Job 10:2

10:2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn ¹  me;

tell me ²  why you are contending ³  with me.’

Psalms 19:12

19:12 Who can know all his errors? ⁴ 

Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of. ⁵ 

Psalms 25:4-5

25:4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!

Teach me your paths! ⁶ 

25:5 Guide me into your truth ⁷  and teach me.

For you are the God who delivers me;

on you I rely all day long.

Psalms 32:8

32:8 I will instruct and teach you ⁸  about how you should live. ⁹ 

I will advise you as I look you in the eye. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 139:23-24

139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! ¹¹ 

Test me, and know my concerns! ¹² 

139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency ¹³  in me,

and lead me in the reliable ancient path! ¹⁴ 

Psalms 143:8-10

143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, ¹⁵ 

for I trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, ¹⁶ 

because I long for you. ¹⁷ 

143:9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord!

I run to you for protection. ¹⁸ 

143:10 Teach me to do what pleases you, ¹⁹ 

for you are my God.

May your kind presence ²⁰ 

lead me ²¹  into a level land. ²² 

[10:2]  ¹ tn The negated jussive is the Hiphil jussive of רָשַׁע (rasha’); its meaning then would be literally “do not declare me guilty.” The negated jussive stresses the immediacy of the request.

[10:2]  ² tn The Hiphil imperative of יָדַע (yada’) would more literally be “cause me to know.” It is a plea for God to help him understand the afflictions.

[10:2]  ³ tn The verb is רִיב (riv), meaning “to dispute; to contend; to strive; to quarrel” – often in the legal sense. The precise words chosen in this verse show that the setting is legal. The imperfect verb here is progressive, expressing what is currently going on.

[19:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Errors who can discern?” This rhetorical question makes the point that perfect moral discernment is impossible to achieve. Consequently it is inevitable that even those with good intentions will sin on occasion.

[19:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “declare me innocent from hidden [things],” i.e., sins. In this context (see the preceding line) “hidden” sins are not sins committed in secret, but sins which are not recognized as such by the psalmist.

[25:4]  ⁶ sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.

[25:5]  ⁷ sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will.

[32:8]  ⁸ tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the Lord addresses the psalmist in vv. 8-9 (cf. NASB “I will instruct you and teach you…I will counsel you with My eye upon you”).

[32:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”

[32:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the Lord for intervention. Here the expression “my eye upon you” may simply mean that the psalmist will teach his pupils directly and personally.

[139:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and know my heart.”

[139:23]  ¹² tn The Hebrew noun שַׂרְעַפַּי (sar’apay, “concerns”) is used of “worries” in Ps 94:19.

[139:24]  ¹³ tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[139:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the Lord at the beginning of Israel’s history. See Jer 6:16; 18:15, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[143:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.

[143:8]  ¹⁶ sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

[143:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).

[143:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to you I cover,” which makes no sense. The translation assumes an emendation to נַסְתִּי (nastiy, “I flee,” a Qal perfect, first singular form from נוּס, nos). Confusion of kaf (כ) and nun (נ) is attested elsewhere (see P. K. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 48). The collocation of נוּס (“flee”) with אֶל (’el, “to”) is well-attested.

[143:10]  ¹⁹ tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8.

[143:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10).

[143:10]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a.

[143:10]  ²² sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery.