The major English translations include the word patiently in the first verse. But if you were to look in the original Hebrew, you won’t find it. There’s no word for “patiently” in verse 1. A Hebrew word for patiently is available and could have been included. David just didn’t use it. Instead, he merely repeated the word qavah (“wait”) twice. This led Eugene Peterson to translate Psalm 40:1 this way: “I waited and waited and waited for God” (MSG). While there’s nothing incorrect about adding the word patience to capture the meaning, does “I waited and waited and waited” land on you
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