Job 37:19-20

37:19 Tell us what we should ¹  say to him.

We cannot prepare a case ² 

because of the darkness.

37:20 Should he be informed that I want ³  to speak?

If a man speaks, surely he would be swallowed up!

Psalms 40:5

40:5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;

you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. ⁴ 

No one can thwart you! ⁵ 

I want to declare them and talk about them,

but they are too numerous to recount! ⁶ 

Psalms 77:4

77:4 You held my eyelids open; ⁷ 

I was troubled and could not speak. ⁸ 

[37:19]  ¹ tn The imperfect verb here carries the obligatory nuance, “what we should say?”

[37:19]  ² tn The verb means “to arrange; to set in order.” From the context the idea of a legal case is included.

[37:20]  ³ tn This imperfect works well as a desiderative imperfect.

[40:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “many things you have done, you, O Lord my God, your amazing deeds and your thoughts toward us.” The precise meaning of the text is not clear, but the psalmist seems to be recalling the Lord’s miraculous deeds on Israel’s behalf (see Pss 9:1; 26:7), as well as his covenantal decrees and promises (see Ps 33:11).

[40:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “there is none arrayed against you.” The precise meaning of the text is unclear, but the collocation עָרַךְ אֶל (’arakh ’el, “array against”) is used elsewhere of military (Judg 20:30; 1 Chr 19:17) or verbal opposition (Job 32:14).

[40:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will declare and I will speak, they are too numerous to recount.” The present translation assumes that the cohortatives are used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “Should I try to declare [them] and speak [of them]…” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108.e. (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108.f, where it is suggested that the cohortatives are part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.) Another option is to take the cohortatives as a declaration of the psalmist’s resolve to announce the truth expressed in the next line. In this case one might translate: “I will declare and speak [the truth]: They are too numerous to recount.”

[77:4]  ⁷ 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).

[77:4]  ⁸ tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.