Psalms 42:7

42:7 One deep stream calls out to another ¹  at the sound of your waterfalls; ² 

all your billows and waves overwhelm me. ³ 

Psalms 71:20

71:20 Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress, ⁴ 

revive me once again! ⁵ 

Bring me up once again ⁶  from the depths of the earth!

Psalms 77:16

77:16 The waters ⁷  saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and trembled. ⁸ 

Yes, the depths of the sea ⁹  shook with fear. ¹⁰ 

[42:7]  ¹ tn Heb “deep calls to deep.” The Hebrew noun תְּהוֹם (tÿhom) often refers to the deep sea, but here, where it is associated with Hermon, it probably refers to mountain streams. The word can be used of streams and rivers (see Deut 8:7; Ezek 31:4).

[42:7]  ² tn The noun צִנּוֹר (tsinnor, “waterfall”) occurs only here and in 2 Sam 5:8, where it apparently refers to a water shaft. The psalmist alludes to the loud rushing sound of mountain streams and cascading waterfalls. Using the poetic device of personification, he imagines the streams calling out to each other as they hear the sound of the waterfalls.

[42:7]  ³ tn Heb “pass over me” (see Jonah 2:3). As he hears the sound of the rushing water, the psalmist imagines himself engulfed in the current. By implication he likens his emotional distress to such an experience.

[71:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “you who have caused me to see many harmful distresses.”

[71:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “you return, you give me life.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will revive me once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[71:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “you return, you bring me up.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense, indicating repetition of the action described by the following verb. The imperfects are understood here as expressing the psalmist’s prayer or wish. (Note the use of a distinctly jussive form at the beginning of v. 21.) Another option is to understand this as a statement of confidence, “you will bring me up once again” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[77:16]  ⁷ tn The waters of the Red Sea are here personified; they are portrayed as seeing God and fearing him.

[77:16]  ⁸ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.

[77:16]  ⁹ tn The words “of the sea” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[77:16]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.