Psalms 77:2

77:2 In my time of trouble I sought 1  the Lord.

I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night. 2 

I 3  refused to be comforted.

Psalms 89:19

89:19 Then you 4  spoke through a vision to your faithful followers 5  and said:

“I have energized a warrior; 6 

I have raised up a young man 7  from the people.

1 tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.

2 tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.

3 tn Or “my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

4 tn The pronoun “you” refers to the Lord, who is addressed here. The quotation that follows further develops the announcement of vv. 3-4.

5 tc Many medieval mss read the singular here, “your faithful follower.” In this case the statement refers directly to Nathan’s oracle to David (see 2 Sam 7:17).

6 tn Heb “I have placed help upon a warrior.”

7 tn Or perhaps “a chosen one.”