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Psalm 139:9-11
New English Translation
Psalm 139:9-11
New English Translation
9 If I were to fly away[a] on the wings of the dawn,[b]
and settle down on the other side[c] of the sea,
10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,[d]
and the light will turn to night all around me,”[e]
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:9 tn Heb “rise up.”
- Psalm 139:9 sn On the wings of the dawn. This personification of the “dawn” may find its roots in mythological traditions about the god Shachar, whose birth is described in an Ugaritic myth (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 126) and who is mentioned in Isa 14:12 as the father of Helel.
- Psalm 139:9 tn Heb “at the end.”
- Psalm 139:11 tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeni), from the root שָׂכַך (sakhakh, “to cover,” an alternate form of סָכַך [sakhakh]), a reading assumed in the present translation.
- Psalm 139:11 tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”
New English Translation (NET)
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