Psalms 55:15-17

55:15 May death destroy them! ¹ 

May they go down alive into Sheol! ² 

For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.

55:16 As for me, I will call out to God,

and the Lord will deliver me.

55:17 During the evening, morning, and noontime

I will lament and moan, ³ 

and he will hear ⁴  me. ⁵ 

Psalms 109:3-4

109:3 They surround me and say hateful things; ⁶ 

they attack me for no reason.

109:4 They repay my love with accusations, ⁷ 

but I continue to pray. ⁸ 

Daniel 6:10

6:10 When Daniel realized ⁹  that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows ¹⁰  in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. ¹¹  Three ¹²  times daily he was ¹³  kneeling ¹⁴  and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.

Matthew 6:6

6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, ¹⁵  close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ¹⁶ 

Mark 1:35

Praying and Preaching

1:35 Then ¹⁷  Jesus ¹⁸  got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer. ¹⁹ 

Mark 14:34-36

14:34 He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay alert.” 14:35 Going a little farther, he threw himself to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour would pass from him. 14:36 He said, “Abba, ²⁰  Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup ²¹  away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Hebrews 5:7

5:7 During his earthly life ²²  Christ ²³  offered ²⁴  both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.

[55:15]  ¹ tc The meaning of the MT is unclear. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads יַשִּׁימָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashimavet ’alemo, “May devastation [be] upon them!”). The proposed noun יַשִּׁימָוֶת occurs only here and perhaps in the place name Beth-Jeshimoth in Num 33:49. The Qere (marginal text) has יַשִּׁי מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashi mavet ’alemo). The verbal form יַשִּׁי is apparently an alternate form of יַשִּׁיא (yashi’), a Hiphil imperfect from נָשַׁא (nasha’, “deceive”). In this case one might read “death will come deceptively upon them.” This reading has the advantage of reading מָוֶת (mavet, “death”) which forms a natural parallel with “Sheol” in the next line. The present translation is based on the following reconstruction of the text: יְשִׁמֵּם מָוֶת (yeshimmem mavet). The verb assumed in the reconstruction is a Hiphil jussive third masculine singular from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be desolate”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix attached. This reconstruction assumes that (1) haplography has occurred in the traditional text (the original sequence of three mems [מ] was lost with only one mem remaining), resulting in the fusion of originally distinct forms in the Kethib, and (2) that עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon them”) is a later scribal addition attempting to make sense of a garbled and corrupt text. The preposition עַל (’al) does occur with the verb שָׁמַם (shamam), but in such cases the expression means “be appalled at/because of” (see Jer 49:20; 50:45). If one were to retain the prepositional phrase here, one would have to read the text as follows: יַשִּׁים מָוֶת עָלֵימוֹ (yashim mavet ’alemo, “Death will be appalled at them”). The idea seems odd, to say the least. Death is not collocated with this verb elsewhere.

[55:15]  ² sn Go down alive. This curse imagines a swift and sudden death for the psalmist’s enemies.

[55:17]  ³ tn The first verb is clearly a cohortative form, expressing the psalmist’s resolve. The second verb, while formally ambiguous, should also be understood as cohortative here.

[55:17]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive normally appears in narrational contexts to indicate past action, but here it continues the anticipatory (future) perspective of the preceding line. In Ps 77:6 one finds the same sequence of cohortative + prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive. In this case as well, both forms refer to future actions.

[55:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “my voice.”

[109:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”

[109:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”

[109:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “and I, prayer.”

[6:10]  ⁹ tn Aram “knew.”

[6:10]  ¹⁰ sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows. See b. Berakhot 34b.

[6:10]  ¹¹ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:10]  ¹² sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.

[6:10]  ¹³ tc Read with several medieval Hebrew MSS and printed editions הֲוָה (havah) rather than the MT הוּא (hu’).

[6:10]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).

[6:6]  ¹⁵ sn The term translated room refers to the inner room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible (BDAG 988 s.v. ταμεῖον 2).

[6:6]  ¹⁶ tc See the tc note on “will reward you” in 6:4: The problem is the same and the ms support differs only slightly.

[1:35]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[1:35]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:35]  ¹⁹ tn The imperfect προσηύχετο (proshuceto) implies some duration to the prayer.

[14:36]  ²⁰ tn The word means “Father” in Aramaic.

[14:36]  ²¹ sn This cup alludes to the wrath of God that Jesus would experience (in the form of suffering and death) for us. See Ps 11:6; 75:8-9; Isa 51:17, 19, 22 for this figure.

[5:7]  ²² tn Grk “in the days of his flesh.”

[5:7]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:7]  ²⁴ tn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6.