40:2 He lifted me out of the watery pit, 1
out of the slimy mud. 2
He placed my feet on a rock
and gave me secure footing. 3
40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, 4
praising our God. 5
May many see what God has done,
so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! 6
1 tn Heb “cistern of roaring.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “cistern, pit”) is used metaphorically here of Sheol, the place of death, which is sometimes depicted as a raging sea (see Ps 18:4, 15-16). The noun שָׁאוֹן (sha’on, “roaring”) refers elsewhere to the crashing sound of the sea’s waves (see Ps 65:7).
2 tn Heb “from the mud of mud.” The Hebrew phrase translated “slimy mud” employs an appositional genitive. Two synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
3 tn Heb “he established my footsteps.”
4 sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.
5 tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”
6 tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the