Psalms 119:146

119:146 I cried out to you, “Deliver me,

so that I can keep ¹  your rules.”

Psalms 130:1

Psalm 130 ² 

A song of ascents. ³ 

130:1 From the deep water ⁴  I cry out to you, O Lord.

Psalms 17:6

17:6 I call to you for you will answer me, O God.

Listen to me! ⁵ 

Hear what I say! ⁶ 

Psalms 31:17

31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,

for I call out to you!

May evil men be humiliated!

May they go wailing to the grave! ⁷ 

Psalms 88:9

88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.

I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;

I spread out my hands in prayer to you. ⁸ 

Psalms 141:1

Psalm 141 ⁹ 

A psalm of David.

141:1 O Lord, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me!

Pay attention to me when I cry out to you!

[119:146]  ¹ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[130:1]  ² sn Psalm 130. The psalmist, confident of the Lord’s forgiveness, cries out to the Lord for help in the midst of his suffering and urges Israel to do the same.

[130:1]  ³ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[130:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “depths,” that is, deep waters (see Ps 69:2, 14; Isa 51:10), a metaphor for the life-threatening danger faced by the psalmist.

[17:6]  ³ tn Heb “Turn your ear toward me.”

[17:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “my word.”

[31:17]  ⁴ tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yiddÿmu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”

[88:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “I spread out my hands to you.” Spreading out the hands toward God was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). The words “in prayer” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this.

[141:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.