Psalms 70:4-5

70:4 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!

May those who love to experience 1  your deliverance say continually, 2 

“May God 3  be praised!” 4 

70:5 I am oppressed and needy! 5 

O God, hurry to me! 6 

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O Lord, 7  do not delay!

1 tn Heb “those who love,” which stands metonymically for its cause, the experience of being delivered by God.

2 tn The three prefixed verbal forms prior to the quotation are understood as jussives. The psalmist balances out his imprecation against his enemies with a prayer of blessing on the godly.

3 tn Ps 40:16 uses the divine name “Lord” here instead of “God.”

4 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great.” See Ps 35:27.

5 sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

6 tn Ps 40:17 has “may the Lord pay attention to me.”

7 tn Ps 40:17 has “my God” instead of “Lord.”