Psalms 13:3-4

13:3 Look at me! ¹  Answer me, O Lord my God!

Revive me, ²  or else I will die! ³ 

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

Then ⁵  my foes will rejoice because I am upended.

Psalms 35:24-26

35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!

Do not let them gloat ⁶  over me!

35:25 Do not let them say to themselves, ⁷  “Aha! We have what we wanted!” ⁸ 

Do not let them say, “We have devoured him!”

35:26 May those who want to harm me be totally embarrassed and ashamed! ⁹ 

May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation! ¹⁰ 

[13:3]  ¹ tn Heb “see.”

[13:3]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “or else.”

[13:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “or else.”

[35:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “rejoice.”

[35:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “in their heart[s].”

[35:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “Aha! Our desire!” The “desire” of the psalmist’s enemies is to triumph over him.

[35:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones who rejoice over my harm.”

[35:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “may they be clothed with shame and humiliation, the ones who magnify [themselves] against me.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 26 are understood as jussives (see vv. 24b-25, where the negative particle אַל (’al) appears before the prefixed verbal forms, indicating they are jussives). The psalmist is calling down judgment on his enemies.