43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. 1
Why do you reject me? 2
Why must I walk around 3 mourning 4
because my enemies oppress me?
43:3 Reveal 5 your light 6 and your faithfulness!
They will lead me, 7
they will escort 8 me back to your holy hill, 9
and to the place where you live. 10
1 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.
2 tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).
3 tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.
4 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
5 tn Heb “send.”
6 sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people.
7 tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.
8 tn Heb “bring.”
9 sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.
10 tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the