Psalms 42:3

42:3 I cannot eat, I weep day and night; ¹ 

all day long they say to me, ²  “Where is your God?”

Psalms 55:16-17

55:16 As for me, I will call out to God,

and the Lord will deliver me.

55:17 During the evening, morning, and noontime

I will lament and moan, ³ 

and he will hear ⁴  me. ⁵ 

Psalms 88:1

Psalm 88 ⁶ 

A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; ⁷  a well-written song ⁸  by Heman the Ezrachite.

88:1 O Lord God who delivers me! ⁹ 

By day I cry out

and at night I pray before you. ¹⁰ 

Luke 18:7

18:7 Won’t ¹¹  God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out ¹²  to him day and night? ¹³  Will he delay ¹⁴  long to help them?

Luke 18:1

Prayer and the Parable of the Persistent Widow

18:1 Then ¹⁵  Jesus ¹⁶  told them a parable to show them they should always ¹⁷  pray and not lose heart. ¹⁸ 

Luke 3:10

3:10 So ¹⁹  the crowds were asking ²⁰  him, “What then should we do?”

Luke 3:2

3:2 during the high priesthood ²¹  of Annas and Caiaphas, the word ²²  of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ²³ 

Luke 1:3

1:3 So ²⁴  it seemed good to me as well, ²⁵  because I have followed ²⁶  all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account ²⁷  for you, most excellent Theophilus,

[42:3]  ¹ tn Heb “My tears have become my food day and night.”

[42:3]  ² tn Heb “when [they] say to me all the day.” The suffixed third masculine plural pronoun may have been accidentally omitted from the infinitive בֶּאֱמֹר (be’ÿmor, “when [they] say”). Note the term בְּאָמְרָם (bÿ’omram, “when they say”) in v. 10.

[55:17]  ³ tn The first verb is clearly a cohortative form, expressing the psalmist’s resolve. The second verb, while formally ambiguous, should also be understood as cohortative here.

[55:17]  ⁴ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive normally appears in narrational contexts to indicate past action, but here it continues the anticipatory (future) perspective of the preceding line. In Ps 77:6 one finds the same sequence of cohortative + prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive. In this case as well, both forms refer to future actions.

[55:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “my voice.”

[88:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 88. The psalmist cries out in pain to the Lord, begging him for relief from his intense and constant suffering. The psalmist regards God as the ultimate cause of his distress, but nevertheless clings to God in hope.

[88:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew phrase מָחֲלַת לְעַנּוֹת (makhalat lÿ’annot) may mean “illness to afflict.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term מָחֲלַת also appears in the superscription of Ps 53.

[88:1]  ⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[88:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “O Lord God of my deliverance.” In light of the content of the psalm, this reference to God as the one who delivers seems overly positive. For this reason some emend the text to אַלֹהַי שִׁוַּעְתִּי (’alohay shivva’tiy, “[O Lord] my God, I cry out”). See v. 13.

[88:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[by] day I cry out, in the night before you.”

[18:7]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[18:7]  ¹² sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.

[18:7]  ¹³ tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.

[18:7]  ¹⁴ sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.

[18:1]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[18:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).

[18:1]  ¹⁸ sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).

[3:10]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the people’s response.

[3:10]  ²⁰ tn Though this verb is imperfect, in this context it does not mean repeated, ongoing questions, but simply a presentation in vivid style as the following verbs in the other examples are aorist.

[3:2]  ²¹ sn Use of the singular high priesthood to mention two figures is unusual but accurate, since Annas was the key priest from a.d. 6-15 and then his relatives were chosen for many of the next several years. After two brief tenures by others, his son-in-law Caiaphas came to power and stayed there until a.d. 36.

[3:2]  ²² tn The term translated “word” here is not λόγος (logos) but ῥῆμα (rJhma), and thus could refer to the call of the Lord to John to begin ministry.

[3:2]  ²³ tn Or “desert.”

[1:3]  ²⁴ tn The conjunction “so” is supplied here to bring out the force of the latter part of this Greek sentence, which the translation divides up because of English style. Luke, in compiling his account, is joining a tradition with good precedent.

[1:3]  ²⁵ sn When Luke says it seemed good to me as well he is not being critical of the earlier accounts, but sees himself stepping into a tradition of reporting about Jesus to which he will add uniquely a second volume on the early church when he writes the Book of Acts.

[1:3]  ²⁶ tn Grk “having followed”; the participle παρηκολουθηκότι (parhkolouqhkoti) has been translated causally.

[1:3]  ²⁷ sn An orderly account does not necessarily mean that all events are recorded in the exact chronological sequence in which they occurred, but that the account produced is an orderly one. This could include, for example, thematic or topical order rather than strict chronological order.