Psalm 13sn Psalm 13. The psalmist, who is close to death, desperately pleads for God’s deliverance and affirms his trust in God’s faithfulness.
For the music director; a psalm of David.
How long will you pay no attention to me?tn Heb “will you hide your face from me.”
2 How long must I worry,tn Heb “How long will I put counsel in my being?”
and suffer in broad daylight?tn Heb “[with] grief in my heart by day.”
How long will my enemy gloat over me?tn Heb “be exalted over me.” Perhaps one could translate, “How long will my enemy defeat me?”
Revive me,tn Heb “Give light [to] my eyes.” The Hiphil of אוּר (’ur), 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. or else I will die!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.”
4 Thentn Heb “or else.” my enemy will say, “I have defeated him!”
Thentn Heb “or else.” my foes will rejoice because I am upended.
5 But Itn 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. trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance!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.
6 I will sing praisestn The verb form is cohortative, indicating the psalmist’s resolve (or vow) to praise the Lord when deliverance arrives. to the Lord
when he vindicates me.tn Or “for he will have vindicated me.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here. The idiom גָמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.
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