25:17 Deliver me from my distress; 1
rescue me from my suffering! 2
73:21 Yes, 3 my spirit was bitter, 4
and my insides felt sharp pain. 5
73:13 I concluded, 6 “Surely in vain I have kept my motives 7 pure
and maintained a pure lifestyle. 8
73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, 9
but God always 10 protects my heart and gives me stability. 11
86:12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart!
I will honor your name continually! 12
139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! 13
Test me, and know my concerns! 14
77:6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening. 15
86:11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live! 16
Then I will obey your commands. 17
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you! 18
101:2 I will walk in 19 the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace. 20
1 tc Heb “the distresses of my heart, they make wide.” The text makes little if any sense as it stands, unless this is an otherwise unattested intransitive use of the Hiphil of רָחַב (rakhav, “be wide”). It is preferable to emend the form הִרְחִיבוּ (hirkhivu; Hiphil perfect third plural “they make wide”) to הַרְחֵיב (harkhev; Hiphil imperative masculine singular “make wide”). (The final vav [ו] can be joined to the following word and taken as a conjunction.) In this case one can translate, “[in/from] the distresses of my heart, make wide [a place for me],” that is, “deliver me from the distress I am experiencing.” For the expression “make wide [a place for me],” see Ps 4:1.
2 tn Heb “from my distresses lead me out.”
3 tn Or perhaps “when.”
4 tn The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing attitude in a past time frame.
5 tn Heb “and [in] my kidneys I was pierced.” The imperfect verbal form here describes a continuing condition in a past time frame.
5 tn The words “I concluded” are supplied in the translation. It is apparent that vv. 13-14 reflect the psalmist’s thoughts at an earlier time (see vv. 2-3), prior to the spiritual awakening he describes in vv. 17-28.
6 tn Heb “heart,” viewed here as the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.
7 tn Heb “and washed my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The reference to “hands” suggests actions.
7 tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).
8 tn Or “forever.”
9 tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the
9 tn Or “forever.”
11 tn Heb “and know my heart.”
12 tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.
13 tn Heb “I will remember my song in the night, with my heart I will reflect. And my spirit searched.” As in v. 4, the words of v. 6a are understood as what the psalmist said earlier. Consequently the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 10). The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive at the beginning of the final line is taken as sequential to the perfect “I thought” in v. 6.
15 tn Heb “teach me your way.” The
16 tn Heb “I will walk in your truth.” The
17 tn Heb “Bind my heart to the fearing of your name.” The verb translated “bind” occurs only here in the Piel stem. It appears twice in the Qal, meaning “be joined” in both cases (Gen 49:6; Isa 14:20). To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for him which in turn motivates one to obey his commands (see Pss 61:5; 102:15).
17 tn Heb “take notice of.”
18 tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”