Deuteronomy 28:32

Context
28:32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it.¹

Psalms 69:3

Context

69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;

my throat is sore;²

my eyes grow tired of looking for my God.³

Psalms 119:82

Context

119:82 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your promise to be fulfilled.⁴

I say,⁵ “When will you comfort me?”

Psalms 119:123

Context

119:123 My eyes grow tired as I wait for your deliverance,⁶

for your reliable promise to be fulfilled.⁷

Isaiah 38:14

Context

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo⁸ like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky.⁹

O sovereign master,¹⁰ I am oppressed;

help me!¹¹

Lamentations 4:17

Context

The People of Jerusalem Lament:

ע (Ayin)

4:17 Our eyes continually failed us

as we looked in vain for help.¹²

From our watchtowers we watched

for a nation that could not rescue us.

[28:32] ¹tn Heb “and there will be no power in your hand”; NCV “there will be nothing you can do.”

[69:3] ²tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”

[69:3] ³tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.

[119:82] ⁴tn Heb “my eyes fail for your word.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision. See Ps 69:3.

[119:82] ⁵tn Heb “saying.”

[119:123] ⁶tn Heb “my eyes fail for your deliverance.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision. See the similar phrase in v. 82.

[119:123] ⁷tn Heb “and for the word of your faithfulness.”

[38:14] ⁸tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14] ⁹tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14] ¹⁰tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14] ¹¹tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.

[4:17] ¹²tn Heb “Our eyes failed in vain for help.”