Psalms 119:20

119:20 I desperately long to know ¹ 

your regulations at all times.

Psalms 119:40

119:40 Look, I long for your precepts.

Revive me with your deliverance! ² 

Psalms 42:1-2

Book 2
(Psalms 42-72)

Psalm 42 ³ 

For the music director; a well-written song ⁴  by the Korahites.

42:1 As a deer ⁵  longs ⁶  for streams of water,

so I long ⁷  for you, O God!

42:2 I thirst ⁸  for God,

for the living God.

I say, ⁹  “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?” ¹⁰ 

Psalms 73:26

73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, ¹¹ 

but God always ¹²  protects my heart and gives me stability. ¹³ 

Psalms 84:2

84:2 I desperately want to be ¹⁴ 

in the courts of the Lord’s temple. ¹⁵ 

My heart and my entire being ¹⁶  shout for joy

to the living God.

The Song of Songs 5:8

The Triumph of Love: The Beloved Praises Her Lover

The Beloved to the Maidens:

5:8 O maidens of Jerusalem, I command you –

If you find my beloved, what will you tell him?

Tell him that I am lovesick! ¹⁷ 

Revelation 3:15-16

3:15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. ¹⁸  I wish you were either cold or hot! 3:16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going ¹⁹  to vomit ²⁰  you out of my mouth!

[119:20]  ¹ tn Heb “my soul languishes for longing for.”

[119:40]  ² tn Or “righteousness.”

[42:1]  ³ sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalms 42 and 43 into a single psalm.

[42:1]  ⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[42:1]  ⁵ tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (’ayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (’ayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.

[42:1]  ⁶ tn Or “pants [with thirst].”

[42:1]  ⁷ tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[42:2]  ⁸ tn Or “my soul thirsts.”

[42:2]  ⁹ tn The words “I say” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[42:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “When will I go and appear [to] the face of God?” Some emend the Niphal verbal form אֵרָאֶה (’era’eh, “I will appear”) to a Qal אֶרְאֶה (’er’eh, “I will see”; see Gen 33:10), but the Niphal can be retained if one understands ellipsis of אֶת (’et) before “face” (see Exod 34:24; Deut 31:11).

[73:26]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew verb כָלָה (khalah, “to fail; to grow weak”) does not refer here to physical death per se, but to the physical weakness that sometimes precedes death (see Job 33:21; Pss 71:9; 143:7; Prov 5:11).

[73:26]  ¹² tn Or “forever.”

[73:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “is the rocky summit of my heart and my portion.” The psalmist compares the Lord to a rocky summit where one could go for protection and to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel.

[84:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my soul longs, it even pines for.”

[84:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the courts of the Lord” (see Ps 65:4).

[84:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my flesh,” which stands for his whole person and being.

[5:8]  ¹⁷ tn The genitive construct חוֹלַת אַהֲבָה (kholat ’ahavah, “sick of love”) denotes “lovesick.” This is an example of a genitive of cause, that is, the Beloved was (physically/emotionally) sick because of her unrequited love for him. See study note on Song 2:5.

[3:15]  ¹⁸ sn Laodicea was near two other towns, each of which had a unique water source. To the north was Hierapolis which had a natural hot spring, often used for medicinal purposes. To the east was Colossae which had cold, pure waters. In contrast to these towns, Laodicea had no permanent supply of good water. Efforts to pipe water to the city from nearby springs were successful, but it would arrive lukewarm. The metaphor in the text is not meant to relate spiritual fervor to temperature. This would mean that Laodicea would be commended for being spiritually cold, but it is unlikely that Jesus would commend this. Instead, the metaphor condemns Laodicea for not providing spiritual healing (being hot) or spiritual refreshment (being cold) to those around them. It is a condemnation of their lack of works and lack of witness.

[3:16]  ¹⁹ tn Or “I intend.”

[3:16]  ²⁰ tn This is the literal meaning of the Greek verb ἐμέω (emew). It is usually translated with a much weaker term like “spit out” due to the unpleasant connotations of the English verb “vomit,” as noted by L&N 23.44. The situation confronting the Laodicean church is a dire one, however, and such a term is necessary if the modern reader is to understand the gravity of the situation.