38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo 4 like a dove;
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. 5
O sovereign master, 6 I am oppressed;
help me! 7
1 tn Heb “in that day” (so ASV, NASB); KJV “In the same day.”
2 tn Heb “the river” (so KJV); NASB “the Euphrates.” The name of the river has been supplied in the present translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “the hair of the feet.” The translation assumes that the word “feet” is used here as a euphemism for the genitals. See BDB 920 s.v. רֶגֶל.
4 tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”
5 tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”
6 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
7 tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.