38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me. 1
Restore my health 2 and preserve my life.’
29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,
only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. 3
It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,
only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. 4
So it will be for the horde from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
1 tn The translation offered here is purely speculative. The text as it stands is meaningless and probably corrupt. It reads literally, “O lord, on account of them [the suffix is masculine plural], they live, and to all in them [the suffix is feminine plural], life of my spirit.”
2 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understood as an imperfect of request.
3 tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
4 tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”