Psalm 56:6-8

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 56:6 tn The verb is from the root גּוּר (gur), which means “to challenge, attack” in Isa 54:15 and “to stalk” (with hostile intent) in Ps 59:3.
2. Psalm 56:6 tn Or “hide.”
3. Psalm 56:6 tn Heb “my heels.”
4. Psalm 56:6 tn Heb “according to,” in the sense of “inasmuch as; since,” or “when; while.”
5. Psalm 56:6 tn Heb “they wait [for] my life.”
6. Psalm 56:7 tc Heb “because of wickedness, deliver them.” As it stands, the MT makes no sense. The translation assumes that the negative particle אַיִן (ʾayin, “there is not,”) was lost due to haplography because of its similarity to the immediately preceding אָוֶן (ʾaven, “wickedness”) as suggested by BHS with external support. Also, פַּלֵּט (pallet) is read as the noun “deliverance” instead of as an imperative verb (each has the same form). Even so, the presence of an imperative in the next line (note “bring down”) suggests that this line should be translated as a prayer as well, “may there not be deliverance to them.”
7. Psalm 56:7 tn Heb “in anger.” The pronoun “your” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
8. Psalm 56:7 tn Or perhaps “people” in a general sense.
9. Psalm 56:8 tn Heb “my wandering you count, you.” The Hebrew term נֹד (nod, “wandering,” derived from the verbal root נוֹד, nod, “to wander”; cf. NASB) here refers to the psalmist’s “changeable circumstances of life” and may be translated “misery.” The verb סָפַר (safar, “count”) probably carries the nuance “assess” here. Cf. NIV “my lament”; NRSV “my tossings.”
10. Psalm 56:8 tn Traditionally “your bottle.” Elsewhere the Hebrew word נֹאד (noʾd, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20). If such a container is metaphorically in view here, then the psalmist seems to be asking God to store up his tears as a reminder of his suffering.
11. Psalm 56:8 tn The word “recorded” is supplied in the translation for clarification. The rhetorical question assumes a positive response (see the first line of the verse).