Discovery BoxPsalms 6:2
Context6:2 Have mercy on me, 1 Lord, for I am frail!
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! 2
Psalms 9:13
Context“Have mercy on me, 4 Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me, 5
O one who can snatch me away 6 from the gates of death!
Psalms 31:9
Context31:9 Have mercy on me, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim 7 from suffering. 8
I have lost my strength. 9
Psalms 41:4
Context“O Lord, have mercy on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you!
Psalms 67:1
ContextFor the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.
67:1 May God show us his favor 12 and bless us! 13
May he smile on us! 14 (Selah)
Psalms 86:16
Context86:16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me!
Give your servant your strength!
Deliver your slave! 15
Psalms 102:13-14
Context102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. 16
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
102:14 Indeed, 17 your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for 18 the dust of her ruins. 19
Psalms 109:12
Context109:12 May no one show him kindness! 20
May no one have compassion 21 on his fatherless children!
[6:2] 1 tn Or “show me favor.”
[6:2] 2 tn Normally the verb בָּהַל (bahal) refers to an emotional response and means “tremble with fear, be terrified” (see vv. 3, 10). Perhaps here the “bones” are viewed as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. However, the verb may describe one of the effects of his physical ailment, perhaps a fever. In Ezek 7:27 the verb describes how the hands of the people will shake with fear when they experience the horrors of divine judgment.
[9:13] 3 tn The words “when they prayed,” though not represented in the Hebrew text, are supplied in the translation for clarification. The petition in vv. 13-14 is best understood as the cry for help which the oppressed offered to God when the nations threatened. The
[9:13] 4 tn Or “show me favor.”
[9:13] 5 tn Heb “see my misery from the ones who hate me.”
[9:13] 6 tn Heb “one who lifts me up.”
[31:9] 5 tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”
[31:9] 6 tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.
[31:9] 7 tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.
[41:4] 7 sn In vv. 4-10 the psalmist recites the prayer of petition and lament he offered to the Lord.
[67:1] 9 sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.
[67:1] 10 tn Or “have mercy on us.”
[67:1] 11 tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (ya’er) in the next line.
[67:1] 12 tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”
[86:16] 11 tn Heb “the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 116:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the
[102:13] 13 tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”
[102:14] 16 tn The Poel of חָנַן (khanan) occurs only here and in Prov 14:21, where it refers to having compassion on the poor.
[102:14] 17 tn Heb “her dust,” probably referring to the dust of the city’s rubble.
[109:12] 17 tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”
[109:12] 18 tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).
