Psalms 3:4

3:4 To the Lord I cried out, ¹ 

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

Psalms 5:2

5:2 Pay attention to my cry for help,

my king and my God,

for I am praying to you!

Psalms 22:2

22:2 My God, I cry out during the day,

but you do not answer,

and during the night my prayers do not let up. ³ 

Psalms 77:1

Psalm 77 ⁴ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.

77:1 I will cry out to God ⁵  and call for help!

I will cry out to God and he will pay attention ⁶  to me.

Psalms 142:1

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 

[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.

[22:2]  ³ tn Heb “there is no silence to me.”

[77:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.

[77:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.

[77:1]  ⁶ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).

[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.”