Psalms 1:2

1:2 Instead ¹  he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; ² 

he meditates on ³  his commands ⁴  day and night.

Psalms 22:2

22:2 My God, I cry out during the day,

but you do not answer,

and during the night my prayers do not let up. ⁵ 

Psalms 32:4

32:4 For day and night you tormented me; ⁶ 

you tried to destroy me ⁷  in the intense heat ⁸  of summer. ⁹  (Selah)

Psalms 42:8

42:8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, ¹⁰ 

and by night he gives me a song, ¹¹ 

a prayer ¹²  to the living God.

Psalms 55:10

55:10 Day and night they walk around on its walls, ¹³ 

while wickedness and destruction ¹⁴  are within it.

[1:2]  ¹ tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead”) introduces a contrast between the sinful behavior depicted in v. 1 and the godly lifestyle described in v. 2.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “his delight [is] in the law of the Lord.” In light of the following line, which focuses on studying the Lord’s law, one might translate, “he finds pleasure in studying the Lord’s commands.” However, even if one translates the line this way, it is important to recognize that mere study and intellectual awareness are not ultimately what bring divine favor. Study of the law is metonymic here for the correct attitudes and behavior that should result from an awareness of and commitment to God’s moral will; thus “obeying” has been used in the translation rather than “studying.”

[1:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the characteristic behavior described here and lends support to the hyperbolic adverbial phrase “day and night.” The verb הָגָה (hagag) means “to recite quietly; to meditate” and refers metonymically to intense study and reflection.

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Or “his law.”

[22:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “there is no silence to me.”

[32:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “your hand was heavy upon me.”

[32:4]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “my [?] was turned.” The meaning of the Hebrew term לְשַׁד (lÿshad) is uncertain. A noun לָשָׁד (lashad, “cake”) is attested in Num 11:8, but it would make no sense to understand that word in this context. It is better to emend the form to לְשֻׁדִּי (lÿshuddiy, “to my destruction”) and understand “your hand” as the subject of the verb “was turned.” In this case the text reads, “[your hand] was turned to my destruction.” In Lam 3:3 the author laments that God’s “hand” was “turned” (הָפַךְ, hafakh) against him in a hostile sense.

[32:4]  ¹¹ tn The translation assumes that the plural form indicates degree. If one understands the form as a true plural, then one might translate, “in the times of drought.”

[32:4]  ¹² sn Summer. Perhaps the psalmist suffered during the hot season and perceived the very weather as being an instrument of divine judgment. Another option is that he compares his time of suffering to the uncomfortable and oppressive heat of summer.

[42:8]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”

[42:8]  ¹⁵ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss read תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) instead of תְּפִלָּה (tÿfillah, “prayer”).

[55:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “day and night they surround it, upon its walls.” Personified “violence and conflict” are the likely subjects. They are compared to watchmen on the city’s walls.

[55:10]  ¹⁸ sn Wickedness and destruction. These terms are also closely associated in Ps 7:14.