Psalm 77:4
New International Version
You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.

New Living Translation
You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray!

English Standard Version
You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Berean Standard Bible
You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak.

King James Bible
Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

New King James Version
You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

New American Standard Bible
You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

NASB 1995
You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

NASB 1977
Thou hast held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Legacy Standard Bible
You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Amplified Bible
You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Christian Standard Bible
You have kept me from closing my eyes; I am troubled and cannot speak.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
You have kept me from closing my eyes; I am troubled and cannot speak.

American Standard Version
Thou holdest mine eyes watching: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Contemporary English Version
Because of you, Lord God, I can't sleep. I am restless and can't even talk.

English Revised Version
Thou holdest mine eyes watching: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
(You keep my eyelids open.) I am so upset that I cannot speak.

Good News Translation
He keeps me awake all night; I am so worried that I cannot speak.

International Standard Version
You kept my eyes open; I was troubled and couldn't speak.

Majority Standard Bible
You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak.

NET Bible
You held my eyelids open; I was troubled and could not speak.

New Heart English Bible
You hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I can't speak.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thou holdest my eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

World English Bible
You hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I can’t speak.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
You have taken hold of the watches of my eyes, "" I have been moved, and I do not speak.

Young's Literal Translation
Thou hast taken hold of the watches of mine eyes, I have been moved, and I speak not.

Smith's Literal Translation
Thou didst hold mine eyes watching: I was moved, and I will not speak.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
My eyes prevented the watches: I was troubled, and I spoke not.

Catholic Public Domain Version
My eyes anticipated the vigils. I was disturbed, and I did not speak.

New American Bible
You have kept me from closing my eyes in sleep; I am troubled and cannot speak.

New Revised Standard Version
You keep my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
My eyes are dazed; I am dumb so that I cannot speak.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And dizziness seized me in my eyes; I was dumb and did not speak.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Thou holdest fast the lids of mine eyes; I am troubled, and cannot speak.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
All mine enemies set a watch against me: I was troubled, and spoke not.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
In The Day of Trouble I Sought the LORD
3I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah 4You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak. 5I considered the days of old, the years long in the past.…

Cross References
Job 7:13-14
When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, / then You frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions,

Lamentations 3:49-50
My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief, / until the LORD looks down from heaven and sees.

Psalm 6:6
I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

Psalm 42:3
My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”

Psalm 102:7
I lie awake; I am like a lone bird on a housetop.

Psalm 119:148
My eyes anticipate the watches of night, that I may meditate on Your word.

Isaiah 38:14
I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”

Jeremiah 9:1
Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.

Habakkuk 1:2
How long, O LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save?

Matthew 26:38-39
Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.” / Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”

Mark 14:33-34
He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be deeply troubled and distressed. / Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”

Luke 22:44
And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

John 12:27
Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.

Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. / Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.


Treasury of Scripture

You hold my eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

holdest

Psalm 6:6
I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

Esther 6:1
On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.

Job 7:13-15
When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; …

I am

Job 2:13
So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

Job 6:3
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.

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Closing Disquiet Eyelids Eyes Fast Full Held Hold Holdest Kept Moved Open Sleep Speak Troubled Watching Words
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Closing Disquiet Eyelids Eyes Fast Full Held Hold Holdest Kept Moved Open Sleep Speak Troubled Watching Words
Psalm 77
1. The psalmist shows what fierce combat he had with distrust
10. The victory which he had by consideration of God's great and gracious works.














You have kept
The phrase "You have kept" suggests an active involvement by God in the psalmist's life. The Hebrew root for "kept" is "שָׁמַר" (shamar), which means to guard, watch over, or preserve. This indicates that God is not passive but is actively engaged in the psalmist's circumstances. Historically, this reflects the belief in God's sovereignty and His intimate involvement in the lives of His people, a theme prevalent throughout the Psalms.

my eyes from closing
The imagery of "my eyes from closing" conveys a state of sleeplessness or restlessness. In the Hebrew context, sleep is often associated with peace and divine blessing (Psalm 127:2). The inability to sleep suggests a deep spiritual or emotional turmoil. This phrase can be seen as a metaphor for the psalmist's ongoing distress and vigilance, unable to find rest due to the weight of his troubles.

I am too troubled
The phrase "I am too troubled" reflects an intense emotional state. The Hebrew word for "troubled" is "נִפְעַם" (nif'am), which can mean disturbed or agitated. This word choice indicates a profound inner turmoil, a common experience for believers facing trials. It underscores the human condition of grappling with anxiety and distress, yet it also points to the psalmist's awareness of his need for divine intervention.

to speak
The inability "to speak" signifies a depth of anguish that leaves the psalmist speechless. In biblical times, speech was a primary means of expressing one's heart and mind. The Hebrew culture placed great importance on verbal expression, whether in prayer, lament, or praise. The psalmist's silence here is not just a lack of words but a profound expression of his overwhelmed spirit, highlighting the severity of his plight and his reliance on God to understand his unspoken pain.

(4) Thou holdest mine eyes waking.--Rather, Thou hast closed the guards of my eyes--i.e., my eyelids. The Authorised Version mistakes the noun. guards, for a participle, and mistranslates it by the active instead of the passive. For the verb hold in the sense of shut, see Nehemiah 7:3, and Job 26:9, where God is described as veiling His throne in cloud, and so shutting it up, as it were, from the access of men.

I am so troubled.--The verb is used elsewhere of the awestruck state into which the mind is thrown by a mysterious dream (Genesis 41:8; Daniel 2:1; Daniel 2:3), and once (Judges 13:25) of inspiration, such as impelled the judges of old to become the liberators of their country. The parallelism here shows that it is used in the first connection. The poet has been struck dumb (the verb is rendered strike in the Lexicons) by a mysterious dream; he is too overawed to speak. . . .

Verse 4. - Thou holdest mine eyes waking; literally, thou boldest the watches of mine eyes; i.e. preventedst me from obtaining any sleep. I am so troubled that I cannot speak; literally, I was perplexed and did not speak. The perplexity was probably caused by an inability to understand God's ways. Why had he afflicted his people? Was the affliction always to continue? Was Israel cast off?

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
You have kept
אָ֭חַזְתָּ (’ā·ḥaz·tā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 270: To grasp, take hold, take possession

my eyes
עֵינָ֑י (‘ê·nāy)
Noun - cdc | first person common singular
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

from closing;
שְׁמֻר֣וֹת (šə·mu·rō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 8109: Something guarded, an eye-lid

I am too troubled
נִ֝פְעַ֗מְתִּי (nip̄·‘am·tî)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6470: To tap, beat regularly, to impel, agitate

to speak.
אֲדַבֵּֽר׃ (’ă·ḏab·bêr)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue


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OT Poetry: Psalm 77:4 You hold my eyelids open (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 77:3
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