3:57 You came near 1 on the day I called to you;
you said, 2 “Do not fear!”
ר (Resh)
3:58 O Lord, 3 you championed 4 my cause, 5
you redeemed my life.
1 tn The verb could be understood as a precative (“Draw near”). The perspective of the poem seems to be that of prayer during distress rather than a testimony that God has delivered.
2 tn The verb could be understood as a precative (“Say”).
3 tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the
4 tn This verb, like others in this stanza, could be understood as a precative (“Plead”).
5 tn Heb “the causes of my soul.” The term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= my soul) for the whole person (= me).