Psalms 78:40

78:40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,

and insulted him ¹  in the desert!

Psalms 35:17

35:17 O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this? ² 

Rescue ³  me ⁴  from their destructive attacks;

guard my life ⁵  from the young lions!

Psalms 119:84

119:84 How long must your servant endure this? ⁶ 

When will you judge those who pursue me?

Psalms 63:1

Psalm 63 ⁷ 

A psalm of David, written when he was in the Judean wilderness. ⁸ 

63:1 O God, you are my God! I long for you! ⁹ 

My soul thirsts ¹⁰  for you,

my flesh yearns for you,

in a dry and parched ¹¹  land where there is no water.

[78:40]  ¹ tn Or “caused him pain.”

[35:17]  ² tn Heb “O Lord, how long will you see?”

[35:17]  ³ tn Heb “bring back, restore.”

[35:17]  ⁴ tn Or “my life.”

[35:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “my only one.” The psalmist may mean that his life is precious, or that he feels isolated and alone (see Ps 22:20). The verb “guard” is supplied in the translation, because the verb “rescue” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).

[119:84]  ³ tn Heb “How long are the days of your servant?”

[63:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 63. The psalmist expresses his intense desire to be in God’s presence and confidently affirms that God will judge his enemies.

[63:1]  ⁵ sn According to the psalm superscription David wrote the psalm while in the “wilderness of Judah.” Perhaps this refers to the period described in 1 Sam 23-24 or to the incident mentioned in 2 Sam 15:23.

[63:1]  ⁶ tn Or “I will seek you.”

[63:1]  ⁷ tn Or “I thirst.”

[63:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” This may picture the land as “faint” or “weary,” or it may allude to the effect this dry desert has on those who are forced to live in it.