DAY BY DAY – 2 Chronicles 30:21

[Deacon]

Day by day
Day by day
Oh Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day​

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the KJV I’m examining some common English expressions that were popularized in the Authorized King James Version.


And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD.
2 Chronicles 30:21, AV 1873

Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God.
Nehemiah 8:18a, AV 1873


Psalm 68:19

Blessid be the Lord ech dai; the God of oure heelthis schal make an eesie wei to vs.
Wycliffe 1395

Praysed be the LORDE daylie, eue ye God which helpeth vs, & poureth his benefites vpo vs.
Coverdale 1535

Blessed be the Lorde who day by day powreth his [benefites] vpon vs: and is God of our saluation. Selah.
Bishops 1568

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth vs with benefits, euen the God of our saluation. Selah.
AV 1611

Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loadeth us with benefits, Even the God of our salvation. Selah,
AV 1873

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation. Selah.
NAS 1995

The Lord deserves praise! day after day he carries our burden, the God who delivers us. (Selah)
NET 1996


Winman: ”Didn't all of these idioms originate in the original languages?”
Answer: ”Each language has its own idioms.
We borrow them sometimes but not all the time.”

The phrase, DAY BY DAY is drawn directly from the Hebrew Scriptures.



HEBREW GRAMMAR LESSON

In English we use the letter ‘s’ at the end of a word to make it plural.
Hebrew also generally uses various endings to show plurality too,
but another way plurality can be expressed is by repetition of a singular noun:
[for a fuller explanation see [i]Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar[/i], 2d ed,; section (d), p 395-96. LINK]

Examples:
שָׁנָה שָׁנָה– shana shana (literally: year year) = every year
Deut 14.22;

אישׁ אישׁ – ’ish ’ish (literally: man man) = every man or everybody
Ex 36.4;


יוֹם יוֹם - yom yom (day day) = every day or daily or day after day!
Genesis 39:10; Exodus 16:5; Numbers 14:34; Isaiah 58:2; Ezekiel 4:6; Psalm 61:8; 68:19; Proverbs 8:30; 8:34

יוֹם לְיוֹם – yom leyom = day to day or day after day
Psalm 19:2

יוֹם וָיוֹם – yom waiwom = every day or day after day (NET)
Esther 2:11; 3:4;

יוֹם בְּיוֹם – yom beyom = every day or daily or each day or day by day
Ezra 3:4; Ezra 6:9; Nehemiah 8:18; 1 Chronicles 12:22; 2 Chronicles 8:13; 30:21

Rob

 

[BobinKy]

Day by day
Day by day
. . .​

Rob

Listen to the song Day by Day from the musical Godspell (1973).



...Bob​

 

[InTheLight]

C'mon people, let's at least get into the 1990's!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c84qmtpHqtA

 

[Deacon]

I spent a couple of hours putting together the post and checking the verses.

I spent about 2 minutes finding verse to the song.

I saw Godspell as a young Christian in Chicago in 73'.

My memory of the song is better than both your versions!!! :tongue3:

Rob

 

[Joseph M. Smith]

St. Richard of Chichester, 13th century, is the author of the version that was taken into Godspell. Here is but one of many links on that topic: http://www.sm3a.org.uk/prayer_of_the_month/richard.html

 

[BobinKy]

I spent a couple of hours putting together the post and checking the verses.

I spent about 2 minutes finding verse to the song.

I saw Godspell as a young Christian in Chicago in 73'.

My memory of the song is better than both your versions!!! :tongue3:

Rob

Rob (Deacon)...

Thank you for sharing the Hebrew exegesis for the phrase Day by Day. I did not know that part of the history behind the phrase (etymology).

When I saw the lyrics to the Godspell song at the beginning of your OP, I went searching for the song itself. Like you, and millions more, I sat in an audience clapping to the performance. In '73 I had finished college and was hard at work in the business world. I would often drive home late at night listening to Day by Day on the 8-track player in my car. Some days--long hard 16 hour work days--I would fall in bed (literally) listening to Day by Day on my bedside player.

Little did I know I was actually taking in God's Word as I listened and repeated the words Day by Day, Day by Day. Thank you for the translation lesson. Thank you for the Hebrew exegesis.

...Bob

 

[BobinKy]

St. Richard of Chichester, 13th century, is the author of the version that was taken into Godspell. Here is but one of many links on that topic: http://www.sm3a.org.uk/prayer_of_the_month/richard.html

Joseph...

Thank you for adding to the Day by Day etymology. A performance in Louisville, Kentucky was one of the many Godspell performances I attended--when I could get away from work.

...Bob

 

[franklinmonroe]

Mordre wol out, that see we day by day.​

Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales The Nun's Priest's Tale, Line 15058 (early 1400s)