65:7 You calm the raging seas 1
and their roaring waves,
as well as the commotion made by the nations. 2
74:23 Do not disregard 3 what your enemies say, 4
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you. 5
40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, 6
out of the slimy mud. 7
He placed my feet on a rock
and gave me secure footing. 8
1 tn Heb “the roar of the seas.”
2 sn The raging seas…the commotion made by the nations. The raging seas symbolize the turbulent nations of the earth (see Ps 46:2-3, 6; Isa 17:12).
3 tn Or “forget.”
4 tn Heb “the voice of your enemies.”
5 tn Heb “the roar of those who rise up against you, which ascends continually.”
5 tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (sha’on, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).
6 tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
7 tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”