Psalms 4:6

4:6 Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”

Smile upon us, Lord! ¹ 

Malachi 3:14

3:14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped ²  by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all? ³ 

¹ tn Heb “lift up upon us the light of your face, Lord.” The verb נסה is apparently an alternate form of נשׂא, “lift up.” See GKC 217 §76.b. The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

² tn Heb “What [is the] profit”; NIV “What did we gain.”

³ sn The people’s public display of self-effacing piety has gone unrewarded by the Lord. The reason, of course, is that it was blatantly hypocritical.