Psalms 19:4-6

19:4 Yet its voice ¹  echoes ²  throughout the earth;

its ³  words carry ⁴  to the distant horizon. ⁵ 

In the sky ⁶  he has pitched a tent for the sun. ⁷ 

19:5 Like a bridegroom it emerges ⁸  from its chamber; ⁹ 

like a strong man it enjoys ¹⁰  running its course. ¹¹ 

19:6 It emerges from the distant horizon, ¹² 

and goes from one end of the sky to the other; ¹³ 

nothing can escape ¹⁴  its heat.

Psalms 139:9-12

139:9 If I were to fly away ¹⁵  on the wings of the dawn, ¹⁶ 

and settle down on the other side ¹⁷  of the sea,

139:10 even there your hand would guide me,

your right hand would grab hold of me.

139:11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, ¹⁸ 

and the light will turn to night all around me,” ¹⁹ 

139:12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, ²⁰ 

and the night is as bright as ²¹  day;

darkness and light are the same to you. ²² 

[19:4]  ¹ tc The MT reads, “their measuring line” (קוּם, qum). The noun קַו (qav, “measuring line”) makes no sense in this context. The reading קוֹלָם (qolam, “their voice”) which is supported by the LXX, is preferable.

[19:4]  ² tn Heb “goes out,” or “proceeds forth.”

[19:4]  ³ tn Heb “their” (see the note on the word “its” in v. 3).

[19:4]  ⁴ tn The verb is supplied in the translation. The Hebrew text has no verb; יָצָא (yatsa’, “goes out”) is understood by ellipsis.

[19:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “to the end of the world.”

[19:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “in them” (i.e., the heavens).

[19:4]  ⁷ sn He has pitched a tent for the sun. The personified sun emerges from this “tent” in order to make its daytime journey across the sky. So the “tent” must refer metaphorically to the place where the sun goes to rest during the night.

[19:5]  ⁸ tn The participle expresses the repeated or regular nature of the action.

[19:5]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew noun חֻפָּה (khufah, “chamber”) occurs elsewhere only in Isa 4:5 and Joel 2:16 (where it refers to the bedroom of a bride and groom).

[19:5]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the regularity of the action.

[19:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[on] a path.”

[19:6]  ¹² tn Heb “from the end of the heavens [is] its going forth.”

[19:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “and its circuit [is] to their ends.”

[19:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “is hidden from.”

[139:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “rise up.”

[139:9]  ¹⁶ sn On the wings of the dawn. This personification of the “dawn” may find its roots in mythological traditions about the god Shachar, whose birth is described in an Ugaritic myth (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 126) and who is mentioned in Isa 14:12 as the father of Helel.

[139:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “at the end.”

[139:11]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.

[139:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”

[139:12]  ²⁰ tn The words “to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[139:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “shines like.”

[139:12]  ²² tn Heb “like darkness, like light.”