7:8 The Lord judges the nations. 1
Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, 2
because I am blameless, 3 O Exalted One! 4
7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked 5 come to an end! 6
But make the innocent 7 secure, 8
O righteous God,
you who examine 9 inner thoughts and motives! 10
43:1 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me 12 against an ungodly nation!
Deliver me 13 from deceitful and evil men! 14
A psalm of David.
143:1 O Lord, hear my prayer!
Pay attention to my plea for help!
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me!
143:11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation, 16 revive me! 17
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble! 18
143:12 As a demonstration of your loyal love, 19 destroy my enemies!
Annihilate 20 all who threaten my life, 21
for I am your servant.
1 sn The
2 tn Heb “judge me, O
3 tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.
4 tn The Hebrew form עָלָי (’alay) has been traditionally understood as the preposition עַל (’al, “over”) with a first person suffix. But this is syntactically awkward and meaningless. The form is probably a divine title derived from the verbal root עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”). This relatively rare title appears elsewhere in the OT (see HALOT 824-25 s.v. I עַל, though this text is not listed) and in Ugaritic as an epithet for Baal (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 98). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:44-45, and P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 98.
5 tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.
6 tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.
7 tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.
8 tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.
9 tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.
10 tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.
11 sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew
12 tn Or “argue my case.”
13 tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.
14 tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.
15 sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.
16 tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
17 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 11-12a are understood as expressing the psalmist’s desire. Note the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.
18 tn Heb “by your justice bring out my life from trouble.”
19 tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.”
20 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the mood of the preceding imperfect.
21 tn Heb “all the enemies of my life.”
22 tn Or “righteousness.”
23 tn Heb “your anger and your rage.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of God’s anger. This is best expressed in English by making one of the terms adjectival (cf. NLT “your furious anger”; CEV “terribly angry”).