9:13 when they prayed: 1
“Have mercy on me, 2 Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me, 3
O one who can snatch me away 4 from the gates of death!
107:18 They lost their appetite for all food, 5
and they drew near the gates of death.
116:3 The ropes of death tightened around me, 6
the snares 7 of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted 8 with trouble and sorrow.
1 tn The words “when they prayed,” though not represented in the Hebrew text, are supplied in the translation for clarification. The petition in vv. 13-14 is best understood as the cry for help which the oppressed offered to God when the nations threatened. The
2 tn Or “show me favor.”
3 tn Heb “see my misery from the ones who hate me.”
4 tn Heb “one who lifts me up.”
5 tn Heb “all food their appetite loathed.”
6 tn Heb “surrounded me.”
7 tn The Hebrew noun מצר (“straits; distress”) occurs only here, Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. If retained, it refers to Sheol as a place where one is confined or severely restricted (cf. BDB 865 s.v. מֵצַר, “the straits of Sheol”; NIV “the anguish of the grave”; NRSV “the pangs of Sheol”). However, HALOT 624 s.v. מֵצַר suggests an emendation to מְצָדֵי (mÿtsadey, “snares of”), a rare noun attested in Job 19:6 and Eccl 7:26. This proposal, which is reflected in the translation, produces better parallelism with “ropes” in the preceding line.
8 tn The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a preterite. The psalmist recalls the crisis from which the Lord delivered him.