NET | Psalm 43

Psalm 43 [ a ]

43  Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me [ b ] against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me [ c ] from deceitful and evil men. [ d ]
2  For you are the God who shelters me. [ e ]
Why do you reject me? [ f ]
Why must I walk around [ g ] mourning [ h ]
because my enemies oppress me?
3  Reveal [ i ] your light [ j ] and your faithfulness.
They will lead me; [ k ]
they will escort [ l ] me back to your holy hill, [ m ]
and to the place where you live. [ n ]
4  Then I will go [ o ] to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, [ p ]
so that I may express my thanks to you, [ q ] O God, my God, with a harp.
5  Why are you depressed, [ r ] O my soul? [ s ]
Why are you upset? [ t ]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention. [ u ]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 43:1 sn Psalm 43 . Many medieval Hebrew   mss   combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.
  2. Psalm 43:1 tn Or “argue my case.”
  3. Psalm 43:1 tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3 .
  4. Psalm 43:1 tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.
  5. Psalm 43:2 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4 .
  6. Psalm 43:2 tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9 , but זָנַח ( zanakh , “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח ( shakhakh , “forget”).
  7. Psalm 43:2 tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9 , but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ ( halakh ; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9 ) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.
  8. Psalm 43:2 sn Walk around mourning . See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
  9. Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “send.”
  10. Psalm 43:3 sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people.
  11. Psalm 43:3 tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.
  12. Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “bring.”
  13. Psalm 43:3 sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20 ;   Joel 2:1 ;   3:17 ;   Zech 8:3 ;   Pss 2:6 ;   15:1 ;   48:1 ;   87:1 ;   Dan 9:16 .
  14. Psalm 43:3 tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the   Lord   ’s special dwelling place (see Pss 46:4 ;   84:1 ;   132:5 ,   7 ).
  15. Psalm 43:4 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav ( ו ) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”
  16. Psalm 43:4 tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
  17. Psalm 43:4 tn The cohortative with vav ( ו ) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.
  18. Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
  19. Psalm 43:5 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul , or inner self.
  20. Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
  21. Psalm 43:5 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי ( y e shuʿot f e ne ʾelohay , “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is identical to the one in Ps 42:11 . See also 42:5 , which differs only slightly.