Psalms 42:8

42:8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, ¹ 

and by night he gives me a song, ² 

a prayer ³  to the living God.

Psalms 77:6

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. ⁴ 

Psalms 119:62

119:62 In the middle of the night I arise ⁵  to thank you

for your just regulations.

Psalms 149:5

149:5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication! ⁶ 

Let them shout for joy upon their beds! ⁷ 

Acts 16:25

16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying ⁸  and singing hymns to God, ⁹  and the rest of ¹⁰  the prisoners were listening to them.

[42:8]  ¹ sn The psalmist believes that the Lord has not abandoned him, but continues to extend his loyal love. To this point in the psalm, the author has used the name “God,” but now, as he mentions the divine characteristic of loyal love, he switches to the more personal divine name Yahweh (rendered in the translation as “the Lord”).

[42:8]  ² tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”

[42:8]  ³ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss read תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) instead of תְּפִלָּה (tÿfillah, “prayer”).

[77:6]  ⁴ 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.

[119:62]  ⁵ tn The psalmist uses an imperfect verbal form to emphasize that this is his continuing practice.

[149:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “in glory.” Here “glory” probably refers to the “honor” that belongs to the Lord’s people as a result of their deliverance (see v. 4).

[149:5]  ⁷ tn The significance of the reference to “beds” is unclear. Perhaps the point is that they should rejoice at all times, even when falling asleep or awaking.

[16:25]  ⁸ tn Grk “praying, were singing.” The participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:25]  ⁹ sn Praying and singing hymns to God. Tertullian said, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven” (To the Martyrs 2; cf. Rom 5:3; Jas 1:2; 1 Pet 5:6). The presence of God means the potential to be free (cf. v. 26).

[16:25]  ¹⁰ tn The words “the rest of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.