Psalms 94:19

94:19 When worries threaten to overwhelm me,

your soothing touch makes me happy.

Psalms 55:4

55:4 My heart beats violently within me;

the horrors of death overcome me.

Psalms 109:22

109:22 For I am oppressed and needy,

and my heart beats violently within me.

Psalms 39:3

39:3 my anxiety intensified.

As I thought about it, I became impatient.

Finally I spoke these words:

Psalms 51:10

51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God!

Renew a resolute spirit within me! 10 


tn Heb “when my worries are many within me.”

tn Heb “your comforts cause my soul to delight.”

tn Heb “shakes, trembles.”

tn Heb “the terrors of death have fallen on me.”

tc The verb in the Hebrew text (חָלַל, khalal) appears to be a Qal form from the root חלל meaning “pierced; wounded.” However, the Qal of this root is otherwise unattested. The translation assumes an emendation to יָחִיל (yakhil), a Qal imperfect from חוּל (khul, “tremble”) or to חֹלַל (kholal), a polal perfect from חוּל (khul). See Ps 55:4, which reads לִבִּי יָחִיל בְּקִרְבִּי (libbiy yakhil bÿqirbbiy, “my heart trembles [i.e., “beats violently”] within me”).

tn Heb “my heart was hot within me.”

tn Heb “In my reflection fire burned.” The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite (past tense) or an imperfect being used in a past progressive or customary sense (“fire was burning”).

tn Heb “I spoke with my tongue.” The phrase “these words” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.

10 tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”