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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]
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?

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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.

Psalm 43[a]

Vindicate me, my God,
    and plead my cause(A)
    against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me(B) from those who are
    deceitful and wicked.(C)
You are God my stronghold.
    Why have you rejected(D) me?
Why must I go about mourning,(E)
    oppressed by the enemy?(F)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.