38:7 For I am overcome with shame 1
and my whole body is sick. 2
41:3 The Lord supports 3 him on his sickbed;
you completely heal him from his illness. 4
103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, 5
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. 6
103:14 For he knows what we are made of; 7
he realizes 8 we are made of clay. 9
103:15 A person’s life is like grass. 10
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
103:16 but when the hot wind 11 blows by, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, 12
and is faithful to their descendants, 13
1 tn Heb “for my loins are filled with shame.” The “loins” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. The present translation assumes that נִקְלֶה (niqleh) is derived from קָלָה (qalah, “be dishonored”). Some derive it instead from a homonymic root קָלָה (qalah), meaning “to roast.” In this case one might translate “fever” (cf. NEB “my loins burn with fever”).
2 tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh” (see v. 3).
3 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive, continuing the prayer of v. 2, but the parallel line in v. 3b employs the perfect, suggesting that the psalmist is again speaking in the indicative mood (see v. 1b). The imperfect can be understood as future or as generalizing (see v. 1).
4 tn Heb “all his bed you turn in his illness.” The perfect is used here in a generalizing sense (see v. 1) or in a rhetorical manner to emphasize that the healing is as good as done.
5 tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.
6 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
7 tn Heb “our form.”
8 tn Heb “remembers.”
9 tn Heb “we [are] clay.”
10 tn Heb “[as for] mankind, like grass [are] his days.” The Hebrew noun אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) is used here generically of human beings. What is said is true of all mankind.
11 tn Heb “[the] wind.” The word “hot” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
12 tn Heb “but the loyal love of the
13 tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”