Discovery BoxEzra 6:10
Context6:10 so that they may be offering incense to the God of heaven and may be praying for the good fortune of the king and his family. 1
Nehemiah 1:11
Context1:11 Please, 2 O Lord, listen attentively 3 to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect 4 to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me 5 in the presence of this man.”
Now 6 I was cupbearer for the king.
Psalms 20:1-4
ContextFor the music director; a psalm of David.
20:1 May the Lord answer 8 you 9 when you are in trouble; 10
may the God of Jacob 11 make you secure!
20:2 May he send you help from his temple; 12
from Zion may he give you support!
20:3 May he take notice 13 of your offerings;
may he accept 14 your burnt sacrifice! (Selah)
20:4 May he grant your heart’s desire; 15
may he bring all your plans to pass! 16
Psalms 72:1
ContextFor 18 Solomon.
72:1 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! 19
Grant the king’s son 20 the ability to make fair decisions! 21
Jeremiah 29:7
Context29:7 Work to see that the city where I sent you as exiles enjoys peace and prosperity. Pray to the Lord for it. For as it prospers you will prosper.’
[6:10] 1 tn Aram “for the life of the king and his sons.”
[1:11] 2 tn The interjection אָנָּא (’anna’) is an emphatic term of entreaty: “please!” (BDB 58 s.v.; HALOT 69-70 s.v.). This term is normally reserved for pleas for mercy from God in life-and-death situations (2 Kgs 20:3 = Isa 38:3; Pss 116:4; 118:25; Jonah 1:14; 4:2) and for forgiveness of heinous sins that would result or have resulted in severe judgment from God (Exod 32:31; Dan 9:4; Neh 1:5, 11).
[1:11] 3 tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”
[1:11] 5 tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.
[1:11] 6 tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.
[20:1] 7 sn Psalm 20. The people pray for the king’s success in battle. When the king declares his assurance that the Lord will answer the people’s prayer, they affirm their confidence in God’s enablement.
[20:1] 8 tn The prefixed verbal forms here and in vv. 1b-5 are interpreted as jussives of prayer (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). Another option is to understand them as imperfects, “the
[20:1] 9 sn May the
[20:1] 10 tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”
[20:1] 11 tn Heb “the name of the God of Jacob.” God’s “name” refers metonymically to his very person and to the divine characteristics suggested by his name, in this case “God of Jacob,” which highlights his relationship to Israel.
[20:2] 12 tc Heb “from [the] temple.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix (ן, nun) has probably been accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the following word begins with a prefixed vav (ו). See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 184.
[20:3] 13 tn Or “remember.” For other examples of the verb זָכַר (zakhar) carrying the nuance “take notice of,” see Pss 8:4 and 9:12.
[20:3] 14 tc Heb “consider as fat.” The verbal form should probably be emended to יְדַשְּׁנֶהָ (yÿdashÿneha), the final he (ה) being understood as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix referring back to the feminine noun “burnt sacrifice.”
[20:4] 15 tn Heb “may he give to you according to your heart.” This probably refers to the king’s prayer for protection and victory in battle. See vv. 5-6.
[20:4] 16 sn May he bring all your plans to pass. This probably refers to the king’s strategy for battle.
[72:1] 17 sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.
[72:1] 18 tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.
[72:1] 19 tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”
[72:1] 20 sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.
[72:1] 21 tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”
