Psalms 9:12-13

9:12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; ¹ 

he did not overlook ²  their cry for help ³ 

9:13 when they prayed: ⁴ 

“Have mercy on me, ⁵  Lord!

See how I am oppressed by those who hate me, ⁶ 

O one who can snatch me away ⁷  from the gates of death!

[9:12]  ¹ tn Heb “for the one who seeks shed blood remembered them.” The idiomatic expression “to seek shed blood” seems to carry the idea “to seek payment/restitution for one’s shed blood.” The plural form דָּמִים (damim, “shed blood”) occurs only here as the object of דָּרַשׁ (darash); the singular form דָּם (dam, “blood”) appears with the verb in Gen 9:5; 42:22; Ezek 33:6. “Them,” the pronominal object of the verb “remembered,” refers to the oppressed, mentioned specifically in the next line, so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:12]  ² tn Heb “did not forget.”

[9:12]  ³ tn Heb “the cry for help of the oppressed.” In this context the “oppressed” are the psalmist and those he represents, whom the hostile nations have threatened.

[9:13]  ⁴ 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 Lord answered this request, prompting the present song of thanksgiving.

[9:13]  ⁵ tn Or “show me favor.”

[9:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “see my misery from the ones who hate me.”

[9:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “one who lifts me up.”