Psalm 77:19
New International Version
Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.

New Living Translation
Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters— a pathway no one knew was there!

English Standard Version
Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.

Berean Standard Bible
Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.

King James Bible
Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

New King James Version
Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known.

New American Standard Bible
Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints were not known.

NASB 1995
Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, And Your footprints may not be known.

NASB 1977
Thy way was in the sea, And Thy paths in the mighty waters, And Thy footprints may not be known.

Legacy Standard Bible
Your way was in the sea And Your paths in the mighty waters, But Your footprints were not known.

Amplified Bible
Your way [of escape for Your people] was through the sea, And Your paths through the great waters, And Your footprints were not traceable.

Christian Standard Bible
Your way went through the sea and your path through the vast water, but your footprints were unseen.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Your way went through the sea and Your path through the great waters, but Your footprints were unseen.

American Standard Version
Thy way was in the sea, And thy paths in the great waters, And thy footsteps were not known.

Contemporary English Version
You walked through the water of the mighty sea, but your footprints were never seen.

English Revised Version
Thy way was in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters, and thy footsteps were not known.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Your road went through the sea. Your path went through raging water, but your footprints could not be seen.

Good News Translation
You walked through the waves; you crossed the deep sea, but your footprints could not be seen.

International Standard Version
Your way was through the sea, and your path through mighty waters, but your footprints cannot be traced.

Majority Standard Bible
Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.

NET Bible
You walked through the sea; you passed through the surging waters, but left no footprints.

New Heart English Bible
Your way was through the sea; your paths through the great waters. Your footsteps were not known.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

World English Bible
Your way was through the sea, your paths through the great waters. Your footsteps were not known.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Your way [is] in the sea, "" And Your paths in many waters, "" And Your tracks have not been known.

Young's Literal Translation
In the sea is Thy way, And Thy paths are in many waters, And Thy tracks have not been known.

Smith's Literal Translation
In the sea thy way, and thy paths in many waters, and thy heels were not known.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters: and thy footsteps shall not be known.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Your way is through the sea, and your paths are through many waters. And your traces will not be known.

New American Bible
Through the sea was your way; your path, through the mighty waters, though your footsteps were unseen.

New Revised Standard Version
Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Thy way is in the sea, and thy path is in the great waters, but thy footsteps are not seen.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Your path is in the sea and your steps in the many waters, neither are your footprints known.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Thy way was in the sea, And Thy path in the great waters, And Thy footsteps were not known.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters, and thy footsteps cannot be known.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
In The Day of Trouble I Sought the LORD
18Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind; the lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. 19Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found. 20You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.…

Cross References
Exodus 14:21-22
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, / and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.

Isaiah 43:16
Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the surging waters,

Job 9:8
He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

Isaiah 51:10
Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over?

Habakkuk 3:15
You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.

Joshua 3:15-17
Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, / the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. / The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.

Matthew 14:25-26
During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. / When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.

Mark 6:48-50
He could see that the disciples were straining to row, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. He intended to pass by them, / but when they saw Him walking on the sea, they cried out, thinking He was a ghost— / for they all saw Him and were terrified. But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

John 6:19-21
When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea—and they were terrified. / But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.” / Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

Isaiah 63:13
who led them through the depths like a horse in the wilderness, so that they did not stumble?

Exodus 15:8
At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

Psalm 78:13
He split the sea and brought them through; He set the waters upright like a wall.

Psalm 114:3
The sea observed and fled; the Jordan turned back;

1 Corinthians 10:1-2
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea. / They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

Hebrews 11:29
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned.


Treasury of Scripture

Your way is in the sea, and your path in the great waters, and your footsteps are not known.

way

Psalm 29:10
The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.

Psalm 97:2
Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.

Nehemiah 9:11
And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.

footsteps

Exodus 14:28
And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

Romans 11:33
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

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Footprints Footsteps Great Led Mighty Path Paths Road Sea Tracks Unseen Waters Way
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.














Your path
The phrase "Your path" in Psalm 77:19 refers to the way God leads His people. In Hebrew, the word for "path" is "derek," which signifies a road, journey, or way of life. This term is often used in the Old Testament to describe the moral and spiritual direction God provides. The path of God is not always visible or understandable to human eyes, yet it is divinely ordained and leads to His ultimate purposes. Historically, the Israelites experienced God's path through the wilderness, a journey that required faith and trust in His guidance.

led through the sea
The phrase "led through the sea" recalls the miraculous event of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, as recorded in Exodus 14. The Hebrew word for "sea" is "yam," which can refer to any large body of water. This event is a powerful demonstration of God's sovereignty and ability to deliver His people from seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness and His power to make a way where there seems to be no way.

Your way
"Your way" emphasizes the distinct and often mysterious manner in which God operates. The Hebrew word "derek" is again used here, reinforcing the idea of a divinely appointed course of action. God's ways are higher than human ways, as stated in Isaiah 55:8-9, and they often transcend human understanding. This phrase encourages believers to trust in God's wisdom and timing, even when His methods are not immediately clear.

through the mighty waters
The phrase "through the mighty waters" symbolizes the overwhelming challenges and trials that believers may face. The Hebrew word for "mighty" is "rab," which conveys the idea of greatness or abundance. Waters often represent chaos and danger in biblical literature, yet God demonstrates His control over them. This imagery reassures believers that God is present and active, even in the most tumultuous circumstances, guiding them safely through.

but Your footprints were not to be found
This phrase highlights the unseen nature of God's work. The Hebrew word for "footprints" is "aqeb," which can also mean "heel" or "trail." The absence of visible footprints suggests that God's presence and actions are not always perceptible to human senses. This calls for faith, trusting that God is at work even when His presence is not overtly visible. It serves as a reminder that God's ways are mysterious and beyond human comprehension, yet they are always purposeful and for the good of His people.

(19) Are not known.--"We know not, they knew not, by what precise means the deliverance was wrought; we know not by what precise track through the gulf the passage was effected. We know not; we need not know. The obscuring, the mystery, here as elsewhere, was part of the lesson. . . . All that we see distinctly is, that through this dark and terrible night, with the enemy pressing close behind, and the driving sea on either side, He led His people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron" (Stanley, Jewish Church, i. 128).

To some minds the abruptness of the conclusion of the psalm marks it as unfinished. But no better end could have been reached in the poet's perplexity than that to which he has been led by his musings on the past, the thought of the religious aids ready to his hand, in the faith and worship left by Moses and Aaron. We are reminded of him who recalled the thoughts of the young man, searching for a higher ideal of duty, back to the law and obedience. Or if the psalm is rather an expression of the feeling of the community than of an individual, there is a pointed significance in the conclusion given to all the national cries of doubt and despair--the one safe course was to remain loyal and true to the ancient institutions.

Verse 19. - Thy way is in the sea; rather, was in the sea. Thou wentest, i.e., in person before thy people in their passage across the dry bed of the Red Sea; truly there, though invisible (comp. Exodus 15:13; Psalm 78:52, 53; Psalm 106:9; Isaiah 63:13). And thy path in the great waters; literally, thy paths. So the Revised Version. And thy footsteps are not known; rather, were not. No one perceived thy presence, much less discerned thy footsteps. As in external nature and in the human heart, God worked secretly.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Your path
דַּרְכֶּ֗ךָ (dar·ke·ḵā)
Noun - common singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 1870: A road, a course of life, mode of action

led through the sea,
בַּיָּ֤ם (bay·yām)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3220: A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin

Your way
וּֽ֭שְׁבִֽילְךָ (ū·šə·ḇî·lə·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 7635: A track, passage-way

through the mighty
רַבִּ֑ים (rab·bîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7227: Much, many, great

waters,
בְּמַ֣יִם (bə·ma·yim)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

but Your footprints
וְ֝עִקְּבוֹתֶ֗יךָ (wə·‘iq·qə·ḇō·w·ṯe·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6119: Heel, footprint, hind part

were not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

to be found.
נֹדָֽעוּ׃ (nō·ḏā·‘ū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3045: To know


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OT Poetry: Psalm 77:19 Your way was through the sea (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 77:18
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