Text -- Psalms 77:1-19 (NET)

Psalm 77

77:1 For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph. I will cry out to God and call for help! I will cry out to God and he will pay attention to me. 77:2 In my time of trouble I sought the Lord. I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. I refused to be comforted. 77:3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan; I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” (Selah) 77:4 You held my eyelids open; I was troubled and could not speak. 77:5 I thought about the days of old, about ancient times. 77:6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang; I will think very carefully.” I tried to make sense of what was happening. 77:7 I asked, “Will the Lord reject me forever? Will he never again show me his favor? 77:8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever? Has his promise failed forever? 77:9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has his anger stifled his compassion?” 77:10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought that the sovereign One might become inactive. 77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord. Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago! 77:12 I will think about all you have done; I will reflect upon your deeds!” 77:13 O God, your deeds are extraordinary! What god can compare to our great God? 77:14 You are the God who does amazing things; you have revealed your strength among the nations. 77:15 You delivered your people by your strength– the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah) 77:16 The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and trembled. Yes, the depths of the sea shook with fear. 77:17 The clouds poured down rain; the skies thundered. Yes, your arrows flashed about. 77:18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind; the lightning bolts lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 77:19 You walked through the sea; you passed through the surging waters, but left no footprints.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Psa 77:1

¹ sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.

² tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.

³ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).

NET Notes: Psa 77:2

¹ tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.

² tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.

³ tn Or “my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

NET Notes: Psa 77:3

¹ tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).

NET Notes: Psa 77:4

¹ tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).

² tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.

NET Notes: Psa 77:5

¹ tn Heb “the years of antiquity.”

NET Notes: Psa 77:6

¹ tn Heb “I will remember my song in the night, with my heart I will reflect. And my spirit searched.” As in v. 4, the words of v. 6a are understood as what the psalmist said earlier. Consequently the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 10). The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive at the beginning of the final line is taken as sequential to the perfect “I thought” in v. 6.

NET Notes: Psa 77:7

¹ tn As in vv. 4 and 6a, the words of vv. 7-9 are understood as a quotation of what the psalmist said earlier. Therefore the words “I asked” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

NET Notes: Psa 77:8

¹ tn Heb “word,” which may refer here to God’s word of promise (note the reference to “loyal love” in the preceding line).

NET Notes: Psa 77:10

¹ tn Heb “Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.

² tc Heb “And I said, ‘This is my wounding, the changing of the right hand of the Most High.’” The form חַלּוֹתִי (khallotiy) appears to be a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלַל (khalal, “to pierce; to wound”). The present translation assumes an emendation to חֲלוֹתִי (khalotiy), a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלָה (khalah, “be sick, weak”). The form שְׁנוֹת (shÿnot) is understood as a Qal infinitive construct from שָׁנָה (shanah, “to change”) rather than a plural noun form, “years” (see v. 5). “Right hand” here symbolizes by metonymy God’s power and activity. The psalmist observes that his real problem is theological in nature. His experience suggests that the sovereign Lord has abandoned him and become inactive. However, this goes against the grain of his most cherished beliefs.

NET Notes: Psa 77:11

¹ tn Heb “yes, I will remember from old your wonders.”

sn The psalmist refuses to allow skepticism to win out. God has revealed himself to his people in tangible, incontrovertible ways in the past and the psalmist vows to remember the historical record as a source of hope for the future.

NET Notes: Psa 77:13

¹ sn Verses 13-20 are the content of the psalmist’s reflection (see vv. 11-12). As he thought about God’s work in Israel’s past, he reached the place where he could confidently cry out for God’s help (see v. 1).

² tn Heb “O God, in holiness [is] your way.” God’s “way” here refers to his actions. “Holiness” is used here in the sense of “set apart, unique,” rather than in a moral/ethical sense. As the next line and the next verse emphasize, God’s deeds are incomparable and set him apart as the one true God.

³ tn Heb “Who [is] a great god like God?” The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “No one!”

NET Notes: Psa 77:15

¹ tn Or “redeemed.”

² tn Heb “with [your] arm.”

NET Notes: Psa 77:16

¹ tn The waters of the Red Sea are here personified; they are portrayed as seeing God and fearing him.

² tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.

³ tn The words “of the sea” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.

NET Notes: Psa 77:17

¹ tn Heb “water.”

² tn Heb “a sound the clouds gave.”

³ tn The lightning accompanying the storm is portrayed as the Lord’s “arrows” (see v. 18).

NET Notes: Psa 77:18

¹ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.

sn Verses 16-18 depict the Lord coming in the storm to battle his enemies and subdue the sea. There is no record of such a storm in the historical account of the Red Sea crossing. The language the psalmist uses here is stereotypical and originates in Canaanite myth, where the storm god Baal subdues the sea in his quest for kingship. The psalmist has employed the stereotypical imagery to portray the exodus vividly and at the same time affirm that it is not Baal who subdues the sea, but Yahweh.

NET Notes: Psa 77:19

¹ tn Heb “in the sea [was] your way.”

² tn Heb “and your paths [were] in the mighty waters.”

³ tn Heb “and your footprints were not known.”