<div class="version vid107 iso6393eng" data-vid="107" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkPSA">
      <div class="chapter ch77" data-usfm="PSA.77">
         <div class="label">77</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Psalm 77</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft"><span class="heading">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.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="s2"><span class="heading">For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.77.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content"> I will cry out to God</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;my voice to God.&#8221; The Hebrew verb &#1511;&#1464;&#1512;&#1464;&#1488; (qara&#8217;, &#8220;to call out; to cry out&#8221;) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.</span></span></span><span class="content"> and call for help!</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="PSA.77.1"><span class="content">I will cry out to God and he will pay attention</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn The perfect with vav (&#1493;) 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&#8217;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).</span></span></span><span class="content"> to me.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.77.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content"> In my time of trouble I sought</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.</span></span></span><span class="content"> the Lord.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.77.2"><span class="content">I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.&#8221; The verb &#1504;&#1464;&#1490;&#1463;&#1512; (nagar), which can mean &#8220;flow&#8221; in certain contexts, here has the nuance &#8220;be extended.&#8221; The imperfect form (&#1514;&#1464;&#1508;&#1493;&#1468;&#1490;, tafug, &#8220;to be numb&#8221;) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="PSA.77.2"><span class="content">I</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Or &#8220;my soul.&#8221; The Hebrew term &#1504;&#1462;&#1508;&#1462;&#1513;&#1473; (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. &#1504;&#1462;&#1508;&#1462;&#1513;&#1473; 4.a).</span></span></span><span class="content"> refused to be comforted.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.77.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content"> I said, &#8220;I will remember God while I groan;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="PSA.77.3"><span class="content">I will think about him while my strength leaves me.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.&#8221; The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (&#1493;) consecutive. The psalmist&#8217;s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words &#8220;I said&#8221; are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).</span></span></span><span class="content"> (Selah)</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.77.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content"> You held my eyelids open;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;you held fast the guards of my eyes.&#8221; The &#8220;guards of the eyes&#8221; apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="PSA.77.4"><span class="content">I was troubled and could not speak.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.77.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content"> I thought about the days of old,</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="PSA.77.5"><span class="content">about ancient times.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;the years of antiquity.&#8221;</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.77.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content"> I said, &#8220;During the night I will remember the song I once sang;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.77.6"><span class="content">I will think very carefully.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="PSA.77.6"><span class="content">I tried to make sense of what was happening.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;I will remember my song in the night, with my heart I will reflect. And my spirit searched.&#8221; As in v. 4, the words of v. 6a are understood as what the psalmist said earlier. Consequently the words &#8220;I said&#8221; are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 10). The prefixed verbal form with vav (&#1493;) consecutive at the beginning of the final line is taken as sequential to the perfect &#8220;I thought&#8221; in v. 6.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.77.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content"> I asked,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn As in vv. 4 and 6a, the words of vv. 7-9 are understood as a quotation of what the psalmist said earlier. Therefore the words &#8220;I asked&#8221; are supplied in the translation for clarification.</span></span></span><span class="content"> &#8220;Will the Lord reject me forever?</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="PSA.77.7"><span class="content">Will he never again show me his favor?</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.77.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content"> Has his loyal love disappeared forever?</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="PSA.77.8"><span class="content">Has his promise</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;word,&#8221; which may refer here to God&#8217;s word of promise (note the reference to &#8220;loyal love&#8221; in the preceding line).</span></span></span><span class="content"> failed forever?</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.77.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content"> Has God forgotten to be merciful?</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="PSA.77.9"><span class="content">Has his anger stifled his compassion?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PSA.77.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content"> Then I said, &#8220;I am sickened by the thought</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="PSA.77.10"><span class="content">that the sovereign One</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;Most High.&#8221; This divine title (&#1506;&#1462;&#1500;&#1456;&#1497;&#1493;&#1465;&#1503;, &#8217;elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.</span></span></span><span class="content"> might become inactive.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tc Heb &#8220;And I said, &#8216;This is my wounding, the changing of the right hand of the Most High.&#8217;&#8221; The form &#1495;&#1463;&#1500;&#1468;&#1493;&#1465;&#1514;&#1460;&#1497; (khallotiy) appears to be a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root &#1495;&#1464;&#1500;&#1463;&#1500; (khalal, &#8220;to pierce; to wound&#8221;). The present translation assumes an emendation to &#1495;&#1458;&#1500;&#1493;&#1465;&#1514;&#1460;&#1497; (khalotiy), a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root &#1495;&#1464;&#1500;&#1464;&#1492; (khalah, &#8220;be sick, weak&#8221;). The form &#1513;&#1473;&#1456;&#1504;&#1493;&#1465;&#1514; (sh&#255;not) is understood as a Qal infinitive construct from &#1513;&#1473;&#1464;&#1504;&#1464;&#1492; (shanah, &#8220;to change&#8221;) rather than a plural noun form, &#8220;years&#8221; (see v. 5). &#8220;Right hand&#8221; here symbolizes by metonymy God&#8217;s power and activity. The psalmist observes that his real problem is theological in nature. His experience suggests that the sovereign Lord has abandoned him and become inactive. However, this goes against the grain of his most cherished beliefs.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PSA.77.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content"> I will remember the works of the </span><span class="sc"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="PSA.77.11"><span class="content">Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago!</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;yes, I will remember from old your wonders.&#8221;sn The psalmist refuses to allow skepticism to win out. God has revealed himself to his people in tangible, incontrovertible ways in the past and the psalmist vows to remember the historical record as a source of hope for the future.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PSA.77.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content"> I will think about all you have done;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="PSA.77.12"><span class="content">I will reflect upon your deeds!&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PSA.77.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">sn Verses 13-20 are the content of the psalmist&#8217;s reflection (see vv. 11-12). As he thought about God&#8217;s work in Israel&#8217;s past, he reached the place where he could confidently cry out for God&#8217;s help (see v. 1).</span></span></span><span class="content"> O God, your deeds are extraordinary!</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;O God, in holiness [is] your way.&#8221; God&#8217;s &#8220;way&#8221; here refers to his actions. &#8220;Holiness&#8221; is used here in the sense of &#8220;set apart, unique,&#8221; rather than in a moral/ethical sense. As the next line and the next verse emphasize, God&#8217;s deeds are incomparable and set him apart as the one true God.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="PSA.77.13"><span class="content">What god can compare to our great God?</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;Who [is] a great god like God?&#8221; The rhetorical question assumes the answer, &#8220;No one!&#8221;</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PSA.77.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content"> You are the God who does amazing things;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="PSA.77.14"><span class="content">you have revealed your strength among the nations.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PSA.77.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content"> You delivered</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Or &#8220;redeemed.&#8221;</span></span></span><span class="content"> your people by your strength</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;with [your] arm.&#8221;</span></span></span><span class="content"> &#8211; </span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="PSA.77.15"><span class="content">the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PSA.77.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content"> The waters</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn The waters of the Red Sea are here personified; they are portrayed as seeing God and fearing him.</span></span></span><span class="content"> saw you, O God,</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PSA.77.16"><span class="content">the waters saw you and trembled.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="PSA.77.16"><span class="content">Yes, the depths of the sea</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn The words &#8220;of the sea&#8221; are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.</span></span></span><span class="content"> shook with fear.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PSA.77.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content"> The clouds poured down rain;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;water.&#8221;</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PSA.77.17"><span class="content">the skies thundered.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;a sound the clouds gave.&#8221;</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="PSA.77.17"><span class="content">Yes, your arrows</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn The lightning accompanying the storm is portrayed as the Lord&#8217;s &#8220;arrows&#8221; (see v. 18).</span></span></span><span class="content"> flashed about.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PSA.77.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content"> Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PSA.77.18"><span class="content">the lightning bolts lit up the world;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="PSA.77.18"><span class="content">the earth trembled and shook.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.sn Verses 16-18 depict the Lord coming in the storm to battle his enemies and subdue the sea. There is no record of such a storm in the historical account of the Red Sea crossing. The language the psalmist uses here is stereotypical and originates in Canaanite myth, where the storm god Baal subdues the sea in his quest for kingship. The psalmist has employed the stereotypical imagery to portray the exodus vividly and at the same time affirm that it is not Baal who subdues the sea, but Yahweh.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PSA.77.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content"> You walked through the sea;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;in the sea [was] your way.&#8221;</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PSA.77.19"><span class="content">you passed through the surging waters,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;and your paths [were] in the mighty waters.&#8221;</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="PSA.77.19"><span class="content">but left no footprints.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">tn Heb &#8220;and your footprints were not known.&#8221;</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PSA.77.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content"> You led your people like a flock of sheep,</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="PSA.77.20"><span class="content">by the hand of Moses and Aaron.</span></span></div>
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1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC

I will cry out to God and call for help!
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention to me.
In my time of trouble I sought the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.
I refused to be comforted.
I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.” (Selah)
You held my eyelids open;
I was troubled and could not speak.
I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times.
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.
I asked, “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise failed forever?
Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?”
Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the sovereign One might become inactive.
I will remember the works of the LORD.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago!
I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds!”
O God, your deeds are extraordinary!
What god can compare to our great God?
You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
You delivered your people by your strength –
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled.
Yes, the depths of the sea shook with fear.
The clouds poured down rain;
the skies thundered.
Yes, your arrows flashed about.
Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
You walked through the sea;
you passed through the surging waters,
but left no footprints.
You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

සවන් දෙන්න Psalms 77