23 Psalm 13. The psalmist, who is close to death, desperately pleads for God’s deliverance and affirms his trust in God’s faithfulness.
1 Heb “will you forget me continually.”
2 Heb “will you hide your face from me.”
3 Heb “How long will I put counsel in my being?”
4 Heb “[with] grief in my heart by day.”
5 Heb “be exalted over me.” Perhaps one could translate, “How long will my enemy defeat me?”
6 Heb “see.”
7 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.
8 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.”
9 Heb “or else.”
10 Heb “or else.”
11 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.
12 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.
13 The verb form is cohortative, indicating the psalmist’s resolve (or vow) to praise the Lord when deliverance arrives.
14 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.