Psalms 104:19

104:19 He made the moon to mark the months, ¹ 

and the sun sets according to a regular schedule. ² 

Psalms 74:4

74:4 Your enemies roar ³  in the middle of your sanctuary; ⁴ 

they set up their battle flags. ⁵ 

Psalms 75:2

75:2 God says, ⁶ 

“At the appointed times, ⁷ 

I judge ⁸  fairly.

Psalms 74:8

74:8 They say to themselves, ⁹ 

“We will oppress all of them.” ¹⁰ 

They burn down all the places where people worship God in the land. ¹¹ 

Psalms 102:13

102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. ¹² 

For it is time to have mercy on her,

for the appointed time has come.

[104:19]  ¹ tn Heb “he made [the] moon for appointed times.” The phrase “appointed times” probably refers to the months of the Hebrew lunar calendar.

[104:19]  ² tn Heb more metaphorically, “knows its setting.”

[74:4]  ³ tn This verb is often used of a lion’s roar, so the psalmist may be comparing the enemy to a raging, devouring lion.

[74:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “your meeting place.”

[74:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “they set up their banners [as] banners.” The Hebrew noun אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) here refers to the enemy army’s battle flags and banners (see Num 2:12).

[75:2]  ⁵ tn The words “God says” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify that God speaks in vv. 2-3.

[75:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “when I take an appointed time.”

[75:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “I, [in] fairness, I judge.” The statement is understood in a generalizing sense; God typically executes fair judgment as he governs the world. One could take this as referring to an anticipated (future) judgment, “I will judge.”

[74:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “in their heart.”

[74:8]  ⁸ tc Heb “[?] altogether.” The Hebrew form נִינָם (ninam) is problematic. It could be understood as the noun נִין (nin, “offspring”) but the statement “their offspring altogether” would make no sense here. C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs (Psalms [ICC], 2:159) emends יָחַד (yakhad, “altogether”) to יָחִיד (yakhid, “alone”) and translate “let their offspring be solitary” (i.e., exiled). Another option is to understand the form as a Qal imperfect first common plural from יָנָה (yanah, “to oppress”) with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix, “we will oppress them.” However, this verb, when used in the finite form, always appears in the Hiphil. Therefore, it is preferable to emend the form to the Hiphil נוֹנֵם (nonem, “we will oppress them”).

[74:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “they burn down all the meeting places of God in the land.”

[102:13]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verbal forms are understood as expressing the psalmist’s confidence in God’s intervention. Another option is to take them as expressing the psalmist’s request or wish, “You, rise up and have compassion!”