Psalms 6:6

6:6 I am exhausted as I groan;

all night long I drench my bed in tears; ¹ 

my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. ² 

Psalms 31:10

31:10 For my life nears its end in pain;

my years draw to a close as I groan. ³ 

My strength fails me because of ⁴  my sin,

and my bones become brittle. ⁵ 

Psalms 42:9

42:9 I will pray ⁶  to God, my high ridge: ⁷ 

“Why do you ignore ⁸  me?

Why must I walk around mourning ⁹ 

because my enemies oppress me?”

Psalms 43:2

43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. ¹⁰ 

Why do you reject me? ¹¹ 

Why must I walk around ¹²  mourning ¹³ 

because my enemies oppress me?

Psalms 88:9

88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.

I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;

I spread out my hands in prayer to you. ¹⁴ 

Job 30:28

30:28 I go about blackened, ¹⁵  but not by the sun;

in the assembly I stand up and cry for help.

Isaiah 38:14

38:14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,

I coo ¹⁶  like a dove;

my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ¹⁷ 

O sovereign master, ¹⁸  I am oppressed;

help me! ¹⁹ 

[6:6]  ¹ tn Heb “I cause to swim through all the night my bed.”

[6:6]  ² tn Heb “with my tears my bed I flood/melt.”

[31:10]  ³ tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”

[31:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “stumbles in.”

[31:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “grow weak.”

[42:9]  ⁶ tn The cohortative form indicates the psalmist’s resolve.

[42:9]  ⁷ tn This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3.

[42:9]  ⁸ tn Or “forget.”

[42:9]  ⁹ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.

[43:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.

[43:2]  ¹¹ tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).

[43:2]  ¹² tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.

[43:2]  ¹³ sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.

[88:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I spread out my hands to you.” Spreading out the hands toward God was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). The words “in prayer” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this.

[30:28]  ¹⁵ tn The construction uses the word קֹדֵר (qoder) followed by the Piel perfect of הָלַךְ (halakh, “I go about”). The adjective “blackened” refers to Job’s skin that has been marred by the disease. Adjectives are often used before verbs to describe some bodily condition (see GKC 374-75 §118.n).

[38:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “moan” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); KJV, CEV “mourn.”

[38:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my eyes become weak, toward the height.”

[38:14]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in v. 16 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[38:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “stand surety for me.” Hezekiah seems to be picturing himself as a debtor who is being exploited; he asks that the Lord might relieve his debt and deliver him from the oppressive creditor.