Misinterpretation in KJV (IX)

Psalm 77:2 (King James Version)

In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.

Psalm 77:2 (New International Version)

When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted.

When

I

was

in

distress

,

I

sought

the

Lord

;

1 בְּ2 י֥וֹם

4 ִי֮

→

→

3 צָרָת

→

7 דָּ֫רָ֥שְׁתִּי

→

5 אֲדֹנָ֪6 י

at

night

I

stretched

out

untiring

hands

•

,

→

10 לַ֣יְלָה

•

11 נִ֭גְּרָה

←

13 לֹ֣א14 תָפ֑וּג

8 יָדִ֤

9 י׀

and

I

would

not

be

comforted

.

12 וְ

17 נַפְשִֽׁ18 י

15 מֵאֲנָ֖ה

←

→

16 הִנָּחֵ֣ם

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 77:2.

Psalm 77:2 presents a fundamental mistranslation where the KJV renders the passage as “my sore ran in the night,” when the Hebrew actually conveys “my hand was stretched out in the night.”[1] This error fundamentally alters the theological and emotional texture of the psalmist’s lament.

The Linguistic Confusion

The KJV’s error stems from combining an unusual Hebrew root word (ngr, literally “to flow” or “gush”) with a misinterpretation of “my hand,” treating it as if the flesh had been struck, similar to language in Job 23:2.[2] The Hebrew word yad (hand) was sometimes taken metaphorically for a wound, leading interpreters to render it as “my wound ran in the night.” However, the verb niggera signifies not only running as a sore does, but also being stretched forth or extended.[3] The translators conflated these possible meanings and chose the wrong one.

The Spiritual Meaning Lost

Rather than describing physical affliction, the correct rendering depicts the psalmist’s hands outstretched in the night, despairingly pleading with God—a gesture of anguish and prayer.[1] When the psalmist affirms that he sought the Lord in the day of his trouble and that his hands were stretched out to him in the night season, this denotes that prayer was his continual exercise—that his heart was so earnestly and unweariedly engaged in that exercise that he could not desist from it.[3]

When compared with the parallel phrase in Lamentations 3:49—“my eyes flow without ceasing, without respite”—Psalm 77:2 substitutes “my hand” for “my eyes” to convey an ambiguous gesture of imprecation—an oft-extended hand.[2] This distinction matters: the psalmist is not merely suffering physically but actively reaching toward God despite receiving no answer. The mode of expression describes the constant turning to God as an unchangeable inclination of the soul amid the ebb and flow of the tides of feeling.[4] The KJV’s rendering obscures this posture of persistent, desperate prayer.

[1] John Phillips, Exploring Psalms 1–88: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009). [See here, here.]
[2] Richard D. Blake, “Exegetical Perspective on Psalm 77:1–2, 11–20,” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year C, ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 181.
[3] John Calvin and James Anderson, Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 3:206–207.
[4] John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Psalms (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 433.