Psalms 4:3

4:3 Realize that ¹  the Lord shows the godly special favor; ² 

the Lord responds ³  when I cry out to him.

Psalms 17:6

17:6 I call to you for you will answer me, O God.

Listen to me! ⁴ 

Hear what I say! ⁵ 

Psalms 53:4

53:4 All those who behave wickedly ⁶  do not understand ⁷  –

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to God.

Psalms 79:6

79:6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, ⁸ 

on the kingdoms that do not pray to you! ⁹ 

Psalms 80:18

80:18 Then we will not turn away from you.

Revive us and we will pray to you! ¹⁰ 

Psalms 88:9

88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.

I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;

I spread out my hands in prayer to you. ¹¹ 

Psalms 105:1

Psalm 105 ¹² 

105:1 Give thanks to the Lord!

Call on his name!

Make known his accomplishments among the nations!

Psalms 116:2

116:2 and listened to me. ¹³ 

As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 116:13

116:13 I will celebrate my deliverance, ¹⁵ 

and call on the name of the Lord.

[4:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and know that.”

[4:3]  ² tn Heb “that the Lord sets apart a faithful one for himself.” The psalmist states a general principle, though the singular form and the parallel line indicate he has himself in mind as the representative godly person. A חָסִיד (khasid; here translated as “the godly”) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[4:3]  ³ tn Heb “hears.”

[17:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “Turn your ear toward me.”

[17:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “my word.”

[53:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8. Ps 14:4 adds כֹּל (kol, “all of”) before “workers of wickedness.”

[53:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-6).

[79:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “which do not know you.” Here the Hebrew term “know” means “acknowledge the authority of.”

[79:6]  ¹¹ sn The kingdoms that do not pray to you. The people of these kingdoms pray to other gods, not the Lord, because they do not recognize his authority over them.

[80:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “and in your name we will call.”

[88:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I spread out my hands to you.” Spreading out the hands toward God was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). The words “in prayer” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this.

[105:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 105. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God because he delivered his people from Egypt in fulfillment of his covenantal promises to Abraham. A parallel version of vv. 1-15 appears in 1 Chr 16:8-22.

[116:2]  ²² tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”

[116:2]  ²³ tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”

[116:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a cup of deliverance I will lift up.” Perhaps this alludes to a drink offering the psalmist will present as he thanks the Lord for his deliverance. See v. 17.