Psalms 69:29-36

Context

69:29 I am oppressed and suffering!

O God, deliver and protect me!¹

69:30 I will sing praises to God’s name!²

I will magnify him as I give him thanks!³

69:31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull

with horns and hooves.

69:32 The oppressed look on – let them rejoice!

You who seek God,⁴ may you be encouraged!⁵

69:33 For the Lord listens to the needy;

he does not despise his captive people.⁶

69:34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,

along with the seas and everything that swims in them!

69:35 For God will deliver Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah,

and his people⁷ will again live in them and possess Zion.⁸

69:36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who are loyal to him⁹ will live in it.¹⁰

[69:29] ¹tn Heb “your deliverance, O God, may it protect me.”

[69:30] ²tn Heb “I will praise the name of God with a song.”

[69:30] ³tn Heb “I will magnify him with thanks.”

[69:32] ⁴sn You who seek God refers to those who seek to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him (see Ps 53:2).

[69:32] ⁵tn Heb “may your heart[s] live.” See Ps 22:26.

[69:33] ⁶tn Heb “his prisoners he does not despise.”

[69:35] ⁷tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[69:35] ⁸tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to “Zion” (see Pss 48:12; 102:14); thus the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[69:36] ⁹tn Heb “the lovers of his name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to God (cf. v. 35). See Pss 5:11; 119:132; Isa 56:6.

[69:36] ¹⁰sn Verses 35-36 appear to be an addition to the psalm from the time of the exile. The earlier lament reflects an individual’s situation, while these verses seem to reflect a communal application of it.