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 39:12

Context

39:12 Hear my prayer, O Lord!

Listen to my cry for help!

Do not ignore my sobbing!⁷

For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land;

I am at your mercy, just as all my ancestors were.⁸

Psalms 50:21

Context

50:21 When you did these things, I was silent,⁹

so you thought I was exactly like you.¹⁰

But now I will condemn¹¹ you

and state my case against you!¹²

Psalms 83:1

Context

Psalm 83¹³

A song, a psalm of Asaph.

83:1 O God, do not be silent!

Do not ignore us!¹⁴ Do not be inactive, O God!

[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.

[39:12] ⁷tn Heb “do not be deaf to my tears.”

[39:12] ⁸tn Heb “For a resident alien [am] I with you, a sojourner like all my fathers.”

[50:21] ⁹tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.

[50:21] ¹⁰tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).

[50:21] ¹¹tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).

[50:21] ¹²tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the Lord’s resolve to accuse and judge the wicked.

[83:1] ¹³sn 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] ¹⁴tn Heb “do not be deaf.”