The psalmist takes up his complaint once more and expresses his confidence that God will hear his constant prayer and save him.

In verse 16 God in line a is the same as the LORD in line b; Good News Translation has chosen to join the two into the one name, “the LORD God.” Or else, as Bible en français courant and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch have it, “I call to God, and he, the Lord, will save me.” However it is done, the impression must not be given that God and the LORD are two different beings.

For save in verse 16b, see comments on the same verb translated “Help” in 12.1.

Evening, morning, and noon were the regular hours of prayer. The order of the words in Hebrew reflects the practice of marking the day’s beginning at sundown. Good News Translation has followed the modern way of marking the daily progression of time.

In some languages it will be necessary to shift the nouns in my complaint and moan to verb phrases; for example, “I complain and I groan”; see New Jerusalem Bible “I complain and moan.” My voice may have to be shifted to “he will hear me” or “he will hear what I say to him.”

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 .