From verse 15 to verse 21 the psalmist again pleads with Yahweh for help against his enemies, whose precise nature and the threat they pose are not specifically stated.
In verse 15a the expression My eyes are ever toward means “I always look to (Yahweh)” as a source of help; that is, “I depend on Yahweh to help me at all times.”
The net in verse 15b is the hunter’s net with which he catches animals; here it is a figure of danger (see 9.15). Revised Standard Version begins the line with for, which is to be preferred over Good News Translation translate this form, “My deep distress increases”); Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, and most others read the Hebrew text as the imperative second singular “Relieve” and join the final letter of the word, the waw to the following verb (where it becomes “and”), with no change in the Hebrew consonantal text.17-18 Hebrew Old Testament Text Project stays with the Masoretic text (“A” decision) and suggests two possible translations: (1) “the troubles have widened my heart; from my distresses bring me out”; (2) “the troubles of my heart have widened too much; from my distresses….” The Masoretic text makes sense, and translators may prefer to follow it.
The psalmist uses four nouns to describe his sad situation: troubles, distresses, affliction, and trouble. For troubles see 20.1 and comments. The word translated distresses seems to emphasize the element of physical and emotional stress which a person experiences when subjected to danger or deprivation. In Deuteronomy 28.53, 55, 57 and Jeremiah 19.9, for example, it is used of the terrible distress brought on by a siege; in 1 Samuel 22.2 it appears to refer primarily to financial distress. In Psalm 107.6, 13, 19, 28 it appears in a refrain which sums up the toil and trouble people experienced; in these verses it is parallel to another noun commonly translated “trouble”; in Psalm 119.143 it is joined to the word “trouble.” And in Job 15.24 and Zephaniah 1.15 it is also parallel with the word “trouble” (or “anguish”).
Consider in verse 18a translates the verb “to see,” meaning here “to take notice of,” “to become aware of,” “to pay attention to.”
The world affliction in verse 18a is related to the word translated “afflicted” (see its use in 9.12), a word often used of the poor, the oppressed, the disadvantaged among the people.
The word translated trouble in verse 18a is a general word descriptive of almost any kind of unpleasant situation brought on deliberately by evil people or arising out of difficult circumstances; see its use in 55.10b; 73.5b; 90.10. In this last passage Revised Standard Version uses the expressive English phrase “toil and trouble,” where “toil” is the English word for the Hebrew word translated trouble in this verse.
In verse 18b forgive translates the verb meaning “lift up” in the sense of removing, taking away (sins). This petition is made because it is the psalmist’s sins that have caused all his suffering. Forgive is expressed in various manners in different languages; for example, “to wipe away sins,” “throw sins away,” “hand back sins to someone” (as in the remitting of a debt), and “forget someone’s sins.”
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 .