Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry.
Ibn Ezra
Give ear (ha'azinah) to my words: [The verb ha'azinah is] from the same root/sector (mi-gizrat) as oznayim (ears). [It means] "Incline Your ear." Consider (binah): [This is] the imperative form (lashon tzivui). Similar to [the imperative] "Simah na" ("Place, please" - cf. Job 17:3). My utterance (hagigi): [This noun is from a] doubled Ayin [root, ה-ג-ג / H-G-G], for it is from [the root] H-G-H. [It is formed] like [the noun] z'nuneha (her harlotry - from ז-נ-ה). And [the Psalmist] said "Consider" (Binah) to Ad-nai in the manner of a human being [using anthropomorphic language]. This is similar to [the request in (Psalm 139:23)] "And know my heart," and also [to] "Give ear" (Ha'azinah). And the meaning/reason is so that it will become clear to all that there is no doubt He knows everything, and He has no need for [physical] ears – in the manner of (Psalm 94:9): "He who plants the ear, shall He not hear?" [Regarding the word] Attend (Hakshivah) [in the next verse, v. 3]: This root (gizrah - ק-שׁ-ב / Q-Sh-B) is [typically] connected with [the preposition] Lamed [ל־, meaning "to"]. Therefore, it is not correct usage (lo nakhon) to say [a phrase like] "Mi yakshiveni?" ("Who will listen me?" [without the Lamed indicating to whom one listens]). And the meaning of My King [in v. 3] is: I have no [other] king to whom I cry for help (eshava elav), only You alone.
Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.