Psalms 22:9

22:9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out ¹  from the womb

and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.

Psalms 31:9

31:9 Have mercy on me, for I am in distress!

My eyes grow dim ²  from suffering. ³ 

I have lost my strength. ⁴ 

Psalms 71:6

71:6 I have leaned on you since birth; ⁵ 

you pulled me ⁶  from my mother’s womb.

I praise you continually. ⁷ 

Psalms 132:11

132:11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David; ⁸ 

he will not go back on his word. ⁹ 

He said, ¹⁰  “I will place one of your descendants ¹¹  on your throne.

[22:9]  ¹ tn Or “the one who pulled me.” The verb is derived from either גָחָה (gakhah; see HALOT 187 s.v. גחה) or גִּיחַ (giyakh; see BDB 161 s.v. גִּיחַ) and seems to carry the nuance “burst forth” or “pull out.”

[31:9]  ² tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”

[31:9]  ³ tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.

[31:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.

[71:6]  ³ tn Heb “from the womb.”

[71:6]  ⁴ tc The form in the MT is derived from גָזָה (gazah, “to cut off”), perhaps picturing God as the one who severed the psalmist’s umbilical cord. Many interpreters and translators prefer to emend the text to גֹחִי (gokhiy), from גוּח (gukh) or גִיח, (gikh, “pull out”; see Ps 22:9; cf. the present translation) or to עוּזִּי (’uzziy, “my strength”; cf. NEB “my protector since I left my mother’s womb”).

[71:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “in you [is] my praise continually.”

[132:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord swore an oath to David [in] truth.”

[132:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will not turn back from it.”

[132:11]  ⁶ tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows are the Lord’s words.

[132:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “the fruit of your body.”