Psalms 80:14

80:14 O God, invincible warrior, ¹  come back!

Look down from heaven and take notice!

Take care of this vine,

Psalms 90:13

90:13 Turn back toward us, O Lord!

How long must this suffering last? ² 

Have pity on your servants! ³ 

Malachi 3:7

3:7 From the days of your ancestors you have ignored ⁴  my commandments ⁵  and have not kept them! Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord who rules over all. “But you say, ‘How should we return?’

¹ tn Heb “O God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot, “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. See also vv. 4, 7 for a similar construction.

² tn Heb “Return, O Lord! How long?”

³ tn Elsewhere the Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) + the preposition עַל (’al) + a personal object has the nuance “be comforted concerning [the personal object’s death]” (see 2 Sam 13:39; Jer 31:15). However, here the context seems to demand “feel sorrow for,” “have pity on.” In Deut 32:36 and Ps 135:14, where “servants” is also the object of the preposition, this idea is expressed with the Hitpael form of the verb.

⁴ tn Heb “turned aside from.”

⁵ tn Or “statutes” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “decrees”; NLT “laws.”