Psalms 3:4

3:4 To the Lord I cried out, ¹ 

and he answered me from his holy hill. ²  (Selah)

Psalms 34:6

34:6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;

he saved him ³  from all his troubles.

Psalms 55:16-17

55:16 As for me, I will call out to God,

and the Lord will deliver me.

55:17 During the evening, morning, and noontime

I will lament and moan, ⁴ 

and he will hear ⁵  me. ⁶ 

Psalms 142:1-3

Psalm 142 ⁷ 

A well-written song ⁸  by David, when he was in the cave; ⁹  a prayer.

142:1 To the Lord I cry out; ¹⁰ 

to the Lord I plead for mercy. ¹¹ 

142:2 I pour out my lament before him;

I tell him about ¹²  my troubles.

142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, ¹³ 

you watch my footsteps. ¹⁴ 

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

[3:4]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form could be an imperfect, yielding the translation “I cry out,” but the verb form in the next line (a vav [ו] consecutive with the preterite) suggests this is a brief narrative of what has already happened. Consequently the verb form in v. 4a is better understood as a preterite, “I cried out.” (For another example of the preterite of this same verb form, see Ps 30:8.) Sometime after the crisis arose, the psalmist prayed to the Lord and received an assuring answer. Now he confidently awaits the fulfillment of the divine promise.

[3:4]  ² sn His holy hill. That is, Zion (see Pss 2:6; 48:1-2). The psalmist recognizes that the Lord dwells in his sanctuary on Mount Zion.

[34:6]  ³ tn The pronoun refers back to “this oppressed man,” namely, the psalmist.

[55:17]  ⁴ tn The first verb is clearly a cohortative form, expressing the psalmist’s resolve. The second verb, while formally ambiguous, should also be understood as cohortative here.

[55:17]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive normally appears in narrational contexts to indicate past action, but here it continues the anticipatory (future) perspective of the preceding line. In Ps 77:6 one finds the same sequence of cohortative + prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive. In this case as well, both forms refer to future actions.

[55:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “my voice.”

[142:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 142. The psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.

[142:1]  ⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[142:1]  ⁹ sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm while in “the cave.” This probably refers to either the incident recorded in 1 Sam 22:1 or to the one recorded in 1 Sam 24:3. See the superscription of Ps 57.

[142:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I cry out.”

[142:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[with] my voice to the Lord I plead for mercy.”

[142:2]  ¹² tn Heb “my trouble before him I declare.”

[142:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[142:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you know my path.”