Psalms 44:24-26

44:24 Why do you look the other way, ¹ 

and ignore ²  the way we are oppressed and mistreated? ³ 

44:25 For we lie in the dirt,

with our bellies pressed to the ground. ⁴ 

44:26 Rise up and help us!

Rescue us ⁵  because of your loyal love!

Psalms 79:8

79:8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations! ⁶ 

Quickly send your compassion our way, ⁷ 

for we are in serious trouble! ⁸ 

Psalms 116:6

116:6 The Lord protects ⁹  the untrained; ¹⁰ 

I was in serious trouble ¹¹  and he delivered me.

Psalms 136:23

136:23 to the one who remembered us when we were down, ¹² 

for his loyal love endures,

Psalms 143:3

143:3 Certainly ¹³  my enemies ¹⁴  chase me.

They smash me into the ground. ¹⁵ 

They force me to live ¹⁶  in dark regions, ¹⁷ 

like those who have been dead for ages.

Psalms 143:7

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ¹⁸ 

Do not reject me, ¹⁹ 

or I will join ²⁰  those descending into the grave. ²¹ 

[44:24]  ¹ tn Heb “Why do you hide your face?” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[44:24]  ² tn Or “forget.”

[44:24]  ³ tn Heb “our oppression and our affliction.”

[44:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “for our being/life sinks down to the dirt, our belly clings to the earth.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.

[44:26]  ⁵ tn Or “redeem us.” See Pss 25:22; 26:11; 69:18; 119:134.

[79:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “do not remember against us sins, former.” Some understand “former” as an attributive adjective modifying sins, “former [i.e., chronologically prior] sins” (see BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן). The present translation assumes that ראשׁנים (“former”) here refers to those who lived formerly, that is, the people’s ancestors (see Lam 5:7). The word is used in this way in Lev 26:45; Deut 19:14 and Eccl 1:11.

[79:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “may your compassion quickly confront us.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, indicating a tone of prayer.

[79:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “for we are very low.”

[116:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “guards.” The active participle indicates this is a characteristic of the Lord.

[116:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly. See Ps 19:7.

[116:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I was low.”

[136:23]  ¹² tn Heb “who, in our low condition, remembered us.”

[143:3]  ¹³ tn Or “for.”

[143:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12).

[143:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.”

[143:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “sit.”

[143:3]  ¹⁷ sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6).

[143:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ²¹ 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.