Psalms 27:7-10

27:7 Hear me, ¹  O Lord, when I cry out!

Have mercy on me and answer me!

27:8 My heart tells me to pray to you, ² 

and I do pray to you, O Lord. ³ 

27:9 Do not reject me! ⁴ 

Do not push your servant away in anger!

You are my deliverer! ⁵ 

Do not forsake or abandon me,

O God who vindicates me!

27:10 Even if my father and mother abandoned me, ⁶ 

the Lord would take me in. ⁷ 

[27:7]  ¹ tn Heb “my voice.”

[27:8]  ² tc Heb “concerning you my heart says, ‘Seek my face.’” The verb form “seek” is plural, but this makes no sense here, for the psalmist is addressed. The verb should be emended to a singular form. The first person pronominal suffix on “face” also makes little sense, unless it is the voice of the Lord he hears. His “heart” is viewed as speaking, however, so it is better to emend the form to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”).

[27:8]  ³ tn Heb “your face, O Lord, I seek.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 24:6; 105:4).

[27:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[27:9]  ⁵ tn Or “[source of] help.”

[27:10]  ⁶ tn Or “though my father and mother have abandoned me.”

[27:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “gather me in”; or “receive me.”