Net English TranslationPsalms 143 =

Psalm 1431

143

1 A psalm of David.

O Lord, hear my prayer!
Pay attention to my plea for help!
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me!
2 Do not sit in judgment on2 your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you.3
3 Certainly4 my enemies5 chase me.
They smash me into the ground.6
They force me to live7 in dark regions,8
like those who have been dead for ages.
4 My strength leaves me;9
I am absolutely shocked.10
5 I recall the old days;11
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on your accomplishments.12
6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer;13
my soul thirsts for you in a parched14 land.15
7 Answer me quickly, Lord!
My strength is fading.16
Do not reject me,17
or I will join18 those descending into the grave.19
8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning,20
for I trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,21
because I long for you.22
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord!
I run to you for protection.23
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,24
for you are my God.
May your kind presence25
lead me26 into a level land.27
11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation,28 revive me!29
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble!30
12 As a demonstration of your loyal love,31 destroy my enemies!
Annihilate32 all who threaten my life,33
for I am your servant.
1sn Psalm 143. As in the previous psalm, the psalmist laments his persecuted state and asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. 2tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.” 3tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.” 4tn Or “for.” 5tn Heb “an enemy.” The singular is used in a representative sense to describe a typical member of the larger group of enemies (note the plural “enemies” in vv. 9, 12). 6tn Heb “he crushes on the ground my life.” 7tn Or “sit.” 8sn Dark regions refers to Sheol, which the psalmist views as a dark place located deep in the ground (see Ps 88:6). 9tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.” 10tn Heb “in my midst my heart is shocked.” For a similar use of the Hitpolel of שָׁמֵם (shamem), see Isa 59:16; 63:5. 11tn Or “ancient times”; Heb “days from before.” 12tn Heb “the work of your hands.” 13tn The words “in prayer” are supplied in the translation to clarify that the psalmist is referring to a posture of prayer. 14tn Heb “faint” or “weary.” See Ps 63:1. 15tc Heb “my soul like a faint land for you.” A verb (perhaps “thirsts”) is implied (see Ps 63:1). The translation assumes an emendation of the preposition -כְּ (kÿ, “like”) to -בְּ (bÿ, “in,” see Ps 63:1; cf. NEB “athirst for thee in a thirsty land”). If the MT is retained, one might translate, “my soul thirsts for you, as a parched land does for water/rain” (cf. NIV, NRSV). 16tn Heb “my spirit is failing.” 17tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14). 18tn Heb “I will be equal with.” 19tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1. 20tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.sn The morning is sometimes viewed as the time of divine intervention (see Pss 30:5; 59:16; 90:14). 21sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10). 22tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16). 23tn Heb “to you I cover,” which makes no sense. The translation assumes an emendation to נַסְתִּי (nastiy, “I flee,” a Qal perfect, first singular form from נוּס, nos). Confusion of kaf (כ) and nun (נ) is attested elsewhere (see P. K. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 48). The collocation of נוּס (“flee”) with אֶל (’el, “to”) is well-attested. 24tn Or “your will.” See Ps 40:8. 25tn Heb “your good spirit.” God’s “spirit” may refer here to his presence (see the note on the word “presence” in Ps 139:7) or to his personal Spirit (see Ps 51:10). 26tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive. Taking the statement as a prayer fits well with the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a. 27sn A level land (where one can walk free of obstacles) here symbolizes divine blessing and protection. See Pss 26:12 and 27:11 for similar imagery. 28tn Heb “name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation. 29tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 11-12a are understood as expressing the psalmist’s desire. Note the petitionary tone of vv. 7-10a. 30tn Heb “by your justice bring out my life from trouble.” 31tn Heb “in [or “by”] your faithfulness.” 32tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive carries on the mood of the preceding imperfect. 33tn Heb “all the enemies of my life.”
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