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 69:3

69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;

my throat is sore; ⁴ 

my eyes grow tired of looking for my God. ⁵ 

Psalms 99:6

99:6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;

Samuel was one of those who prayed to him. ⁶ 

They ⁷  prayed to the Lord and he answered them.

Psalms 141:1

Psalm 141 ⁸ 

A psalm of David.

141:1 O Lord, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me!

Pay attention to me when I cry out to you!

Psalms 4:1

Psalm 4 ⁹ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.

4:1 When I call out, answer me,

O God who vindicates me! ¹⁰ 

Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place. ¹¹ 

Have mercy on me ¹²  and respond to ¹³  my prayer!

[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.”

[69:3]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”

[69:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.

[99:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “among those who called on his name.”

[99:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “those who.” The participle is in apposition to the phrase “those who called on his name” in the preceding line.

[141:1]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 141. The psalmist asks God to protect him from sin and from sinful men.

[4:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.

[4:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “God of my righteousness.”

[4:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in distress (or “a narrow place”) you make (a place) large for me.” The function of the Hebrew perfect verbal form here is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the psalmist is expressing his certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm (vv. 3, 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“lead me”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “show me favor.”

[4:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “hear.”