6:40 “Now, my God, may you be attentive and responsive to the prayers offered in this place. 1
36:7 He does not take his eyes 2 off the righteous;
but with kings on the throne
he seats the righteous 3 and exalts them forever. 4
17:6 I call to you for you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me! 5
Hear what I say! 6
71:2 Vindicate me by rescuing me! 7
Listen to me! 8 Deliver me! 9
A song of ascents. 11
130:1 From the deep water 12 I cry out to you, O Lord.
130:2 O Lord, listen to me! 13
Pay attention to 14 my plea for mercy!
9:17 “So now, our God, accept 15 the prayer and requests of your servant, and show favor to 16 your devastated sanctuary for your own sake. 17 9:18 Listen attentively, 18 my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins 19 and the city called by your name. 20 For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, 21 but because your compassion is abundant. 9:19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.” 22
9:1 In the first year of Darius 23 son of Ahasuerus, 24 who was of Median descent and who had been 25 appointed king over the Babylonian 26 empire –
1 tn Heb “May your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.”
2 tc Many commentators accept the change of “his eyes” to “his right” (reading דִּינוֹ [dino] for עֵינָיו [’enayv]). There is no compelling reason for the change; it makes the line commonplace.
3 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the righteous) has been repeated from the first part of the verse for clarity.
4 tn Heb “he seats them forever and exalts them.” The last verb can be understood as expressing a logical consequence of the preceding action (cf. GKC 328 §111.l = “he seats them forever so that he exalts them”). Or the two verbs can be taken as an adverbial hendiadys whereby the first modifies the second adverbially: “he exalts them by seating them forever” or “when he seats them forever” (cf. GKC 326 §111.d). Some interpret this verse to say that God seats kings on the throne, making a change in subject in the middle of the verse. But it makes better sense to see the righteous as the subject matter throughout – they are not only protected, but are exalted.
5 tn Heb “Turn your ear toward me.”
6 tn Heb “my word.”
7 tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me and deliver me.” Ps 31:1 omits “and deliver me.”
8 tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
9 tn Ps 31:2 adds “quickly” before “deliver.”
10 sn Psalm 130. The psalmist, confident of the Lord’s forgiveness, cries out to the Lord for help in the midst of his suffering and urges Israel to do the same.
11 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
12 tn Heb “depths,” that is, deep waters (see Ps 69:2, 14; Isa 51:10), a metaphor for the life-threatening danger faced by the psalmist.
13 tn Heb “my voice.”
14 tn Heb “may your ears be attentive to the voice of.”
15 tn Heb “hear.” Here the verb refers to hearing favorably, accepting the prayer and responding positively.
16 tn Heb “let your face shine.” This idiom pictures God smiling in favor. See Pss 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19.
17 tn Heb “for the sake of my Lord.” Theodotion has “for your sake.” Cf. v. 19.
18 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
19 tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.
20 tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.
21 tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”
22 tn Heb “for your name is called over your city and your people.” See the note on this expression in v 18.
23 sn The identity of this Darius is a major problem in correlating the biblical material with the extra-biblical records of this period. Most modern scholars treat the reference as a mistaken allusion to Darius Hystaspes (ca. 522-486
24 tc The LXX reads “Xerxes.” This is the reading used by some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV). Most other English versions retain the Hebrew name “Ahasuerus.”
25 tc The present translation follows the MT in reading a Hophal (i.e., passive). Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate all presuppose the Hiphil (i.e., active). Even though this is the only occurrence of the Hophal of this verb in the Bible, there is no need to emend the vocalization to the Hiphil.
26 tn Heb “was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.”
27 sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or due to being away on business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.