Job 13:18

13:18 See now, ¹  I have prepared ²  my ³  case; ⁴ 

I know that I am right. ⁵ 

Job 37:19

37:19 Tell us what we should ⁶  say to him.

We cannot prepare a case ⁷ 

because of the darkness.

Psalms 43:1

Psalm 43 ⁸ 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ⁹  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ¹⁰  from deceitful and evil men! ¹¹ 

Isaiah 43:26

43:26 Remind me of what happened! Let’s debate!

You, prove to me that you are right! ¹² 

¹ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) functions almost as an imperative here, calling attention to what follows: “look” (archaic: behold).

² tn The verb עָרַךְ (’arakh) means “to set in order, set in array [as a battle], prepare” in the sense here of arrange and organize a lawsuit.

³ tn The pronoun is added because this is what the verse means.

⁴ tn The word מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) usually means “judgment; decision.” Here it means “lawsuit” (and so a metonymy of effect gave rise to this usage; see Num 27:5; 2 Sam 15:4).

⁵ tn The pronoun is emphatic before the verb: “I know that it is I who am right.” The verb means “to be right; to be righteous.” Some have translated it “vindicated,” looking at the outcome of the suit.

⁶ tn The imperfect verb here carries the obligatory nuance, “what we should say?”

⁷ tn The verb means “to arrange; to set in order.” From the context the idea of a legal case is included.

⁸ sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

⁹ tn Or “argue my case.”

¹⁰ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

¹¹ tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.

¹² tn Heb “you, tell in order that you may be right”; NAB “prove your innocence.”