Psalms 5:3

5:3 Lord, in the morning ¹  you will hear ²  me; ³ 

in the morning I will present my case to you ⁴  and then wait expectantly for an answer. ⁵ 

Luke 18:1

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ⁶  Jesus ⁷  told them a parable to show them they should always ⁸  pray and not lose heart. ⁹ 

[5:3]  ¹ sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).

[5:3]  ² tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”

[5:3]  ³ tn Heb “my voice.”

[5:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.

[5:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I will watch.”

[18:1]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ⁸ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ⁹ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).