Psalms 105:39

105:39 He spread out a cloud for a cover, ¹ 

and provided a fire to light up the night.

Psalms 91:5

91:5 You need not fear the terrors of the night, ² 

the arrow that flies by day,

Psalms 119:62

119:62 In the middle of the night I arise ³  to thank you

for your just regulations.

Psalms 6:6

6:6 I am exhausted as I groan;

all night long I drench my bed in tears; ⁴ 

my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. ⁵ 

Psalms 17:3

17:3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; ⁶ 

you have examined me during the night. ⁷ 

You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.

I am determined I will say nothing sinful. ⁸ 

Psalms 74:16

74:16 You established the cycle of day and night; ⁹ 

you put the moon ¹⁰  and sun in place. ¹¹ 

Psalms 104:20

104:20 You make it dark and night comes, ¹² 

during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.

Psalms 77:2

77:2 In my time of trouble I sought ¹³  the Lord.

I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. ¹⁴ 

I ¹⁵  refused to be comforted.

[105:39]  ¹ tn Or “curtain.”

[91:5]  ² tn This probably alludes to a sneak attack by enemies in the darkness of night (see Song 3:8).

[119:62]  ³ tn The psalmist uses an imperfect verbal form to emphasize that this is his continuing practice.

[6:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “I cause to swim through all the night my bed.”

[6:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “with my tears my bed I flood/melt.”

[17:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “you tested my heart.”

[17:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “you visited [at] night.”

[17:3]  ⁷ tc Heb “you tested me, you do not find, I plan, my mouth will not cross over.” The Hebrew verbal form זַמֹּתִי (zammotiy) is a Qal perfect, first person singular from the root זָמַם (zamam, “plan, plan evil”). Some emend the form to a suffixed form of the noun, זִמָּתִי (zimmatiy, “my plan/evil plan”), and take it as the object of the preceding verb “find.” However, the suffix seems odd, since the psalmist is denying that he has any wrong thoughts. If one takes the form with what precedes, it might make better sense to read זִמּוֹת (zimmot, “evil plans”). However, this emendation leaves an unclear connection with the next line. The present translation maintains the verbal form found in the MT and understands it in a neutral sense, “I have decided” (see Jer 4:28). The words “my mouth will not cross over” (i.e., “transgress, sin”) can then be taken as a noun clause functioning as the object of the verb.

[74:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “To you [is] day, also to you [is] night.”

[74:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “[the] light.” Following the reference to “day and night” and in combination with “sun,” it is likely that the Hebrew term מָאוֹר (ma’or, “light”) refers here to the moon.

[74:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “you established [the] light and [the] sun.”

[104:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “you make darkness, so that it might be night.”

[77:2]  ⁸ tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.

[77:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.

[77:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).