For the music director; a psalm of David.
19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; 2
the sky displays his handiwork. 3
19:2 Day after day it speaks out; 4
night after night it reveals his greatness. 5
19:3 There is no actual speech or word,
nor is its 6 voice literally heard.
1 sn Psalm 19. The psalmist praises God for his self-revelation in the heavens and in the Mosaic law. The psalmist concludes with a prayer, asking the Lord to keep him from sinning and to approve of his thoughts and words.
2 sn God’s glory refers here to his royal majesty and power.
3 tn Heb “and the work of his hands the sky declares.” The participles emphasize the ongoing testimony of the heavens/sky.
4 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).
5 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.
6 tn Heb “their.” The antecedent of the plural pronoun is “heavens” (v. 1).