Psalms 86:16-17

86:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me!

Give your servant your strength!

Deliver your slave! ¹ 

86:17 Show me evidence of your favor! ² 

Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, ³ 

for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 116:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the Lord has such a secondary wife or concubine! It is used metaphorically and idiomatically to emphasize the psalmist’s humility before the Lord and his status as the Lord’s servant.

² tn Heb “Work with me a sign for good.” The expression “work a sign” also occurs in Judg 6:17.

³ tn After the imperative in the preceding line (“work”), the prefixed verb forms with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose or result.

⁴ tn The perfect verbal forms are understood here as dramatic/rhetorical, expressing the psalmist’s certitude that such a sign from the Lord will be followed by his intervention. Another option is to understand the forms as future perfects (“for you, O Lord, will have helped me and comforted me”).