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For he is surrounded by malignant foes

Yet is

ever ex

tolling thee

2Deliver me in thy righteousness, and rescue me;
Incline thine ear to me and save me.

"Be thou to me a strong rock,b

A house of defence to deliver me;

For thou art my rock and my fortress.

'Rescue me, O my God, from the wicked,d

From the hand of the unrighteous and violent;
"For thou art my hope, O Lord,

My trust from my youth, O Jehovah.
"On thee have I leaned from birth;

Thou didst take me from my mother's womb;
My praise shall be continually of thee.

"I am an object of wonder to many;
But thou art my strong refuge.

"My mouth is full of thy praise,

And of thy honor throughout all the day.
'Cast me not off in old age;f

Forsake me not when my strength faileth.
10 For mine enemies speak concerning me,
And they who lurk for my life counsel together,
"Saying, 'God hath forsaken him;

Pursue and take him; for there is no deliverer.'
120 God, be not far from me;

O my God, make haste to help me."

13 Let the foes of my life be ashamed and disgraced,b
May they be covered with reproach and disgrace.

14But I, on my part, hope continually,

And praise thee yet more and more.

15 My mouth telleth of thy righteousness,

And of thy salvation throughout all the day,
Though I know not how to tell it.j

16I will begin with thy mighty acts, O Lord,'

I will make mention of thy righteousness, O Jehovah.

170 God, thou hast taught me from my youth,

And still I declare thy wonderful works,

18 Yea, even to old age and gray hair.

O God, forsake me not,

b713 So Gk., Targ., Syr., and the original in 312.

e713 So parallel in 312.

d714 Lit., hand of the wicked.

717 I. e., a hideous object.

1719 Lit., time of old age.

87112 Cf., for original, Pss. 35, 4013. This vs. may be simply a scribal addition.

b7113 So many Heb. MSS. Syr. and Heb., be consumed.

17113 Heb. adds, destroying the metre, who seek my hurt. It probably was taken from ". 1715 Following Briggs in translating this doubtful line.

7116 Lit., enter in.

17116 Dividing the line as the parallelism and metre require. Heb. adds thine alone.

AN OLD MAN'S PRAYER

Until I declare thy strength to a future generation,"
Thy might and thy righteousness, O God,

19On high the great things thou hast done.

Who, O God, is like thee,

20 Who hast caused me to see many troubles ?°

But thou wilt revive me" again,

And wilt bring me up from the depths of the earth.

21 Thou wilt increase my glory and again" comfort me,

22I will also praise on the harp, thy faithfulness,' O my God,
To thee will I make melody on the lyre,

23 My lips will shout for joy,

My mouth will make melody for thee,

And my life, which thou hast redeemed.

24 My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long;
For they are ashamed and disgraced who seek my hurt.

§ 138. Prayer for Deliverance from Treacherous Associates, Ps. 120 Ps. 120 1To Jehovah in my distress I called, and Jehovaht answered me. 2Oh deliver my soul from the lying lip, from the tongue that is deceitful. "What shall one requite thee, and what more, O tongue that is deceitful? "The sharpened arrows of a warrior, with glowing broom-coals."

"Woe is me that I sojourn with one that draweth the bow! Woe is me that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!

"Too long have I been dwelling with those to whom peace is hateful; "I am for peace, but when I speak, they indeed are for war.

Give

him

cause to

praise

thee

Save

from treach

erous foes

From

those

who

love

war

more

than

peace

§ 139.

A Cry for Deliverance from Violent and Treacherous Enemies, Ps. 140

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712 Heb. adds O my God at the end of the first line and O Holy One of Israel at the end of the second. Both destroy the metre and are probably scribal expansions.

713 Conjecturally correcting the obviously corrupt Heb.

§138 This intense, passionate ps. was apparently written when apostates like the high priests Menelaus and Jason were in the ascendancy. The reference to the tents of Kedar in is apparently to be interpreted figuratively. According to Gen. 2513 Kedar was the second son of Ishmael. The poet likens his treacherous, quarrelsome foes to the Ishmaelites, one of Israel's earliest and most hated rivals.

+1201 Transferring Jehovah from the first part of the next vs., where it is superfluous, to 1, where it completes the measure.

1204 This line evidently contains the psalmist's answer to the question propounded in 3. Charcoal of the broom-scrub is still widely used in the East because of the glowing heat which it furnishes. 1205 Supplying the bow, required to complete the line, and repeating the woe is me required to complete the next line.

120 So eight Heb. MSS., Gk., Lat., and Syr.

§ 139 Vss. 12. 13, if original, indicate that the author of this ps. was in all probability a Pharisee in spirit, if not in reality. He was evidently a man prominent in the Jewish state. The foes of

Their

treacherous

designs

May their purposes be

thwarted

Triumph of the right

Hear, O Jehovah

"Who devise evil things in their mind,

All the time stir up wars,

"Who sharpen their tongue like a serpent;
The poison of vipers is under their lips.

'Keep me, O Jehovah, from the transgressor's hands;
From men of violent deeds preserve me,
Those who plot to trip up my feet;*
"From the proud, who lay for me snares,
And have spread for me3 cords as a net,

At the side of the track have set traps for me.

"I say to Jehovah, 'Thou art my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications;
"Jehovah, my strength, my salvation,
Who shieldest my head in the day of battle,
Grant note the desires of the wicked;

Let not his evil purposed succeed.

"Those who encompass me raise their heads,

Let the mischief of their own lips cover them.'

10 May he rain coals' of fire upon them,

May he cause them to fall in pits from which they shall not rise."

"Let not the deceitful man1 be established in the land;

Let evil hunt the man of violence.i

12I know that Jehovah will maintain

The cause of the afflicted, the rights of the needy. 13Surely the righteous will give thanks to thy name, The upright will dwell in thy presence.

§ 140. A Petition for Divine Guidance, Ps. 141

Ps. 141 1O Jehovah I call on thee, hasten to me,
O give ear to my voice when I call to thee.

which he speaks in the opening stanzas were probably the apostate Jews and the Sadducees. While this ps. may come from the days of Nehemiah, it is most probably to be dated in the last part of the Gk, or the early Maccabean period.

x1404 Lit., my footsteps.

y 1405 Gk., for my feet. The for me is not found in the Heb.

1406 So Syr. and the evidence of the next vs. Heb. adds Jehovah.

1407 Heb. adds Lord.

b1407 Lit., in the day of weapons.

1408 Heb. adds Jehovah.

d1408 Gk. and Syr., they plot.

•1409 Transferring the final word of to complete this sentence. Heb., head.

114010 Heb. readings vary. The text has been slightly revised in the light of the context. 14010 Again slightly revising the Heb., which at this point is exceedingly corrupt.

b140 Lit., a man of tongue, one who uses his tongue deceitfully.

i140 Heb. adds a doubtful explanatory clause usually interpreted until he be overthrown. It is exceedingly probable that the last three vss. are scribal additions, for they depart from the prevailing measure of the vs. and introduce general statements loosely connected with the passionate theme of the ps.

§ 140 Unfortunately the text of this ps. is exceedingly uncertain. Like several of the other Maccabean pss., it has been overlaid with later glosses. Thus in is found the incongruous but pious utterance, Should a righteous man smite me and reprove me, it were a kindness. In also we

ant.

A PETITION FOR DIVINE GUIDANCE

"My prayer is prepared as incense before thee,
The lifting up of my hands as an evening oblation.

Set, O Jehovah, a watch over my mouth,

A guard at the door of my lips.

'Incline not my mind to evil,
Wickedly to commit foul deeds
With men who practice iniquity;

Let me never taste of their dainties,

"May the oil of the wicked not rest on my head,
But may my prayer be ever1 against their malice.

"May their rulers be hurled down beside the rock;
'As one splits open and bursts asunder on the ground,"
May their bones be scattered at Sheol's mouth.

But unto thee," O Lord, are mine eyes;

I seek refuge in thee; do not pour out my life.
"Keep me from the snare they lay for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own toils,
Whilst I alone escape.

Ps. 142

§ 141. A Prayer for Divine Intervention, Ps. 142

1I cry aloud to Jehovah,

I loudly supplicate Jehovah,

2I pour out before him my complaint,

Before him I make known my trouble;

For my spirit within me fainteth,

But thou, indeed, knowest my path.
In the path wherein I must walk,
They have hidden for me a snare.
'Look to the right hand and behold;

find the sentence, having no connection with its context, and they hear my words, for they are pleasMany reconstructions have been suggested, but, removing these obvious glosses, the thought and unity of the ps. become reasonably clear.

1141 Or, interpreting the Heb. word as a verb, keep.

1415 So Gk. and Syr., supported by the context, the meaning being let me not receive the hospitality of the wicked, which included pouring oil upon the heads of guests. It is closely parallel in thought to the last line of .

1141 Slightly revising the Heb., which is obviously corrupt.

m1417 Following Briggs (Pss., II, 509).

1418 Heb. adds Jehovah, and certain Heb. MSS. have the variant reading God, suggesting that both are secondary.

1498 Slightly revising the Heb.

141 Following the Gk. in correcting a scribal error.

14110 Following a suggestion of the Gk. in slightly revising the difficult Heb.

141 This vigorous, impassioned ps. was originally individual rather than national. V89. and imply that the author was in prison and deserted by his friends. He regards his vindication as the vindication of the cause of the righteous, whom he prominently represents. The data are not sufficient to determine the exact period from which this ps. comes. It fits well in the mouth of the high priest Onias III, who was betrayed by his associates and driven into exile during the closing years of the Gk. period.

1421 Jehovah is apparently here addressed. Some commentators would interpret the verb in the first person, but there is no basis in the Heb.

Protect from evil act

Judge the wicked

Protect thy

servant

Hear the cry of thy

servant

And deliver from prison

Forgive and

pardon

Deliver and guide

None is there who recognizeth me,
Nowhere is there a refuge for me,
There is none that careth for my life.

"To thee I cry, O Jehovah;

I say, 'My refuge art thou,

My portion in the land of the living.
"Give heed to my cry,

For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my pursuers,
For they are stronger than I.
70 bring me forth from prison,

That I may give thanks to thy name,

That the righteous may recognize with me,t

That thou dealest kindly with me.'

§ 142. An Importunate Prayer for Speedy Help, Ps. 143

Ps. 143 1O Jehovah, hear my prayer, give ear to my supplications;

In thy faithfulness and righteousness answer me; 'enter not into judg

ment with me,"

Because in thy sight no man who liveth can be justified.

"The enemy pursueth my life, he stampeth me to earth;

He compelleth me to dwell in darkness, like those who have been long
dead.

'My spirit within me fainteth, and my mind is numb.

"I remember the days of old, I meditate on all thy works,

I muse on the works of thy hands; I spread them forth to thee.

Like a land that is parched, my soul thirsteth' for thee.

"Answer me quickly, O Jehovah; my spirit is failing;

Hide not thy face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the grave.
Make me early hear of thy lovingkindness, for in thee do I trust;
Show me the way in which I should walk, for unto thee is my longing.
'Deliver me, O Jehovah, from mine enemies, for unto thee do I flee.a
10Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God;

1

May thy gracious spirit ever lead me in a way that is straight.

142 In this and the following vs. the intensity of the psalmist's thought leads him to fall into the strenuous two-beat measure.

1427 Slightly revising the Heb., which reads in me.

§ 142 This ps. is a mosaic of phrases and vss. taken from Lam., II Is., and especially from
earlier pss.
Like many of the pss. of this type, it was probably originally personal but was well
adapted to express the feelings of the faithful in the Judean community during the latter part of
the Gk. and the beginning of the Maccabean periods.

u 1432 Lit., thy servant.

1433 Lit., my life.

1433 Heb. begins the sentence with for.

1434 Heb. adds in my midst.

1435 So VSS. Heb., deed.

1436 Adding the verb required by the context.

1439 So one Heb. MS. The readings of the VSS. vary.

b14310 Revising the traditional Heb. with the aid of certain Heb. MSS.

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