In this strophe (verses 3-4) the psalmist pleads with Yahweh for help.
Consider translates the verb used in 10.14, which means take notice, pay attention, listen, look.
Answer me: “help me,” “do as I ask.”
The phrase lighten my eyes (literally “give light to my eyes”) means to restore one’s strength, health, vigor (see 38.10; 1 Sam 14.27, 29; Ezra 9.8), since bright eyes were considered the sign of good health. New Jerusalem Bible has “Restore the luster to my eyes.” In many languages it is possible to use a different figure to express lighten my eyes, with the sense of giving strength to someone; for example, “make me strong like a young man,” “give me fresh breath,” or “make my hands strong.”
The psalmist reinforces his plea by listing the consequences if Yahweh does not answer him: (1) he will die (literally “sleep in death”); (2) his enemies will claim that they have defeated him (literally “be able over him,” that is, win, prevail, overcome); (3) they will “gloat” (same verb as that translated “rejoice” in 9.14) over his downfall.
The sleep of death: whenever possible it is advisable to use meaningful figures of speech in the translation of poetry. Many languages use figures to express death; for example, “to fall into the place of the dead,” “to go away” or “to be carried away.”
Translators should pay particular attention to the switching of pronouns in verse 4a. In some languages it will not be natural to switch from first to third person, and even in direct discourse it will often be clearer to use the second person in the final phrase: “we have defeated you.”
I am shaken translates the same verb as in 10.6, to shake, totter. We can only speculate about the of defeat or downfall this was; it could be the psalmist’s death, as Anderson suggests, or else his misfortune in general.
In some languages syntactic adjustments will be required in order to make clear that the psalmist is speaking of his future condition, if God does not intervene. This may often be done by making the consequence a conditional clause; for example, “don’t let me be defeated, because my enemies will be proud” or “don’t let me fail so that my enemies can rejoice.”
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 .