Psalms 4:1

Psalm 4 ¹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.

4:1 When I call out, answer me,

O God who vindicates me! ² 

Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place. ³ 

Have mercy on me ⁴  and respond to ⁵  my prayer!

Psalms 5:1-2

Psalm 5 ⁶ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; ⁷  a psalm of David.

5:1 Listen to what I say, ⁸  Lord!

Carefully consider my complaint! ⁹ 

5:2 Pay attention to my cry for help,

my king and my God,

for I am praying to you!

Psalms 20:1-3

Psalm 20 ¹⁰ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

20:1 May the Lord answer ¹¹  you ¹²  when you are in trouble; ¹³ 

may the God of Jacob ¹⁴  make you secure!

20:2 May he send you help from his temple; ¹⁵ 

from Zion may he give you support!

20:3 May he take notice ¹⁶  of your offerings;

may he accept ¹⁷  your burnt sacrifice! (Selah)

John 17:20

Jesus Prays for Believers Everywhere

17:20 “I am not praying ¹⁸  only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe ¹⁹  in me through their testimony, ²⁰ 

[4:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “God of my righteousness.”

[4:1]  ³ tn Heb “in distress (or “a narrow place”) you make (a place) large for me.” The function of the Hebrew perfect verbal form here is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the psalmist is expressing his certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm (vv. 3, 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“lead me”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[4:1]  ⁴ tn Or “show me favor.”

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “hear.”

[5:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 5. Appealing to God’s justice and commitment to the godly, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from evildoers.

[5:1]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (nÿkhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “my words.”

[5:1]  ⁹ tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.

[20:1]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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 Lord will answer,” etc. In this case the people declare their confidence that the Lord will intervene on behalf of the king and extend to him his favor.

[20:1]  ¹² sn May the Lord answer you. The people address the king as they pray to the Lord.

[20:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “in a day of trouble.”

[20:1]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.”

[17:20]  ¹⁸ tn Or “I do not pray.”

[17:20]  ¹⁹ tn Although πιστευόντων (pisteuontwn) is a present participle, it must in context carry futuristic force. The disciples whom Jesus is leaving behind will carry on his ministry and in doing so will see others come to trust in him. This will include not only Jewish Christians, but other Gentile Christians who are “not of this fold” (10:16), and thus Jesus’ prayer for unity is especially appropriate in light of the probability that most of the readers of the Gospel are Gentiles (much as Paul stresses unity between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Eph 2:10-22).

[17:20]  ²⁰ tn Grk “their word.”