Psalms 22:2

22:2 My God, I cry out during the day,

but you do not answer,

and during the night my prayers do not let up. ¹ 

Psalms 86:3

86:3 Have mercy on me, ²  O Lord,

for I cry out to you all day long!

Psalms 88:1

Psalm 88 ³ 

A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; ⁴  a well-written song ⁵  by Heman the Ezrachite.

88:1 O Lord God who delivers me! ⁶ 

By day I cry out

and at night I pray before you. ⁷ 

Psalms 119:97

מ (Mem)

119:97 O how I love your law!

All day long I meditate on it.

Proverbs 8:34

8:34 Blessed is the one ⁸  who listens to me,

watching ⁹  at my doors day by day,

waiting ¹⁰  beside my doorway. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 23:17

23:17 Do not let your heart envy ¹²  sinners,

but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord ¹³  all the time.

Isaiah 30:18

The Lord Will Not Abandon His People

30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;

he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. ¹⁴ 

Indeed, the Lord is a just God;

all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. ¹⁵ 

Luke 18:7

18:7 Won’t ¹⁶  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ¹⁷  to him day and night? ¹⁸  Will he delay ¹⁹  long to help them?

[22:2]  ¹ tn Heb “there is no silence to me.”

[86:3]  ² tn Or “show me favor.”

[88:1]  ³ sn Psalm 88. The psalmist cries out in pain to the Lord, begging him for relief from his intense and constant suffering. The psalmist regards God as the ultimate cause of his distress, but nevertheless clings to God in hope.

[88:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew phrase מָחֲלַת לְעַנּוֹת (makhalat lÿ’annot) may mean “illness to afflict.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term מָחֲלַת also appears in the superscription of Ps 53.

[88:1]  ⁵ 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.

[88:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “O Lord God of my deliverance.” In light of the content of the psalm, this reference to God as the one who delivers seems overly positive. For this reason some emend the text to אַלֹהַי שִׁוַּעְתִּי (’alohay shivva’tiy, “[O Lord] my God, I cry out”). See v. 13.

[88:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “[by] day I cry out, in the night before you.”

[8:34]  ⁸ tn Heb “the man.”

[8:34]  ⁹ tn The form לִשְׁקֹד (lishqod) is the infinitive construct serving epexegetically in the sentence. It explains how the person will listen to wisdom.

[8:34]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “keeping” or “guarding.”

[8:34]  ¹¹ tn Heb “at the posts of my doors” (so KJV, ASV).

[23:17]  ¹² tn The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (’al-yÿqanne’), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the Lord.”

[23:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”

[30:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.

[30:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”

[18:7]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ¹⁷ sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.

[18:7]  ¹⁸ tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ¹⁹ sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.