Psalms 22:26

22:26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled! ¹ 

Let those who seek his help praise the Lord!

May you ²  live forever!

Psalms 22:29

22:29 All of the thriving people ³  of the earth will join the celebration and worship; ⁴ 

all those who are descending into the grave ⁵  will bow before him,

including those who cannot preserve their lives. ⁶ 

Isaiah 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁷ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁸ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁹ 

They should return ¹⁰  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹¹ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹² 

[22:26]  ¹ sn Eat and be filled. In addition to praising the Lord, the psalmist also offers a thank offering to the Lord and invites others to share in a communal meal.

[22:26]  ² tn Heb “may your heart[s].”

[22:29]  ³ tn Heb “fat [ones].” This apparently refers to those who are healthy and robust, i.e., thriving. In light of the parallelism, some prefer to emend the form to יְשֵׁנֵי (yÿsheney, “those who sleep [in the earth]”; cf. NAB, NRSV), but דִּשְׁנֵי (dishney, “fat [ones]”) seems to form a merism with “all who descend into the grave” in the following line. The psalmist envisions all people, whether healthy or dying, joining in worship of the Lord.

[22:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “eat and worship.” The verb forms (a perfect followed by a prefixed form with vav [ו] consecutive) are normally used in narrative to relate completed actions. Here the psalmist uses the forms rhetorically as he envisions a time when the Lord will receive universal worship. The mood is one of wishful thinking and anticipation; this is not prophecy in the strict sense.

[22:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “all of the ones going down [into] the dust.” This group stands in contrast to those mentioned in the previous line. Together the two form a merism encompassing all human beings – the healthy, the dying, and everyone in between.

[22:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “and his life he does not revive.”

[55:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹² sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.