22:6 But I 1 am a worm, 2 not a man; 3
people insult me and despise me. 4
40:17 I am oppressed and needy! 5
May the Lord pay attention to me! 6
You are my helper and my deliverer!
O my God, do not delay!
A prayer of David.
86:1 Listen 8 O Lord! Answer me!
For I am oppressed and needy.
102:17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, 9
and does not reject 10 their request. 11
102:18 The account of his intervention 12 will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born will praise the Lord.
102:19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above; 13
from heaven the Lord will look toward earth, 14
102:20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,
and to set free those condemned to die, 15
1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, 21 have not ceased praying for you and asking God 22 to fill 23 you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
1 tn The grammatical construction (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s experience and that of his ancestors. When he considers God’s past reliability, it only heightens his despair and confusion, for God’s present silence stands in stark contrast to his past saving acts.
2 tn The metaphor expresses the psalmist’s self-perception, which is based on how others treat him (see the following line).
3 tn Or “not a human being.” The psalmist perceives himself as less than human.
4 tn Heb “a reproach of man and despised by people.”
5 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.
6 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The
7 sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.
8 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
9 tn The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (’arar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).
10 tn Heb “despise.”
11 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16-17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.
12 tn The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16-17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Heb “from the height of his sanctuary.”
14 tn The perfect verbal forms in v. 19 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 18.
15 tn Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.
16 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
17 sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).
18 tn Grk “And behold, a leper came.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
19 tn Grk “a leper approaching, bowed low before him, saying.”
20 tn This is a third class condition. The report portrays the leper making no presumptions about whether Jesus will heal him or not.
21 tn Or “heard about it”; Grk “heard.” There is no direct object stated in the Greek (direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context). A direct object is expected by an English reader, however, so most translations supply one. Here, however, it is not entirely clear what the author “heard”: a number of translations supply “it” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV; NAB “this”), but this could refer back either to (1) “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8, or (2) “your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints” (v. 4). In light of this uncertainty, other translations supply “about you” (TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). This is preferred by the present translation since, while it does not resolve the ambiguity entirely, it does make it less easy for the English reader to limit the reference only to “your love in the Spirit” at the end of v. 8.
22 tn The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “the knowledge of his will” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.
23 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as substantival, indicating the content of the prayer and asking. The idea of purpose may also be present in this clause.