May those who [af]fear You turn to me, and those who know Your testimonies. Psalm 119:79 NASB Turn to me – šûb. 1050 times this verb is used in the Tanakh. We most often think of it in terms of repentance, that is, returning to God’s ways. “The Bible is rich in idioms describing man’s responsibility…
Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry! Psalm 88:2 NASB Incline – “The 215 occurrences of this verb, excluding derivatives, are translated some thirty-five different ways in the KJV alone. The ASV and RSV add other renderings to this wide range of English expressions.”[1] That’s not very comforting, is it? If…
Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry! Psalm 88:2 NASB Incline – “The 215 occurrences of this verb, excluding derivatives, are translated some thirty-five different ways in the KJV alone. The ASV and RSV add other renderings to this wide range of English expressions.”[1] That’s not very comforting, is it? If…
Then they will cry out to the Lord, but He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time because they have practiced evil deeds. Micah 3:4 NASB Hide His face – Hebrew is a tactile, idiomatic language. It uses common life experiences to describe crucial religious concepts. Salvation is described as a…
You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues. Psalm 31:20 NASB Secret place– Now that we’re searching for the hints of those promised elements of ṭôb, where is the first place to look? David’s song doesn’t leave us in the…
“And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil. Joel 2:13 NASB Return– How do you feel when it all comes back? What do you think of God’s grace and compassion when all the trials, struggles and discouragements return? Why should you…
Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Psalm 25:16 NASB Turn to me – The Hebrew word for “face” is the plural word pānîm. In a culture that views relationship as the fundamental element of existence, perhaps this plural word recognizes that we are always more than a single…
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 NASB Turn – A little historical pun. That’s why the choice of shuv in…
For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 1 Kings 11:4 NASB Turned – Solomon was an addict. That’s pretty much the only explanation that makes any sense…
Turn to me and grant me grace, for alone and afflicted am I. Psalm 25:16 Robert Alter translation Turn – We just want to see a smile. We want to look on the face of the Lord and see Him smiling. Growing up under the Roman idea of God as Judge, we have buried deep…
