19:5 Like a bridegroom it emerges 1 from its chamber; 2
like a strong man it enjoys 3 running its course. 4
31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; 5
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar. 6
36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, 7
your fairness like the deepest sea;
you preserve 8 mankind and the animal kingdom. 9
38:13 But I am like a deaf man – I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak. 10
78:52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
102:6 I am like an owl 11 in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl 12 among the ruins. 13
109:23 I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; 14
I am shaken off like a locust.
147:16 He sends the snow that is white like wool;
he spreads the frost that is white like ashes. 15
1 tn The participle expresses the repeated or regular nature of the action.
2 tn The Hebrew noun חֻפָּה (khufah, “chamber”) occurs elsewhere only in Isa 4:5 and Joel 2:16 (where it refers to the bedroom of a bride and groom).
sn Like a bridegroom. The metaphor likens the sun to a bridegroom who rejoices on his wedding night.
3 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the regularity of the action.
4 tn Heb “[on] a path.”
sn Like a strong man. The metaphorical language reflects the brilliance of the sunrise, which attests to the sun’s vigor.
5 tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.
6 tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.
7 tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.
8 tn Or “deliver.”
9 sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.
10 sn I am like a deaf man…like a mute. The psalmist is like a deaf mute; he is incapable of defending himself and is vulnerable to his enemies’ deception (see v. 14).
11 tn The Hebrew term קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (see Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). Modern translations have frequently rendered this as some type of owl (NIV, REB “desert owl”; NRSV “owl”).
12 tn The Hebrew term כוֹס (khos) refers to a bird (see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16), probably a type of owl (cf. NIV, REB “owl”; NRSV “little owl”).
13 sn By comparing himself to a screech owl among the ruins, the psalmist may be highlighting his loneliness (see v. 7), though he may also be comparing his cries for help to the owl’s screech.
14 tn Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.
15 tn Heb “the one who gives snow like wool, frost like ashes he scatters.”