(For more information, click "Phrase-level Legend" below.)

Visualization	Description
	The prepositional phrase is indicated by a solid green oval.
	The construct chain is indicated by a solid yellow oval.
	When the conjunction ו appears at the phrase-level (not clause-level), it is indicated by a solid light purple oval.
	The article is indicated by a solid blue oval.

v. 1

v. 2

How long? This question is a marker of lament. Such questions in the Psalms assume that things will be put right at some point, and are primarily concerned with when the suffering or injustice will stop. ^[1]
Will you ignore me forever? The Hebrew verb used here (שכח) is often translated forget. However, the action typically carries with it a degree of intent, whereas English forget typically carries with it the opposite, a sense of inadvertence.

How long will you hide your face from me? The expression "to hide one's face" almost always refers to God's action. God is said to "hide his face" from:
- human(s)–with the idea of handing them over to suffer the consequences of their sinful choices. This use is more frequent in the prophets (e.g. Isa 54:8); or
- human injustice/suffering–with the idea of turning a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent. The expression, used in this second sense, is found several times in the Psalms: Pss 10:11; 13:2; 22:25; 27:9; 30:8; 44:25; 51:11; 69:18; 88:15; 102:3; 104:29 (obj.: animals); 143:7. In addition to Ps 13:1, the expression is used elsewhere with the verb שׁכח ("to forget"), as a poetic synonym: Pss 10:11; 44:24.

Most modern English versions maintain the Hebrew wording (hide/turn your face), but it may be more natural to render this phrase more idiomatically. E.g.:

NLT: O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?
NET: How long, LORD, will you continue to ignore me? How long will you pay no attention to me?

v. 3

make (futile) plans. See the Exegetical Issue ("The Meaning of Ps 13.3a").

v. 4

Give light to my eyes. See the related Exegetical Issue ("The Meaning of Ps. 13:4b").
lest I sleep in death. Verse 4 literally reads: lest I sleep the death. The grammatical diagram interprets the noun הַמָּוֶת "the death" as an adverbial modifier of the verb אִישַׁן ("I sleep" ). As an accusative of manner, the noun functions like an adverb, meaning something like, "lest I sleep in death."^[2] The LXX reflects this understanding: μήποτε ὑπνώσω εἰς θάνατον. Many versions add another noun for clarification: "lest I sleep the sleep of death" (KJV, ESV, NASB; see alternate grammatical diagram). For translators, Bratcher and Reyburn suggest using a meaningful figure of speech here. Many languages have figures of speech to refer to death, e.g. “to fall into the place of the dead,” “to go away,” or “to be carried away.”^[3]

v. 5

v. 6

References

↑ Davies, Andrew. "'My God, Why?' Questioning the Action and Inaction of YHWH in the Psalms." In Why? . . . How Long? Studies on Voice(s) of Lamentation Rooted in Biblical Hebrew Poetry. Edited by Carol Dempsey, LeAnn Snow Flesher, and Mark Boda. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2014, p. 60.
↑ See Jouon-Muaoka §126d.
↑ A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms, UBS Handbook Series, 125.

[1] Davies, Andrew. "'My God, Why?' Questioning the Action and Inaction of YHWH in the Psalms." In Why? . . . How Long? Studies on Voice(s) of Lamentation Rooted in Biblical Hebrew Poetry. Edited by Carol Dempsey, LeAnn Snow Flesher, and Mark Boda. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2014, p. 60.

[2] See Jouon-Muaoka §126d.

[3] A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms, UBS Handbook Series, 125.

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[2]

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Psalm 13 Semantics