The psalmist’s lament (verses 1-2) is reinforced by the repetition of How long at the beginning of each of the four lines of the two verses, thereby emphasizing his feeling of having been completely abandoned by Yahweh. For How long see comments at 6.3. How long is not so much a question regarding the precise time the state of God’s silence will end, but rather a plea that Yahweh break the long silence and reveal his power. In some languages, when this clause is translated as a question, a reply regarding the time will be expected. In such cases it is better to recast the question in some such form as “Will you go on always forgetting me; will you forget me forever, LORD?” or negatively, “Will you never remember me, LORD; will you forget me forever?” In some languages a negative request will be more natural; for example, “LORD, do not forget me forever.”

Forget and hide thy face are both found in 10.11. Forget is a deliberate act, to neglect, ignore, overlook. In translation forget me must not imply that God is absentminded and forgets who the psalmist is or what his name is. It is often possible to shift to the idea of being abandoned. If the expression “Don’t delay” is used in the first part of line a, the entire command may be expressed “Don’t delay too long to hear me” or “Don’t wait long to look at me.”

Some take the word translated for ever to mean “completely” (see New English Bible).

Hide thy face (or, “hide yourself”) indicates either anger or indifference (Kirkpatrick). Here the idea of anger seems implied. Hide thy face is a figure that may not be used in some languages. In such cases, therefore, it may be necessary to switch to another figure; for example, “turn your back to me,” “close your eyes to me,” or “look at me as if I were nothing.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .