Psalms 6:7

6:7 My eyes ¹  grow dim ²  from suffering;

they grow weak ³  because of all my enemies. ⁴ 

Psalms 32:8

32:8 I will instruct and teach you ⁵  about how you should live. ⁶ 

I will advise you as I look you in the eye. ⁷ 

Psalms 34:15

34:15 The Lord pays attention to the godly

and hears their cry for help. ⁸ 

Psalms 54:7

54:7 Surely ⁹  he rescues me from all trouble, ¹⁰ 

and I triumph over my enemies. ¹¹ 

Psalms 77:4

77:4 You held my eyelids open; ¹² 

I was troubled and could not speak. ¹³ 

Psalms 119:136

119:136 Tears stream down from my eyes, ¹⁴ 

because people ¹⁵  do not keep your law.

Psalms 123:1

Psalm 123 ¹⁶ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁷ 

123:1 I look up ¹⁸  toward you,

the one enthroned ¹⁹  in heaven.

[6:7]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text has the singular “eye” here.

[6:7]  ² tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”

[6:7]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “grow old.”

[6:7]  ⁴ sn In his weakened condition the psalmist is vulnerable to the taunts and threats of his enemies.

[32:8]  ⁵ tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the Lord addresses the psalmist in vv. 8-9 (cf. NASB “I will instruct you and teach you…I will counsel you with My eye upon you”).

[32:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”

[32:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the Lord for intervention. Here the expression “my eye upon you” may simply mean that the psalmist will teach his pupils directly and personally.

[34:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord [are] toward the godly, and his ears [are] toward their cry for help.”

[54:7]  ¹³ tn Or “for,” indicating a more specific reason why he will praise the Lord’s name (cf. v. 6).

[54:7]  ¹⁴ tn The perfects in v. 7 are probably rhetorical, indicating the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance and his own vindication as if they were occurring or had already occurred.

[54:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and on my enemies my eyes look.”

[77:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).

[77:4]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.

[119:136]  ²¹ tn Heb “[with] flowing streams my eyes go down.”

[119:136]  ²² tn Heb “they”; even though somewhat generic, the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[123:1]  ²⁵ sn Psalm 123. The psalmist, speaking for God’s people, acknowledges his dependence on God in the midst of a crisis.

[123:1]  ²⁶ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[123:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I lift my eyes.”

[123:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “sitting.” The Hebrew verb יָשַׁב (yashav) is here used metonymically of “sitting enthroned” (see Pss 9:7; 29:10; 55:19; 102:12).