Psalms 119:55

119:55 I remember your name during the night, O Lord,

and I will keep ¹  your law.

Psalms 121:6

121:6 The sun will not harm you by day,

or the moon by night. ² 

Psalms 136:9

136:9 the moon and stars to rule by night,

for his loyal love endures,

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. ³ 

Psalms 90:4

90:4 Yes, ⁴  in your eyes a thousand years

are like yesterday that quickly passes,

or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. ⁵ 

Psalms 88:1

Psalm 88 ⁶ 

A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; ⁷  a well-written song ⁸  by Heman the Ezrachite.

88:1 O Lord God who delivers me! ⁹ 

By day I cry out

and at night I pray before you. ¹⁰ 

[119:55]  ¹ tn The cohortative verbal form expresses the psalmist’s resolve to obey the law.

[121:6]  ² sn One hardly thinks of the moon’s rays as being physically harmful, like those of the sun. The reference to the moon may simply lend poetic balance to the verse, but it is likely that the verse reflects an ancient, primitive belief that the moon could have an adverse effect on the mind (note the English expression “moonstruck,” which reflects such a belief). Another possibility is that the sun and moon stand by metonymy for harmful forces characteristic of the day and night, respectively.

[77:6]  ³ 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.

[90:4]  ⁴ tn Or “for.”

[90:4]  ⁵ sn The divisions of the nighttime. The ancient Israelites divided the night into distinct periods, or “watches.”

[88:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 88. The psalmist cries out in pain to the Lord, begging him for relief from his intense and constant suffering. The psalmist regards God as the ultimate cause of his distress, but nevertheless clings to God in hope.

[88:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew phrase מָחֲלַת לְעַנּוֹת (makhalat lÿ’annot) may mean “illness to afflict.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term מָחֲלַת also appears in the superscription of Ps 53.

[88:1]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.

[88:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “O Lord God of my deliverance.” In light of the content of the psalm, this reference to God as the one who delivers seems overly positive. For this reason some emend the text to אַלֹהַי שִׁוַּעְתִּי (’alohay shivva’tiy, “[O Lord] my God, I cry out”). See v. 13.

[88:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “[by] day I cry out, in the night before you.”