Psalms 39:12

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses Yahweh immediately after describing himself as a vapor consumed by divine discipline (v. 11), pleading to be heard before he departs (v. 13).

The words — The imperative הַאֲזִינָה (ha.'a.zi.Na/h, "give ear") is directed at דִּמְעָתִי (dim.'a.T/i, "my tears"), asking God not to be deaf to tears — a sensory image that treats weeping as something that can be heard or ignored.

The thread — The self-description as a foreigner and stranger echoes Leviticus 25:23 ("you are but foreigners and residents with Me") and the exile motif of 1 Peter 2:11 and Hebrews 11:13.

Why it lands — It strips the speaker of any claim to permanent standing before God, reducing his plea to the bare fact of a temporary resident asking to be heard. The reader is left with the same posture: no entitlement, only the request that God not be deaf.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

שִֽׁמְעָ֥ה־shim.'A/h-hear/ !תְפִלָּתִ֨י׀te.fi.la.T/iprayer/ my יְהוָ֡הYah.wehO Yahweh וְשַׁוְעָתִ֨י׀ve./shav.'a.T/iand/ cry for help/ my הַאֲזִינָה֮ha.'a.zi.Na/hgive ear to/ !אֶֽל־'el-to דִּמְעָתִ֗יdim.'a.T/itear[s]/ my אַֽל־'al-may not תֶּ֫חֱרַ֥שׁte.che.Rashyou be silent כִּ֤יkifor גֵ֣רger[am] a sojourner אָנֹכִ֣י'a.no.KhiI עִמָּ֑ךְ'i.Ma/khwith/ you תּ֝וֹשָׁ֗בto.Shava resident alien כְּכָל־ke./khol-like/ all אֲבוֹתָֽי׃'a.vo.Ta/iancestors/ my

King James Version

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

Cross-references

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
Hebrews 11:13 All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Leviticus 25:23 The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.
2 Kings 20:5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.
Genesis 47:9 “My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”
Psalms 116:3 The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
Psalms 119:19 I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.
1 Chronicles 29:15 For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
Psalms 56:8 You have taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle—are they not in Your book?
Hebrews 5:7 During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.