Qoph

I called with all my heart; answer me, O Lord; I shall keep Your statutes.  Psalm 119:145  Chabad

I cried out with all my heart; answer me, Lord!  I will comply with Your statutes.  NASB

קָרָ֣אתִי בְכָל־לֵ֖ב עֲנֵ֥נִי יְהֹוָ֗ה חֻקֶּ֥יךָ אֶצֹּֽרָה

I cried out with all my heart; answer me, Lord!  I will comply with Your statutes.

קְרָאתִ֥יךָ הֽוֹשִׁיעֵ֑נִי וְ֜אֶשְׁמְרָ֗ה עֵֽדֹתֶֽיךָ

I cried to You; save me and I shall keep Your testimonies.

קִדַּ֣מְתִּי בַ֖נֶּשֶׁף וָֽאֲשַׁוֵּ֑עָה לִדְבָֽרְךָ֥ (כתיב לִדְבָֽרְיךָ֥) יִחָֽלְתִּי

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words.

קִדְּמ֣וּ עֵ֖ינַי אַשְׁמֻר֑וֹת לָ֜שִׂ֗יחַ בְּאִמְרָתֶֽךָ

My eyes anticipate the night watches, So that I may meditate on Your word.

קוֹלִ֣י שִׁמְעָה כְּחַסְדֶּ֑ךָ יְ֜הֹוָ֗ה כְּמִשְׁפָּטֶ֥ךָ חַיֵּֽנִי

Hear my voice according to Your faithfulness; revive me, Lord, according to Your judgments.

קָֽרְבוּ רֹֽדְפֵ֣י זִמָּ֑ה מִתּוֹרָֽתְךָ֥ רָחָֽקוּ

Those who follow after wickedness approach; they are far from Your Law.

קָר֣וֹב אַתָּ֣ה יְהֹוָ֑ה וְֽכָל־מִצְו‍ֹתֶ֥יךָ אֱמֶֽת

You are near, Lord, and all Your commandments are truth.

קֶ֣דֶם יָ֖דַעְתִּי מֵעֵֽדֹתֶ֑יךָ כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם יְסַדְתָּֽם

From long ago I have known from Your testimonies that You have founded them forever.

Answer me – There are three verbs in this sentence: call, answer, and keep.  The verb tense of each is important.  The first verb, qārāʾ, is a Qal perfect.  That means it should be translated as a present finished act.   Virtually every translation deals with this as a past tense (“I called”) because of the “perfect” (finished) sense.  So, the psalmist is not saying that he keeps calling over and over.  He’s not going to the altar at every service confessing once more.  His action happens once and it’s done.  Accordingly, the verb indicates “the enunciation of a specific vocable or message. In the case of the latter usage it is customarily addressed to a specific recipient and is intended to elicit a specific response”^[1] but “Infrequently, qārāʾ denotes just an outcry (e.g. Ps 147:9; Isa 34:14).”^[2]  You will have to decide if Coppes is correct about this verse.  Is it just an emotional outcry (as NASB treats it) or is it a call for a specific reply (as Chabad suggests)?  Personally, I side with Chabad, particularly because of the next verb.

That verb is ānâ (to answer, respond, speak, shout).  Here it is an imperative.  The psalmist is more forceful than simply making a request.  He’s demanding an answer.  Bold as this might seem, it isn’t sacrilegious.  We’ve had 144 verses of his praise for God and his proclamation of submission.  Perhaps now he deserves an answer.  At least that’s what the grammar implies.  We could add the polite “Please” if we wanted to make it seem more comfortable, but the text doesn’t need this.  In essence, the psalmist is repeating the precedent set by Moses, demanding that God act.  There’s a lesson here.  There are occasions when we need to command, and God seems to allow that.  So, now we have a man who calls with his whole being, demanding an answer.  What happens next?

What happens next is hidden.  The third verb is nāṣar.  It is the familiar verb for watch, guard, and keep.  But this verb is an imperfect.  That means it’s an incomplete action.  The psalmist is not saying that he will comply if he gets an answer.  He wants an answer but he is keeping all that God has decreed regardless of the response.  Keeping God’s statutes is a given.  Getting an answer is expected (or at least hoped for), but not required.  This sentence is not subjunctive, that is, it is not “If you do this, then I will do that.”  There are no conditions placed on God.  The commitment to God’s statutes is fixed.  It won’t falter if he doesn’t get an answer . . . but he nevertheless asks for a reply in the strongest possible terms.

Do you draw encouragement from the psalmist’s boldness?  Do you see that his demand isn’t predicated on his faithfulness, and yet it is still a demand?  Does that make it easier for you to follow in his footsteps?

Topical Index: qārāʾ, call, ānâ, answer, nāṣar, keep, Psalm 119:145

 ^[1] Coppes, L. J. (1999). 2063 קָרָא. In R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament(electronic ed., p. 810). Moody Press.

^[2] Ibid.