For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” 14 by David.
69:1 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck. 15
69:2 I sink into the deep mire
where there is no solid ground; 16
I am in 17 deep water,
and the current overpowers me.
69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!
Deliver me 18 from those who hate me,
from the deep water!
69:15 Don’t let the current overpower me!
Don’t let the deep swallow me up!
Don’t let the pit 19 devour me! 20
88:5 adrift 21 among the dead,
like corpses lying in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
and who are cut off from your power. 22
88:6 You place me in the lowest regions of the pit, 23
in the dark places, in the watery depths.
88:7 Your anger bears down on me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)
88:8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance;
you make me an appalling sight to them.
I am trapped and cannot get free. 24
3:54 The waters closed over my head;
I thought 25 I was about to die. 26
1 tn Heb “quiet for you”; NAB “that it may quiet down for you.”
2 sn The word translated row is used in Ezekiel to describe digging through a wall (Ezek 8:8; 12:5, 7, 12). Its use in Jonah pictures the sailors digging into the water with their oars as hard as they could.
3 sn The word for land here is associated with a Hebrew verb meaning “to be dry” and is the same noun used in v. 9 of dry ground in contrast with the sea, both made by the
4 tn Heb “but they were not able.” The phrase “to do so” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “the sea was walking and storming.” See the note on the same idiom in v. 11.
6 tn Heb “Do not put against us innocent blood,” that is, “Do not assign innocent blood to our account.” It seems that the sailors were afraid that they would die if they kept Jonah in the ship and also that they might be punished with death if they threw him overboard.
7 tn Pss 115:3 and 135:6 likewise use these verbs (חָפֵץ and עָשָׂה, khafets and ’asah; “to delight” and “to do, make”) in speaking of the
8 tc The editors of BHS suggest that the direct object אֶת־יְהוָה (’et-yÿhvah, “the
9 tn Heb “they feared the
10 tn Heb “they vowed vows.” The root נדר (ndr, “vow”) is repeated in the verb and accusative noun, forming an emphatic effected accusative construction in which the verbal action produces the object specified by the accusative (see IBHS 166-67 §10.2.1f). Their act of vowing produced the vows. This construction is used to emphasize their earnestness and zeal in making vows to worship the God who had just spared their lives from certain death.
11 tn Heb “they sacrificed sacrifices.” The root זבח (zbkh, “sacrifice”) is repeated in the verb and accusative noun, forming an emphatic effected accusative construction in which the verbal action produces the object (see IBHS 166-67 §10.2.1f). Their act of sacrificing would produce the sacrifices. It is likely that the two sets of effected accusative constructions here (“they vowed vows and sacrificed sacrifices”) form a hendiadys; the two phrases connote one idea: “they earnestly vowed to sacrifice lavishly.” It is unlikely that they offered animal sacrifices at this exact moment on the boat – they had already thrown their cargo overboard, presumably leaving no animals to sacrifice. Instead, they probably vowed that they would sacrifice to the
12 tn Heb “The men feared the
13 sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.
14 tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.
15 tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.
16 tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”
17 tn Heb “have entered.”
18 tn Heb “let me be delivered.”
19 tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).
20 tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”
21 tn Heb “set free.”
22 tn Heb “from your hand.”
23 tn The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See v. 4.
24 tn Heb “[I am] confined and I cannot go out.”
25 tn Heb “I said,” meaning “I said to myself” = “I thought.”
26 tn Heb “I was about to be cut off.” The verb נִגְזָרְתִּי (nigzarti), Niphal perfect 1st person common singular from גָּזַר (gazar, “to be cut off”), functions in an ingressive sense: “about to be cut off.” It is used in reference to the threat of death (e.g., Ezek 37:11). To be “cut off” from the hand of the living means to experience death (Ps 88:6).