88:3 For my life 1 is filled with troubles
and I am ready to enter Sheol. 2
88:4 They treat me like 3 those who descend into the grave. 4
I am like a helpless man, 5
88:5 adrift 6 among the dead,
like corpses lying in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
and who are cut off from your power. 7
88:6 You place me in the lowest regions of the pit, 8
in the dark places, in the watery depths.
88:7 Your anger bears down on me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)
88:8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance;
you make me an appalling sight to them.
I am trapped and cannot get free. 9
88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.
I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;
I spread out my hands in prayer to you. 10
88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?
Do the departed spirits 11 rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)
88:11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave,
or your faithfulness in the place of the dead? 12
88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced 13 in the dark region, 14
or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? 15
88:13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer confronts you.
88:14 O Lord, why do you reject me,
and pay no attention to me? 16
88:15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth. 17
I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain. 18
88:16 Your anger overwhelms me; 19
your terrors destroy me.
88:17 They surround me like water all day long;
they join forces and encircle me. 20
88:18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance; 21
those who know me leave me alone in the darkness. 22
102:3 For my days go up in smoke, 23
and my bones are charred like a fireplace. 24
102:4 My heart is parched 25 and withered like grass,
for I am unable 26 to eat food. 27
102:5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin. 28
102:6 I am like an owl 29 in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl 30 among the ruins. 31
102:7 I stay awake; 32
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses. 33
102:9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread, 34
and mix my drink with my tears, 35
102:10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed, 36 you pick me up and throw me away.
102:11 My days are coming to an end, 37
and I am withered like grass.
102:12 But you, O Lord, rule forever, 38
and your reputation endures. 39
102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. 40
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
102:14 Indeed, 41 your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for 42 the dust of her ruins. 43
102:15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, 44
and all the kings of the earth will respect 45 his splendor,
102:16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
102:17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute, 46
and does not reject 47 their request. 48
102:18 The account of his intervention 49 will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born will praise the Lord.
102:19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above; 50
from heaven the Lord will look toward earth, 51
102:20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,
and to set free those condemned to die, 52
102:21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,
and praise him 53 in Jerusalem, 54
102:22 when the nations gather together,
and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord. 55
102:23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; 56
he has cut short my days.
102:24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! 57
You endure through all generations. 58
102:25 In earlier times you established the earth;
the skies are your handiwork.
102:26 They will perish,
but you will endure. 59
They will wear out like a garment;
like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. 60
102:27 But you remain; 61
your years do not come to an end.
102:28 The children of your servants will settle down here,
and their descendants 62 will live securely in your presence.” 63
7:11 “Therefore, 64 I will not refrain my mouth; 65
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain 66 in the bitterness of my soul.
3:17 I 67 am deprived 68 of peace; 69
I have forgotten what happiness 70 is.
3:39 Why should any living person 71 complain
when punished for his sins? 72
1 tn Or “my soul.”
2 tn Heb “and my life approaches Sheol.”
3 tn Heb “I am considered with.”
4 tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.
5 tn Heb “I am like a man [for whom] there is no help.”
5 tn Heb “set free.”
6 tn Heb “from your hand.”
7 tn The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit,” “cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See v. 4.
9 tn Heb “[I am] confined and I cannot go out.”
11 tn Heb “I spread out my hands to you.” Spreading out the hands toward God was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). The words “in prayer” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this.
13 tn Heb “Rephaim,” a term that refers to those who occupy the land of the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14, 19).
15 tn Heb “in Abaddon,” a name for Sheol. The noun is derived from a verbal root meaning “to perish,” “to die.”
17 tn Heb “known.”
18 tn Heb “darkness,” here a title for Sheol.
19 tn Heb “forgetfulness.” The noun, which occurs only here in the OT, is derived from a verbal root meaning “to forget.”
19 tn Heb “[why] do you hide your face from me?”
21 tn Heb “and am dying from youth.”
22 tn Heb “I carry your horrors [?].” The meaning of the Hebrew form אָפוּנָה (’afunah), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. It may be an adverb meaning “very much” (BDB 67 s.v.), though some prefer to emend the text to אָפוּגָה (’afugah, “I am numb”) from the verb פוּג (pug; see Pss 38:8; 77:2).
23 tn Heb “passes over me.”
25 tn Heb “they encircle me together.”
27 tn Heb “you cause to be far from me friend and neighbor.”
28 tn Heb “those known by me, darkness.”
29 tn Heb “for my days come to an end in smoke.”
30 tn The Hebrew noun מוֹ־קֵד (mo-qed, “fireplace”) occurs only here, in Isa 33:14 (where it refers to the fire itself), and perhaps in Lev 6:2.
31 tn Heb “struck, attacked.”
32 tn Heb “I forget.”
33 sn I am unable to eat food. During his time of mourning, the psalmist refrained from eating. In the following verse he describes metaphorically the physical effects of fasting.
33 tn Heb “from the sound of my groaning my bone[s] stick to my flesh.” The preposition at the beginning of the verse is causal; the phrase “sound of my groaning” is metonymic for the anxiety that causes the groaning. The point seems to be this: Anxiety (which causes the psalmist to groan) keeps him from eating (v. 4). This physical deprivation in turn makes him emaciated – he is turned to “skin and bones,” so to speak.
35 tn The Hebrew term קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). Modern translations have frequently rendered this as some type of owl (NIV, REB “desert owl”; NRSV “owl”).
36 tn The Hebrew term כוֹס (khos) refers to a bird (see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16), probably a type of owl (cf. NIV, REB “owl”; NRSV “little owl”).
37 sn By comparing himself to a screech owl among the ruins, the psalmist may be highlighting his loneliness (see v. 7), though he may also be comparing his cries for help to the owl’s screech.
37 tn This probably refers to the psalmist’s inability to sleep. Another option is to translate, “I keep watch,” in which case it might refer to watching for a response from the
39 tn Heb “by me they swear.” When the psalmist’s enemies call judgment down on others, they hold the psalmist up as a prime example of what they desire their enemies to become.
41 sn Mourners would sometimes put ashes on their head or roll in ashes as a sign of mourning (see 2 Sam 13:19; Job 2:8; Isa 58:5).
42 tn Heb “weeping.”
43 tn Or “for.”
45 tn Heb “my days [are] like an extended [or “lengthening”] shadow,” that is, like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness.
47 tn Heb “sit” (i.e., sit enthroned, see Ps 9:7). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.
48 tn Heb “and your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.”
49 tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”
51 tn Or “for.”
52 tn The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.
53 tn Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.
53 tn Heb “will fear the name of the
54 tn The verb “will fear” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the preceding line).
55 tn The Hebrew adjective עַרְעָר (’arar, “destitute”) occurs only here in the OT. It is derived from the verbal root ערר (“to strip oneself”).
56 tn Heb “despise.”
57 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 16-17 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 15.
57 tn The Hebrew text has simply “this,” referring to the anticipated divine intervention on behalf of Zion (vv. 13, 16-17). The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
59 tn Heb “from the height of his sanctuary.”
60 tn The perfect verbal forms in v. 19 are functioning as future perfects, indicating future actions that will precede the future developments described in v. 18.
61 tn Heb “the sons of death.” The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 79:11) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.
63 tn Heb “his praise.”
64 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
65 tn “and the kingdoms to serve the
67 tn Heb “he has afflicted my strength in the way.” The term “way” refers here to the course of the psalmist’s life, which appears to be ending prematurely (vv. 23b-24).
69 tn Heb “do not lift me up in the middle of my days.”
70 tn Heb “in a generation of generations [are] your years.”
71 tn Heb “stand.”
72 tn The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.
73 tn Heb “you [are] he,” or “you [are] the one.” The statement may echo the
75 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
76 tn Heb “before you will be established.”
77 tn “Also I” has been rendered frequently as “therefore,” introducing a conclusion. BDB 168-69 s.v. גַמּ lists Ps 52:7 [5] as a parallel, but it also could be explained as an adversative.
78 sn “Mouth” here is metonymical for what he says – he will not withhold his complaints. Peake notes that in this section Job comes very close to doing what Satan said he would do. If he does not curse God to his face, he certainly does cast off restraints to his lament. But here Job excuses himself in advance of the lament.
79 tn The verb is not limited to mental musing; it is used for pouring out a complaint or a lament (see S. Mowinckel, “The Verb siah and the Nouns siah, siha,” ST 15 [1961]: 1-10).
79 tn Heb “my soul.” The term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi, “my soul”) is used as a synecdoche of part (= my soul) for the whole person (= I ).
80 tc The MT reads וַתִּזְנַח (vattiznakh), vav (ו) consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person feminine singular from זָנַח (zanakh, “to reject”), resulting in the awkward phrase “my soul rejected from peace.” The LXX καὶ ἀπώσατο (kai apwsato) reflects a Vorlage of וַיִּזְנַח (vayyiznakh), vav (ו) consecutive + Qal preterite 3rd person masculine singular from זָנַח (zanakh): “He deprives my soul of peace.” Latin Vulgate repulsa est reflects a Vorlage of וַתִּזָּנַח (vattizzanakh), vav (ו) consecutive + Niphal preterite 3rd person feminine singular from זָנַח (zanakh): “My soul is excluded from peace.” The MT best explains the origin of the LXX and Vulgate readings. The מ (mem) beginning the next word may have been an enclitic on the verb rather than a preposition on the noun. This would be the only Qal occurrence of זָנַח (zanakh) used with the preposition מִן (min). Placing the מ (mem) on the noun would have created the confusion leading to the changes made by the LXX and Vulgate. HALOT 276 s.v. II זנח attempts to deal with the problem lexically by positing a meaning “to exclude from” for זָנַח (zanakh) plus מִן (min), but also allows that the Niphal may be the correct reading.
81 tn Heb “from peace.” H. Hummel suggests that שָׁלוֹם (shalom) is the object and the מ (mem) is not the preposition מִן (min), but an enclitic on the verb (“Enclitic Mem in Early Northwest Semitic, Especially in Hebrew” JBL 76 [1957]: 105). שָׁלוֹם (shalom) has a wide range of meaning. The connotation is that there is no peace within; the speaker is too troubled for any calm to take hold.
82 tn Heb “goodness.”
81 tn The Hebrew word here is אָדָם (’adam) which can mean “man” or “person.” The second half of the line is more personalized to the speaking voice of the defeated soldier using גֶּבֶר (gever, “man”). See the note at 3:1.
82 tc Kethib reads the singular חֶטְאוֹ (khet’o, “his sin”), which is reflected in the LXX. Qere reads the plural חֲטָאָיו (khata’ayv, “his sins”) which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew