Psalms 40:1

Context

Psalm 40¹

For the music director; By David, a psalm.

40:1 I relied completely² on the Lord,

and he turned toward me

and heard my cry for help.

[40:1] ¹sn Psalm 40. The psalmist combines a song of thanksgiving for a recent act of divine deliverance (vv. 1-11) with a confident petition for renewed divine intervention (vv. 12-17).

[40:1] ²tn Heb “relying, I relied.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the verbal idea. The emphasis is reflected in the translation through the adverb “completely.” Another option is to translate, “I waited patiently” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).