Psalms 13 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Key Background

This is a compact example of the standard Israelite lament form, which moves from complaint to petition to expressed trust, a shape so common that worshippers would have recognised it the way listeners today recognise the structure of a familiar song. Asking God to light up the eyes uses a Hebrew idiom for restored vitality, since dull or darkened eyes described exhaustion, grief, or approaching death. The repeated how long is a courtroom style protest, addressed to a covenant partner who is understood to be obligated, not to a distant deity who must be flattered.