Psalms 5:2-3

5:2 Pay attention to my cry for help,

my king and my God,

for I am praying to you!

5:3 Lord, in the morning ¹  you will hear ²  me; ³ 

in the morning I will present my case to you ⁴  and then wait expectantly for an answer. ⁵ 

Psalms 55:2

55:2 Pay attention to me and answer me!

I am so upset ⁶  and distressed, ⁷  I am beside myself, ⁸ 

Psalms 64:1

Psalm 64 ⁹ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

64:1 Listen to me, ¹⁰  O God, as I offer my lament!

Protect ¹¹  my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks. ¹² 

[5:3]  ¹ sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).

[5:3]  ² tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”

[5:3]  ³ tn Heb “my voice.”

[5:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.

[5:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and I will watch.”

[55:2]  ⁶ tn Or “restless” (see Gen 27:40). The Hiphil is intransitive-exhibitive, indicating the outward display of an inner attitude.

[55:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “in my complaint.”

[55:2]  ⁸ tn The verb is a Hiphil cohortative from הוּם (hum), which means “to confuse someone” in the Qal and “to go wild” in the Niphal. An Arabic cognate means “to be out of one’s senses, to wander about.” With the vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, the cohortative probably indicates the result or effect of the preceding main verb. Some prefer to emend the form to וְאֵהוֹמָה (vÿ’ehomah), a Niphal of הוּם (hum), or to וְאֶהַמֶה (vÿ’ehameh), a Qal imperfect from הָמָה (hamah, “to moan”). Many also prefer to take this verb with what follows (see v. 3).

[64:1]  ⁹ sn Psalm 64. The psalmist asks God to protect him from his dangerous enemies and then confidently affirms that God will destroy his enemies and demonstrate his justice in the sight of all observers.

[64:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my voice.”

[64:1]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s request.

[64:1]  ¹² tn Heb “from the terror of [the] enemy.” “Terror” is used here metonymically for the enemy’s attacks that produce fear because they threaten the psalmist’s life.