Psalms 13:1-4

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 

13:3 Look at me! ⁷  Answer me, O Lord my God!

Revive me, ⁸  or else I will die! ⁹ 

13:4 Then ¹⁰  my enemy will say, “I have defeated him!”

Then ¹¹  my foes will rejoice because I am upended.

Psalms 40:13

40:13 Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me!

O Lord, hurry and help me! ¹² 

Psalms 40:17

40:17 I am oppressed and needy! ¹³ 

May the Lord pay attention to me! ¹⁴ 

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O my God, do not delay!

Psalms 70:5

70:5 I am oppressed and needy! ¹⁵ 

O God, hurry to me! ¹⁶ 

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O Lord, ¹⁷  do not delay!

Psalms 71:12

71:12 O God, do not remain far away from me!

My God, hurry and help me! ¹⁸ 

[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?”

[13:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “see.”

[13:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “Give light [to] my eyes.” The Hiphil of אוּר (’ur), when used elsewhere with “eyes” as object, refers to the law of God giving moral enlightenment (Ps 19:8), to God the creator giving literal eyesight to all people (Prov 29:13), and to God giving encouragement to his people (Ezra 9:8). Here the psalmist pictures himself as being on the verge of death. His eyes are falling shut and, if God does not intervene soon, he will “fall asleep” for good.

[13:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “or else I will sleep [in?] the death.” Perhaps the statement is elliptical, “I will sleep [the sleep] of death,” or “I will sleep [with the sleepers in] death.”

[13:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “or else.”

[13:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “or else.”

[40:13]  ¹² tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.

[40:17]  ¹³ sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

[40:17]  ¹⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The Lord will pay attention to me” (cf. NRSV). The parallel in Ps 70:5 has, “O God, hurry to me!” For this reason some prefer to emend יַחֲשָׁב (yakhashav, “may he pay attention”) to חוּשָׁה (khushah, “hurry!”). The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward; elsewhere when the Qal of חָשַׁב (khashav, “reckon; consider”) is collocated with the preposition -ל (lamed) and a pronominal suffix there is an accompanying direct object or additional prepositional phrase/adverbial accusative (see Gen 15:6; 2 Sam 19:19; Job 13:24; 19:11; 33:10; Pss 32:2; 41:7; Amos 6:5).

[70:5]  ¹⁵ sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

[70:5]  ¹⁶ tn Ps 40:17 has “may the Lord pay attention to me.”

[70:5]  ¹⁷ tn Ps 40:17 has “my God” instead of “Lord.”

[71:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “hurry to my help.”