Psalms 40:13-17

40:13 Please be willing, O Lord, to rescue me!

O Lord, hurry and help me! ¹ 

40:14 May those who are trying to snatch away my life

be totally embarrassed and ashamed! ² 

May those who want to harm me

be turned back and ashamed! ³ 

40:15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”

be humiliated ⁴  and disgraced! ⁵ 

40:16 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you!

May those who love to experience ⁶  your deliverance say continually, ⁷ 

“May the Lord be praised!” ⁸ 

40:17 I am oppressed and needy! ⁹ 

May the Lord pay attention to me! ¹⁰ 

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O my God, do not delay!

Psalms 69:18

69:18 Come near me and redeem me! ¹¹ 

Because of my enemies, rescue me!

Psalms 71:12

71:12 O God, do not remain far away from me!

My God, hurry and help me! ¹² 

Psalms 143:7

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ¹³ 

Do not reject me, ¹⁴ 

or I will join ¹⁵  those descending into the grave. ¹⁶ 

[40:13]  ¹ tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Pss 22:19; 38:22.

[40:14]  ² tn Heb “may they be embarrassed and ashamed together, the ones seeking my life to snatch it away.”

[40:14]  ³ tn The four prefixed verbal forms in this verse (“may those…be…embarrassed and ashamed…may those…be turned back and ashamed”) are understood as jussives. The psalmist is calling judgment down on his enemies.

[40:15]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive in this imprecation.

[40:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “May they be humiliated according to their shame, those who say to me, ‘Aha! Aha!’”

[40:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “those who love,” which stands metonymically for its cause, the experience of being delivered by the Lord.

[40:16]  ⁷ tn The three prefixed verbal forms prior to the quotation are understood as jussives. The psalmist balances out his imprecation against his enemies with a prayer of blessing upon the godly.

[40:16]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive, “may the Lord be magnified [in praise].” Another option is to take the verb as an imperfect, “the Lord is great” (cf. NRSV). See Ps 35:27.

[40:17]  ⁹ sn See Pss 35:10; 37:14.

[40:17]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a jussive of prayer (as in the present translation; cf. NIV) or as an imperfect, “The Lord will pay attention to me” (cf. NRSV). The parallel in Ps 70:5 has, “O God, hurry to me!” For this reason some prefer to emend יַחֲשָׁב (yakhashav, “may he pay attention”) to חוּשָׁה (khushah, “hurry!”). The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward; elsewhere when the Qal of חָשַׁב (khashav, “reckon; consider”) is collocated with the preposition -ל (lamed) and a pronominal suffix there is an accompanying direct object or additional prepositional phrase/adverbial accusative (see Gen 15:6; 2 Sam 19:19; Job 13:24; 19:11; 33:10; Pss 32:2; 41:7; Amos 6:5).

[69:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “come near my life and redeem it.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).

[71:12]  ¹² tn Heb “hurry to my help.”

[143:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[143:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.