祈求上帝垂顾

大卫的诗,交给乐长。

13 耶和华啊,你忘记我要到何时呢?要到永远吗?
你转脸不顾我要到何时呢?
我思绪烦乱,日夜忧伤要到何时呢?
我的仇敌占尽上风要到何时呢?
我的上帝耶和华啊,
求你垂顾我,回答我,
使我眼睛明亮,
免得我在沉睡中死去,
免得我的仇敌说:“我们战胜了他!”
免得他们因我败落而欢喜。
我深信你的慈爱,
我的心要因你的拯救而欢欣。
耶和华一直恩待我,
我要向祂歌唱。

13 Unto the end, a psalm for David. The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God, They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one.

The Lord hath looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God.

They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.

Shall not all they know that work iniquity, who devour my people as they eat bread?

They have not called upon the Lord: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear.

For the Lord is in the just generation: you have confounded the counsel of the poor man, but the Lord is his hope.

Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when the Lord shall have turned away the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.

Psalm 13[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

How long,(A) Lord? Will you forget me(B) forever?
    How long will you hide your face(C) from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts(D)
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?(E)

Look on me(F) and answer,(G) Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes,(H) or I will sleep in death,(I)
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,(J)
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.(K)

But I trust in your unfailing love;(L)
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.(M)
I will sing(N) the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-6 is numbered 13:2-6.

Psalm 13[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

13 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me?[b]
How long will you pay no attention to me?[c]
How long must I worry,[d]
and suffer in broad daylight?[e]
How long will my enemy gloat over me?[f]
Look at me![g] Answer me, O Lord my God!
Revive me,[h] or else I will die.[i]
Then[j] my enemy will say, “I have defeated him.”
Then[k] my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
But I[l] trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance.[m]
I will sing praises[n] to the Lord
when he vindicates me.[o]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 13:1 sn Psalm 13. The psalmist, who is close to death, desperately pleads for God’s deliverance and affirms his trust in God’s faithfulness.
  2. Psalm 13:1 tn Heb “will you forget me continually.”
  3. Psalm 13:1 tn Heb “will you hide your face from me.”
  4. Psalm 13:2 tn Heb “How long will I put counsel in my being?”
  5. Psalm 13:2 tn Heb “[with] grief in my heart by day.”
  6. Psalm 13:2 tn Heb “be exalted over me.” Perhaps one could translate, “How long will my enemy defeat me?”
  7. Psalm 13:3 tn Heb “see.”
  8. Psalm 13:3 tn Heb “Give light [to] my eyes.” The Hiphil of אוּר (ʾur), when used elsewhere with “eyes” as object, refers to the law of God giving moral enlightenment (Ps 19:8), to God the creator giving literal eyesight to all people (Prov 29:13), and to God giving encouragement to his people (Ezra 9:8). Here the psalmist pictures himself as being on the verge of death. His eyes are falling shut and, if God does not intervene soon, he will “fall asleep” for good.
  9. Psalm 13:3 tn Heb “or else I will sleep [in?] the death.” Perhaps the statement is elliptical, “I will sleep [the sleep] of death,” or “I will sleep [with the sleepers in] death.”
  10. Psalm 13:4 tn Heb “or else.”
  11. Psalm 13:4 tn Heb “or else.”
  12. Psalm 13:5 tn The grammatical construction used here (conjunction with independent pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s defeated condition envisioned in v. 4 and confident attitude he displays in v. 5.
  13. Psalm 13:5 tn Heb “may my heart rejoice in your deliverance.” The verb form is jussive. Having expressed his trust in God’s faithful character and promises, the psalmist prays that his confidence will prove to be well-placed. “Heart” is used here of the seat of the emotions.
  14. Psalm 13:6 tn The verb form is cohortative, indicating the psalmist’s resolve (or vow) to praise the Lord when deliverance arrives.
  15. Psalm 13:6 tn Or “for he will have vindicated me.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here. The idiom גָמַל עַל (gamal ʿal) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.