71:2 Vindicate me by rescuing me! 1
Listen to me! 2 Deliver me! 3
A prayer of David.
86:1 Listen 5 O Lord! Answer me!
For I am oppressed and needy.
130:2 O Lord, listen to me! 6
Pay attention to 7 my plea for mercy!
22:17 Incline your ear 9 and listen to the words of the wise,
and apply your heart to my instruction. 10
1 tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me and deliver me.” Ps 31:1 omits “and deliver me.”
2 tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
3 tn Ps 31:2 adds “quickly” before “deliver.”
4 sn Psalm 86. The psalmist appeals to God’s mercy as he asks for deliverance from his enemies.
5 tn Heb “turn your ear.”
6 tn Heb “my voice.”
7 tn Heb “may your ears be attentive to the voice of.”
8 sn A new collection of sayings begins here, forming the fourth section of the book of Proverbs. This collection is not like that of 1:1–9:18; here the introductory material is more personal than 1:1-7, and the style differs, showing great similarity to the Instruction of Amenemope in Egypt (especially the thirty precepts of the sages in 22:17–24:22). Verses 17-21 form the introduction, and then the sayings begin in v. 22. After the thirty sayings are given, there are further sayings in 24:23-34. There is much literature on this material: see W. K. Simpson, ed., Literature of Ancient Egypt; ANET 412-425; and A. Cody, “Notes on Proverbs 22:21 and 22:23b,” Bib 61 (1980): 418-26.
9 sn To “incline the ear” means to “listen carefully” (cf. NCV); the expression is metonymical in that the ear is the instrument for hearing. It is like telling someone to lean over to hear better.
10 tn Heb “knowledge” (so KJV, NASB); in this context it refers to the knowledge that is spoken by the wise, hence “instruction.”