Psalms 35:23

35:23 Rouse yourself, wake up ¹  and vindicate me! ² 

My God and Lord, defend my just cause! ³ 

Psalms 43:1

Psalm 43 ⁴ 

43:1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me ⁵  against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me ⁶  from deceitful and evil men! ⁷ 

[35:23]  ¹ sn 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]  ² tn Heb “for my justice.”

[35:23]  ³ tn Heb “for my cause.”

[43:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

[43:1]  ⁵ tn Or “argue my case.”

[43:1]  ⁶ tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.

[43:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.