39:2 I was stone silent; 1
I held back the urge to speak. 2
My frustration grew; 3
39:9 I am silent and cannot open my mouth
because of what you have done. 4
1 tn Heb “I was mute [with] silence.”
2 tn Heb “I was quiet from good.” He kept quiet, resisting the urge to find emotional release and satisfaction by voicing his lament.
sn I held back the urge to speak. For a helpful discussion of the relationship (and tension) between silence and complaint in ancient Israelite lamentation, see E. S. Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part I (FOTL), 166-67.
3 tn Heb “and my pain was stirred up.” Emotional pain is in view here.
4 tn Heb “because you acted.” The psalmist has in mind God’s disciplinary measures (see vv. 10-13).