Psalms 28:1

Psalm 28 ¹ 

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 join ⁵  those who are descending into the grave. ⁶ 

Psalms 80:4

80:4 O Lord God, invincible warrior! ⁷ 

How long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you? ⁸ 

Psalms 143:7

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ⁹ 

Do not reject me, ¹⁰ 

or I will join ¹¹  those descending into the grave. ¹² 

Lamentations 3:8

3:8 Also, when I cry out desperately ¹³  for help, ¹⁴ 

he has shut out my prayer. ¹⁵ 

[28:1]  ¹ sn 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]  ² tn 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]  ³ tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”

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

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

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

[80:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Lord, God, hosts.” One expects the construct form אֱלֹהֵי (’elohey) before צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot; “hosts”; see Ps 89:9), but יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים (yehvah ’elohim) precedes צְבָאוֹת (tsÿva’ot) in Pss 59:5 and 84:8 as well. In this context the term “hosts” (meaning “armies”) has been rendered “invincible warrior.”

[80:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “How long will you remain angry during the prayer of your people.” Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) in an adversative sense here (“at/against the prayer of your people”), but the temporal sense is preferable. The psalmist expects persistent prayer to pacify God.

[143:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[143:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ¹² tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.

[3:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “I call and I cry out.” The verbs אֶזְעַק וַאֲשַׁוֵּעַ (’ez’aq va’asha’vvea’, “I call and I cry out”) form a verbal hendiadys: the second retains its full verbal sense, while the first functions adverbially: “I cry out desperately.”

[3:8]  ¹⁴ tn The verb שׁוע (“to cry out”) usually refers to calling out to God for help or deliverance from a lamentable plight (e.g., Job 30:20; 36:13; 38:41; Pss 5:3; 18:7, 42; 22:25; 28:2; 30:3; 31:23; 88:14; 119:147; Isa 58:9; Lam 3:8; Jon 2:3; Hab 1:2).

[3:8]  ¹⁵ tn The verb שָׂתַם (satam) is a hapax legomenon (term that appears in the Hebrew scriptures only once) that means “to stop up” or “shut out.” It functions as an idiom here, meaning “he has shut his ears to my prayer” (BDB 979 s.v.).