Psalms 40:12

40:12 For innumerable dangers ¹  surround me.

My sins overtake me

so I am unable to see;

they outnumber the hairs of my head

so my strength fails me. ² 

Psalms 119:86

119:86 All your commands are reliable.

I am pursued without reason. ³  Help me!

Hebrews 5:7

5:7 During his earthly life ⁴  Christ ⁵  offered ⁶  both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.

¹ tn Or “sinful deeds.” The Hebrew term used here can have a nonmoral nuance (“dangers”) or a moral one (“sinful deeds”) depending on the context. The next line (see “my sins”) seems to favor the moral sense, but the psalmist also speaks of enemies shortly after this (v. 14).

² tn Heb “and my heart abandons me.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of emotional strength and courage. For a similar idea see Ps 38:10.

³ sn God’s commands are a reliable guide to right and wrong. By keeping them the psalmist is doing what is right, yet he is still persecuted.

⁴ tn Grk “in the days of his flesh.”

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6.