Psalms 13:1-2

Psalm 13 ¹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

13:1 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me? ² 

How long will you pay no attention to me? ³ 

13:2 How long must I worry, ⁴ 

and suffer in broad daylight? ⁵ 

How long will my enemy gloat over me? ⁶ 

Psalms 79:5

79:5 How long will this go on, O Lord? ⁷ 

Will you stay angry forever?

How long will your rage ⁸  burn like fire?

Psalms 85:5

85:5 Will you stay mad at us forever?

Will you remain angry throughout future generations? ⁹ 

Psalms 90:13

90:13 Turn back toward us, O Lord!

How long must this suffering last? ¹⁰ 

Have pity on your servants! ¹¹ 

[13:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 13. The psalmist, who is close to death, desperately pleads for God’s deliverance and affirms his trust in God’s faithfulness.

[13:1]  ² tn Heb “will you forget me continually.”

[13:1]  ³ tn Heb “will you hide your face from me.”

[13:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “How long will I put counsel in my being?”

[13:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “[with] grief in my heart by day.”

[13:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “be exalted over me.” Perhaps one could translate, “How long will my enemy defeat me?”

[79:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “How long, O Lord?”

[79:5]  ⁸ tn Or “jealous anger.”

[85:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “Will your anger stretch to a generation and a generation?”

[90:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Return, O Lord! How long?”

[90:13]  ¹¹ tn Elsewhere the Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) + the preposition עַל (’al) + a personal object has the nuance “be comforted concerning [the personal object’s death]” (see 2 Sam 13:39; Jer 31:15). However, here the context seems to demand “feel sorrow for,” “have pity on.” In Deut 32:36 and Ps 135:14, where “servants” is also the object of the preposition, this idea is expressed with the Hitpael form of the verb.