Psalms 65:8

65:8 Even those living in the most remote areas are awestruck by your acts; ¹ 

you cause those living in the east and west to praise you. ² 

Psalms 68:16

68:16 Why do you look with envy, ³  O mountains ⁴  with many peaks,

at the mountain where God has decided to live? ⁵ 

Indeed ⁶  the Lord will live there ⁷  permanently!

Psalms 77:1

Psalm 77 ⁸ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.

77:1 I will cry out to God ⁹  and call for help!

I will cry out to God and he will pay attention ¹⁰  to me.

[65:8]  ¹ tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the ends fear because of your signs.” God’s “signs” are the “awesome acts” (see v. 5) he performs in the earth.

[65:8]  ² tn Heb “the goings out of the morning and the evening you cause to shout for joy.” The phrase “goings out of the morning and evening” refers to the sunrise and sunset, that is, the east and the west.

[68:16]  ³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb רָצַד (ratsad), translated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow 1492 s.v. רְצַד).

[68:16]  ⁴ tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a singular with enclitic mem (ם; later misinterpreted as a plural ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.

[68:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.

[68:16]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew particle אַף (’af) has an emphasizing function here.

[68:16]  ⁷ tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[77:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.

[77:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qara’, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.

[77:1]  ⁷ tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).