Deuteronomy 28:32

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

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

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

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

for your reliable promise to be fulfilled. ⁷ 

Isaiah 38:14

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

I coo ⁸  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

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

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

[69:3]  ³ tn 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]  ⁴ tn 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

[119:123]  ⁶ tn 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “and for the word of your faithfulness.”

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

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

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

[38:14]  ¹¹ tn 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]  ¹² tn Heb “Our eyes failed in vain for help.”