Psalms 28:1

Context

Psalm 28¹

By David.

28:1 To you, O Lord, I cry out!

My protector,² do not ignore me!³

If you do not respond to me,⁴

I will join⁵ those who are descending into the grave.⁶

Psalms 35:22-23

Context

35:22 But you take notice,⁷ Lord!

O Lord, do not remain far away from me!

35:23 Rouse yourself, wake up⁸ and vindicate me!⁹

My God and Lord, defend my just cause!¹⁰

Psalms 83:1

Context

Psalm 83¹¹

A song, a psalm of Asaph.

83:1 O God, do not be silent!

Do not ignore us!¹² Do not be inactive, O God!

Isaiah 42:14

Context

42:14 “I have been inactive¹³ for a long time;

I kept quiet and held back.

Like a woman in labor I groan;

I pant and gasp.¹⁴

[28:1] ¹sn Psalm 28. The author looks to the Lord for vindication, asks that the wicked be repaid in full for their evil deeds, and affirms his confidence that the Lord will protect his own.

[28:1] ²tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[28:1] ³tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”

[28:1] ⁴tn Heb “lest [if] you are silent from me.”

[28:1] ⁵tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[28:1] ⁶tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.

[35:22] ⁷tn Heb “you see, O Lord.” There is a deliberate play on words. In v. 21 the enemies say, “our eye sees,” but the psalmist is confident that the Lord “sees” as well, so he appeals to him for help (see also v. 17).

[35:23] ⁸sn Though he is confident that the Lord is aware of his situation (see v. 22a), the psalmist compares the Lord’s inactivity to sleep and urges him to wake up.

[35:23] ⁹tn Heb “for my justice.”

[35:23] ¹⁰tn Heb “for my cause.”

[83:1] ¹¹sn Psalm 83. The psalmist asks God to deliver Israel from the attacks of foreign nations. Recalling how God defeated Israel’s enemies in the days of Deborah and Gideon, he prays that the hostile nations would be humiliated.

[83:1] ¹²tn Heb “do not be deaf.”

[42:14] ¹³tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”

[42:14] ¹⁴sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.