.
My sins overtake me
so I am unable to see;
they outnumber the hairs of my head
so my strength fails me. 6
130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of 7 sins,
O Lord, who could stand before you? 8
130:4 But 9 you are willing to forgive, 10
so that you might 11 be honored. 12
1 tn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6. Using the “light” standard talent of 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg) as the standard for calculation, the people donated 168.3 tons (153,000 kg) of gold, 336.5 tons (306,000 kg) of silver, 605.7 tons (550,800 kg) of bronze, and 3,365 tons (3,060,000 kg) of iron.
2 tn On the “daric” as a unit of measure, see BDB 204 s.v. דַּרְכְּמוֹן. Some have regarded the daric as a minted coin, perhaps even referring to the Greek drachma, but this is less likely.
3 tn Heb “I said.”
4 tn Heb “pass over my head.”
5 tn 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).
6 tn 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.
7 tn Heb “observe.”
8 tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”
9 tn Or “surely.”
10 tn Heb “for with you [there is] forgiveness.”
11 tn Or “consequently you are.”
12 tn Heb “feared.”