Psalms 19:2

19:2 Day after day it speaks out; ¹ 

night after night it reveals his greatness. ² 

Psalms 74:16

74:16 You established the cycle of day and night; ³ 

you put the moon ⁴  and sun in place. ⁵ 

Psalms 78:42

78:42 They did not remember what he had done, ⁶ 

how he delivered them from the enemy, ⁷ 

Psalms 88:9

88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.

I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;

I spread out my hands in prayer to you. ⁸ 

Psalms 140:2

140:2 who plan ways to harm me. ⁹ 

All day long they stir up conflict. ¹⁰ 

[19:2]  ¹ tn Heb “it gushes forth a word.” The “sky” (see v. 1b) is the subject of the verb. Though not literally speaking (see v. 3), it clearly reveals God’s royal majesty. The sun’s splendor and its movement across the sky is in view (see vv. 4-6).

[19:2]  ² tn Heb “it [i.e., the sky] declares knowledge,” i.e., knowledge about God’s royal majesty and power (see v. 1). This apparently refers to the splendor and movements of the stars. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 2, like the participles in the preceding verse, combine with the temporal phrases (“day after day” and “night after night”) to emphasize the ongoing testimony of the sky.

[74:16]  ³ tn Heb “To you [is] day, also to you [is] night.”

[74:16]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “you established [the] light and [the] sun.”

[78:42]  ⁵ tn Heb “his hand,” symbolizing his saving activity and strength, as the next line makes clear.

[78:42]  ⁶ tn Heb “[the] day [in] which he ransomed them from [the] enemy.”

[88:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “I spread out my hands to you.” Spreading out the hands toward God was a prayer gesture (see Exod 9:29, 33; 1 Kgs 8:22, 38; 2 Chr 6:12-13, 29; Ezra 9:15; Job 11:13; Isa 1:15). The words “in prayer” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this.

[140:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”

[140:2]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (yÿgaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.