Psalms 25:16

25:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,

for I am alone and oppressed!

Psalms 26:11

26:11 But I have integrity!

Rescue me and have mercy on me!

Psalms 86:15-16

86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.

You are patient and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.

86:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me!

Give your servant your strength!

Deliver your slave!

Micah 7:19

7:19 You will once again have mercy on us;

you will conquer our evil deeds;

you will hurl our sins into the depths of the sea. 10 


tn That is, helpless and vulnerable.

tn Heb “and I in my integrity walk.” The psalmist uses the imperfect verbal form to emphasize this is his practice. The construction at the beginning of the verse (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist and the sinners mentioned in vv. 9-10.

tn Or “redeem me.”

tn Heb “slow to anger.”

tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”

tn Heb “the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 116:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the Lord will again show mercy.

tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the Lord subdues.

tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty.

10 sn In this metaphor the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos).