Psalms 42:8

42:8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, ¹ 

and by night he gives me a song, ² 

a prayer ³  to the living God.

Psalms 63:5-6

63:5 As if with choice meat ⁴  you satisfy my soul. ⁵ 

My mouth joyfully praises you, ⁶ 

63:6 whenever ⁷  I remember you on my bed,

and think about you during the nighttime hours.

Psalms 92:2

92:2 It is fitting ⁸  to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,

and your faithfulness during the night,

Job 35:10

35:10 But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator,

who gives songs in the night, ⁹ 

[42:8]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”

[42:8]  ³ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss read תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) instead of תְּפִלָּה (tÿfillah, “prayer”).

[63:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”

[63:5]  ⁵ tn Or “me.”

[63:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”

[63:6]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term אִם (’im) is used here in the sense of “when; whenever,” as in Ps 78:34.

[92:2]  ⁸ tn The words “it is fitting” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Verses 1-3 are actually one long sentence in the Hebrew text, but this has been divided up into two shorter sentences in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[35:10]  ⁹ tn There have been several attempts to emend the line, none of which are particularly helpful or interesting. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 225) says, “It is a pity to rob Elihu of a poetic line when he creates one.”