In verse 3a When my spirit is faint uses language similar to that used in 77.3; Bible en français courant translates “When I lose courage,” and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “Completely discouraged.” For spirit see comments on 76.12. When my spirit is faint is rendered idiomatically in some languages as “When my heart falls down,” “… my heart shrinks,” or “… my stomach leaves me.” In verse 3b the Hebrew “you know my path” may have a moral or ethical sense: “you know my behavior,” that is, what the psalmist actually does (and not, what he should do, as Good News Translation has it); or it can mean the psalmist’s destiny, his fate (so Oesterley, Weiser). New English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible take “know” here in the sense of “watch over”; New English Bible has “thou art there to watch over my steps,” and New Jerusalem Bible “you are watching over my path.” This makes excellent sense in the context and is probably to be preferred (see similar language in 1.6).
Some translations (see Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, New Jerusalem Bible) connect verse 3a with verse 2b and make verse 3b begin a new sentence, connecting it with what follows. Dahood, who thinks the psalmist is on his deathbed, takes “my spirit grows weak” to represent the last moments of life, and “the path” of verse 3b to be the way to the next life.
In verses 3c-4 the psalmist complains to Yahweh about the danger he is in; for the figure of a trap in verse 3d, see 140.4-5; 141.9.
The psalmist feels completely abandoned (verse 4); he has no friends, no protector. The Hebrew form of the two verbs in verse 4a is imperative, second person singular: “Look … and see” (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, Dahood). This is to be understood as a command addressed to Yahweh, for him to take notice of the psalmist’s desperate situation. But the Qumran manuscript, the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum have the first person singular indicative, “I look … I see” (so Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, New American Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Weiser). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says both interpretations are possible: “look to the right and watch!” or “I looked to the right and watched.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project expresses no preference. The right side is the place where the defender, the protector, would be (so Good News Translation “to help me … to protect me”). There is none who takes notice of me is rendered in some languages idiomatically as “no one knows my name.”
The thought of verse 4c is that there is no one who will protect the psalmist, there is no place he can go where he will be safe (see 2.12; 14.6).
In verse 4d no man cares for me translates “no one seeks for my nefesh” (see 3.2), in the sense that no one is trying to find out how the psalmist is getting along. New Jerusalem Bible‘s rendering is good: “no one cares whether I live or die.”
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 .