Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageHe set it as a solemn testimony in Joseph when he went out as ruler over the land of Egypt — a language I had never known reached my ears.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GHe established it as a testimony in Yehoseph when he went out over the land of Mitzrayim — a tongue I had not known came to my ears.
KJV
King James VersionThis he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleHe ordained it as a testimony for Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I heard an unfamiliar language:
Footnotes
The archaic spelling *Yehoseph* (יְהוֹסֵף) — embedding the divine prefix *Yah* — is rare and theologically charged, emphasising YHWH's sovereign hand woven into Yosef's entire story. The phrase "went out over the land of Egypt" likely gestures to Yosef's elevation to rule (Gen. 41:43–45), though some ancient readers saw it as anticipating the Exodus. The closing clause, *sefat lo-yada'ti eshma* (שְׂפַת לֹא-יָדַעְתִּי אֶשְׁמָע, "a tongue I did not know I hear"), is the psalm's most enigmatic line: the sudden first-person voice may be Israel recalling the alien Egyptian tongue, or — more poignantly — YHWH Himself noting He heard the cries of His people in a language of exile and suffering. FOG preserves the ambiguity plainly; FOG Message leans into the sense of divine attentiveness reaching into a foreign land.
