Psalms 40:2

40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, ¹ 

out of the slimy mud. ² 

He placed my feet on a rock

and gave me secure footing. ³ 

Psalms 69:1-2

Psalm 69 ⁴ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ⁵  by David.

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck. ⁶ 

69:2 I sink into the deep mire

where there is no solid ground; ⁷ 

I am in ⁸  deep water,

and the current overpowers me.

Lamentations 3:54

3:54 The waters closed over my head;

I thought ⁹  I was about to die. ¹⁰ 

[40:2]  ¹ tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (sha’on, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).

[40:2]  ² tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[40:2]  ³ tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”

[69:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.

[69:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.

[69:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.

[69:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”

[69:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “have entered.”

[3:54]  ⁹ tn Heb “I said,” meaning “I said to myself” = “I thought.”

[3:54]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I was about to be cut off.” The verb נִגְזָרְתִּי (nigzarti), Niphal perfect 1st person common singular from גָּזַר (gazar, “to be cut off”), functions in an ingressive sense: “about to be cut off.” It is used in reference to the threat of death (e.g., Ezek 37:11). To be “cut off” from the hand of the living means to experience death (Ps 88:6).