Category Archive: Bible – OT – Psalms
Psalm 11
A reminder: I’ve prepared these psalms for our liturgy, trying to be as accurate in my translation as possible. The alternation between plain text and bold is for responsive reading. I invite feedback on the translation!
For the director.
By David.In Yahweh I have taken refuge.
How can you say to my soul,
Flee to your mountain, bird!For look! The wicked bend a bow;
They set their arrow upon the string
To shoot in the darkness at the upright of heart.If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous one do?Yahweh is in his holy temple;
Yahweh — in heaven is his throne.His eyes see,
His eyelids test the sons of Adam.
Yahweh tests the righteous one.But the wicked and the lover of violence his soul hates.
He will rain upon the wicked coals of fire and sulfur,
And a wind of rage will be the portion of their cup,For righteous is Yahweh;
He loves righteous deeds;
The upright will behold his face.
As James Jordan points out, this psalm is a chiasm. The second and sixth sections deal with “the wicked,” the third and fifth with “the righteous one,” and the fourth, central section announces Yahweh as king enthroned in heaven, which is the pivot on which the whole psalm turns, giving rise to the confidence of the person (sections one and seven) who takes refuge in Yahweh.
There are some challenges in translation here.
1. “Flee to your mountain, bird!” in the first section could be “Flee to your mountain like a bird.” But as Hirsch points out, it could be “Flee! Your mountain is a bird,” meaning that your mountain in which you trust is as unstable as a bird. That seems like a stretch, though.
2. The phrase “the righteous one” is used twice in this translation, but it could be used three times. The last section could start “For the Righteous One is Yahweh.” In fact, Jordan points out that the phrase could apply to Yahweh all through the Psalm. The question in section three could be rendered “If the foundations are destroyed, what will the Righteous One do?” or even “What is the Righteous One doing?” Then the answer would be given in the fifth section (which corresponds to the third section chiastically): “Yahweh, the Righteous One, tests.” In times of upheaval, Yahweh, the Righteous One, is testing people, leading to him punishing the wicked, as this psalm says.
3. The word I’ve translated “coals” here looks exactly like the word for “snares,” and that’s how some translate it, often breaking the verse in two at this point: he rains snares (end of line) and then fire and sulphur and a wind will be their portion. It’s possible to break the line there, but the pointing in the Hebrew suggests that this word (“coals” or “snares”) goes with “fire” which is linked immediately with “and sulfur,” so that these three words are combined as one phrase, namely, the things that Yahweh rains on the wicked. In that context, snares doesn’t seem to make much sense. The word for charcoal is almost identical to the word for snares, and I suspect that’s what’s in view here.
4. The last line of the psalm is a challenge. There is what appears to be a plural ending to the word for “face”: “their face.” Some (e.g., Hirsch) rework the sentence so that it reads: “Their face will behold the Upright One.” In that case, “upright” is applied to David and those with him in verse 2 but to Yahweh in verse 7. Alternatively, it’s just possible that this is an unusual case of a plural ending being used for the singular, so that it means “his face.” Alexander thinks there may be a hint at the personal distinction in the Triune God here: “The upright will behold their face.”
Psalm 10
A reminder: I’ve prepared these psalms for our liturgy, trying to be as accurate in my translation as possible. The alternation between plain text and bold is for responsive reading. I invite feedback on the translation!
Why, Yahweh, do you stand at a distance?
Why do you hide in times of trouble?
In the pride of the wicked, he burns after the afflicted;
They are trapped in the schemes they devised,
For the wicked boasts about his soul’s desire;
And the greedy he blesses.The wicked reviles Yahweh, in the loftiness of his nose:
“He does not seek! There is no God.”
Such are all his thoughts.
His ways prosper at all times.On high are your judgments, far from him.
All his enemies — he snorts at them.
He says in his heart, “I will not be moved;
For a generation and a generation I will not be in trouble.”With a curse his mouth is full — and lies and oppression;
Under his tongue are trouble and evil.
He sits in the lurking-place of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent.His eyes hide for the victims.
He lurks in a secret place, like a lion in his thicket;
He lurks to catch the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.And he crushes, he crouches;
And the victims fall by his strong ones.
He says in his heart, “The Mighty One forgets.
He has hidden his face. He will never see.”Arise, Yahweh! Mighty One, lift up your hand!
Do not forget the afflicted!
Why does the wicked revile God?
He says in his heart, “You will not seek.”You have seen.
Indeed, trouble and provocation you yourself consider, taking it into your hand.
To you the victim entrusts himself,
For the fatherless, you yourself are a helper.Break the arm of the wicked and evil man!
Seek his wickedness that “you will not find.”
Yahweh is King forever and ever;
The nations perish from his land.The desire of the afflicted you hear, Yahweh;
You strengthen their heart; you incline your ear,
To judge the fatherless and crushed,
That man from the earth may not keep terrorizing any more.
Some comments on this psalm. Psalms 9 and 10 appear to have originally been one psalm, though it does divide neatly into two parts. It is an acrostic psalm, each section starting with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, though not exactly in order. The variations, as James Jordan has argued in his “Studies in the Psalter,” may reflect the “topsiturviness” of things in the world, which is what Psalm 9-10 is about.
Some of the divisions between verses in this version of Psalm 10 are different from what you’ll find in other translations, and that’s related to the acrostic nature of this psalm. On occasion the word at the end of one line starts with the letter you’d expect for the acrostic to work, and so it’s likely that that word originally wasn’t at the end of that particular line but at the beginning of the next.
I have to admit that I haven’t been completely consistent with this practice, however: It seems to me that the word I’ve rendered “with a curse” would then have to go with the preceding. Perhaps (as Jordan has it) it means that he makes this boast (“I’ll never be in trouble”) with a curse, swearing an oath. For now, pending further thought (and your wisdom, which I welcome), I’ve left it where it is. That breaks up the acrostic pattern in the Hebrew, unfortunately, but it seems to me to flow better.
That’s just one of the challenges in this psalm. I vaguely recall planning to preach this psalm back when I was in my first internship (in what was then called Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church in Grande Prairie), but changing my mind when I realized how hard it was to translate and how much every commentary seemed to disagree with every other one.
It’s still a bear to translate, but I hope this translation comes close. There are lots of mysteries, though. The section in the middle which begins (in my translation) “And he crushes…” is notoriously difficult to translate. The word here means “crushes,” but many seem to think that it can also mean “crouches,” I suppose because crouching is a matter of crumpling up your body, but that meaning of the word is unattested elsewhere. The next word does appear to mean “he crouches,” though it could mean “he stoops.” It’s possible, as some translations have it, that this whole line is referring, not to the wicked attacker but to the victim: “He is crushed, he stoops down, he falls…”
It’s interesting to note that the word “helper” at the end of the Psalm is the same word used in Genesis 2 for the woman who is created to be man’s “helper.” Here, God is man’s “helper.” The term, therefore, certainly doesn’t imply inferiority or servility. Rather, the helper is someone man can’t do without. Man needs God to rescue him from his enemy, and man needs woman or he won’t be able to carry out his calling in the world.
Psalm 9
A reminder: I’ve prepared these psalms for our liturgy, trying to be as accurate in my translation as possible. The alternation between plain text and bold is for responsive reading. I invite feedback on the translation!
For the director.
Upon Muth-Labben.
A Psalm.
By David.I will thank Yahweh with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders!
I will rejoice and I will exult in you;
I will psalm to your name, Most High!When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and perish before your face,
For you maintain my right and my cause;
You sit on a throne judging righteously.You have rebuked the nations; you have destroyed the wicked;
Their name you have blotted out everlastingly and forever.
The enemy — they are finished! Everlasting ruins!
And cities you have uprooted—
The very memory of them has perished.But Yahweh sits forever;
He has established his throne for the judgment.
And he himself will judge the world in righteousness,
And he will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.And Yahweh is a stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble.
And they will trust in you, those who know your name,
For you have not forsaken those who seek you, Yahweh.Psalm to Yahweh, who sits in Zion!
Declare among the peoples his deeds,
For the Seeker of Blood remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.Be gracious to me, Yahweh!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
That I may tell of all your praise in the gates of Daughter Zion,
That I may rejoice in your salvation.The nations have sunk down in the pit they made;
In the net they hid their own foot has been caught.
Yahweh has made himself known.
Justice he has done,
By the work of his hands, striking down the wicked man.
Higgaion. Selah.The wicked will turn — into Sheol,
All nations that forget God,
Because the needy will not everlastingly be forgotten;
Nor will the hope of the afflicted perish forever.Rise up, Yahweh! Do not let man be strong!
Let the nations be judged before your face!
Appoint a teaching for them, Yahweh,
Let the nations know they are man. Selah.
A few comments about this Psalm:
1. The phrase muth-labben may mean “death of a son” or “death to a son” or something like that, but we aren’t sure. For that matter, we don’t know exactly what Higgaion means eitiher. Let alone Selah.
2. When the Psalm speaks of Yahweh as “sitting,” the idea is that He is enthroned. In fact, “Yahweh who sits in Zion” could be translated “Yahweh, the Enthroned of Zion” (which is what Jim Jordan has in his versions of the Psalms). He is also called the “Seeker of Blood,” because he remembers bloodshed and avenges those whose blood has been shed.
3. The word translated “man” at the end of the psalm is the same as the name of Seth’s son in Genesis 4: Enosh. The term enosh generally seems to present man as weak and frail, mortal man. Here, the idea seems to be that God should not allow these mere men, these mortal, frail, weak men to become strong, that is, to prevail over the righteous.
4. The word “teaching” at the end may be unexpected. It’s a guess, I have to admit, following Jordan and sticking to the actual Hebrew text, which has a word which appears to be related to a verb meaning “to instruct, teach.” It’s possible, though, that the Hebrew word may mean “fear.” Though the verb “to be afraid, fear” is one letter different, spelling in Hebrew is a little bit more flexible than in English. To put it another way, two words that sound the same often turn out to be related, and so it’s possible that this word is a variant spelling of a word that means “fear.” Of course, the word in exactly this form does appear elsewhere in the Bible where it means “razor,” and so it’s also just possible that this is a metaphor: God’s judgment is seen as a razor being appointed to shave these people. Ain’t translation fun?
[Revised, June 6, 2009.]
Psalm 7
A reminder: I’ve prepared these psalms for our liturgy, trying to be as accurate in my translation as possible. The alternation between plain text and bold is for responsive reading. I invite feedback on the translation!
A shiggaion.
By David,
Which he sang to Yahweh
Concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.Yahweh, my God, in you I take refuge;
Save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
Lest he tear my soul like a lion,
Snatching away — and there is no one to deliver.Yahweh, my God, if I did this:
If there is injustice in my hands,
If I did evil to someone at peace with me,
Or plundered my adversary without cause,
Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake,
And let him trample to the earth my life,
And cause my glory to dwell in the dust. Selah.Arise, Yahweh, in your anger!
Rise up against the ragings of my adversaries!
And awake for me since you commanded judgment.
And let the assembly of the peoples surround you,
And over it to the high place return.
Yahweh will judge the peoples.Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness
And according to my integrity within me.
Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, I pray,
But establish the righteous.
And a tester of hearts and kidneys is the righteous God.
My shield is with God,
The savior of the upright in heart.God is a righteous judge,
And a God who expresses wrath every day.
If he does not turn, his sword he sharpens;
His bow he bends and makes it ready.
And for him he prepares deadly weapons;
He makes his arrows flame.Look, he is in labor with trouble;
And he conceives mischief and bears falsehood.
A pit he dug and he scooped it out,
And he fell into the hole he made.
His mischief returns upon his own head
And on his skull his violence comes down.I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness,
And I will psalm to the name of Yahweh Most High.
A few comments about the translation of this psalm:
(1) The word in the title, shiggaion, appears also in Habakkuk 3:1. The exact meaning is unknown.
(2) Line 22 says “And a tester of hearts and kidneys is the righteous God.” The kidneys here have to do with the inward parts, the source of our desires and passions and so forth. The point is that Yahweh, the righteous God, examines us through and through and sees all our thoughts and motives and plans and desires.
(3) In lines 27 following, it’s not always clear who “he” is. It’s possible that it’s the wicked man: He doesn’t turn but sharpens his sword, bends his bow, prepares his weapons, and so forth only to have them turn on himself. He digs a pit and falls into it.
But it’s also possible that it’s only the first line that refers to the wicked: “If he [the wicked] does not turn, then he [God] will sharpen his sword.” Then, later, “he” refers to the wicked again: “He is in labor with trouble,” and so forth.
A third possibility: “He” in lines 27 following refers to God throughout. If God doesn’t turn from His wrath, He will then prepare deadly weapons to attack the wicked. In this case, “he” refers to God in lines 30 and then switches to refer to the wicked in line 31: “He is in labor with trouble.”
[Revised, February 27, 2009.]
Psalm 6
A reminder: I’ve prepared these psalms for our liturgy, trying to be as accurate in my translation as possible. The alternation between plain text and bold is for responsive reading. I invite feedback on the translation!
For the director.
With stringed instruments.
On the Eight-string.
A Psalm.
By David.Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger
Nor in your wrath chasten me.
Be gracious to me, Yahweh, because I am withered;
Heal me, Yahweh, for my bones are terrified.
And my soul is greatly terrified.
But you, Yahweh — how long?Turn, Yahweh! Deliver my soul!
Save me for your loyalty’s sake!
Because in death there is no memorial for you.
In Sheol, who will give thanks to you?I am weary with my groaning.
All night I flood my bed;
With my tears I drench my couch.
Weak from sorrow is my eye;
It grows old because of all my oppressors.Depart from me, all you who make trouble,
Because Yahweh has heard the sound of my weeping.
Yahweh has heard my supplication;
Yahweh receives my prayer.
Shamed and greatly terrified are all my enemies!
They turn! They are suddenly shamed!
[Updated: February 20, 2009.]
Psalm 4
A reminder: I’ve prepared these psalms for our liturgy, trying to be as accurate in my translation as possible. The alternation between plain text and bold is for responsive reading. I invite feedback on the translation!
For the director.
On stringed instruments.
A psalm.
By David.When I call, answer me, my righteous God!
In oppression you have relieved me;
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.Sons of man, how long will my glory become shame?
How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood? Selah.
But know that Yahweh has separated the godly man for himself;
Yahweh will hear when I call to him.Be angry and do not sin.
Speak in your heart on your bed and be still. Selah.
Sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness,
And trust in Yahweh.Many are saying, “Who will show us good?”
Lift up upon us the light of your face, Yahweh!
You have put gladness in my heart,
More than the time their grain and new wine abounded.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For you, Yahweh, alone will make me dwell in safety.
A couple of comments about this psalm:
(1) In line 2, when David says that God gave him relief “in oppression,” the idea is that David was oppressed and that God took away the pressure or, at least, the bad effects of it. The word is often translated “distress,” but the term used here is related to the word for an oppressor and refers to a time of hard pressing and crushing.
(2) In lines 4-5, there are three questions, all introduced with “How long” in line 4. It’s “How long will you A, B, C.” To bring this out, I’ve repeated “How long” at the beginning of line 5 and added “and” in between the two things in line 5.
(3) In the last line, the word translated alone may refer to God (“You alone!”), but it’s possible that it refers to the psalmist: “You make me dwell alone.” This isolation would then be a form of security. So BDB takes the word here to mean “make me dwell solitarily, in safety” and refers to Deuteronomy 33:28, where there is this promise: “Israel will dwell in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone.” Alone here is parallel to in safety. Hirsch thinks that it means that Israel will be safe, no matter what the nations around are doing, because Israel has been isolated from them.
According to Hirsch, the psalmist would then be saying that God makes him safe by isolating his enemies (an external security) and then would add that he also dwells “securely” in the sense of being free from worry or fear (internal security). He renders this line: “Thou, O Lord, wilt give me a place of safety and of peace.” That seems quite plausible to me.
Psalm 3
A reminder: I’ve prepared these psalms for our liturgy, trying to be as accurate in my translation as possible. The alternation between plain text and bold is for responsive reading. I invite feedback on the translation!
A Psalm.
By David,
When he fled from the face of Absalom his son.Yahweh, how multiplied are my oppressors!
Many are rising against me!
Many are saying to my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah.But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me,
My glory, and the lifter of my head.
With my voice to Yahweh I cry;
And he hears me from his holy mountain. Selah.I myself lay down and slept;
I awoke because Yahweh sustains me.
I will not fear myriads of people
Who all around set themselves against me.Arise, Yahweh!
Save me, my God!
Indeed, you have struck all my enemies on the jaw;
The teeth of the wicked you have broken!
To Yahweh belongs the salvation.
Upon your people be your blessing. Selah.
Psalm 2
Another psalm. Again, as I mentioned in my previous entry on the psalms, I welcome feedback on these translations. (The alternation between plain text and bold is designed for responsive reading in the liturgy.)
PSALM 2
Why are nations turbulent,
And peoples murmuring a vain thing?
The kings of earth set themselves,
And rulers consult together,
Against Yahweh
And against his anointed:
“Let us break their bonds
And throw off of us their ropes!”He who sits in the heavens laughs;
My Lord scoffs at them!
Then he speaks to them in his wrath
And in his burning anger he terrifies them:
“I myself have installed my king
On Zion, my holy mountain.”I will declare the statute:
Yahweh said to me,
“My son you are;
I myself, today, have begotten you.
Ask of me and I will make nations your inheritance
And your possession the ends of earth.
You will rule them with an iron scepter;
Like a potter’s vessel you will smash them.”And now, kings, be wise;
Be warned, judges of earth.
Serve Yahweh with fear
And exult with trembling.
Kiss the son, lest he be angry
And you perish in the way,
For his wrath will quickly burn.
Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.
A few comments about the translation of this psalm:Â
(1) Someday I hope to go back through all of these psalms and fine-tune them. In particular, I want to work through Samson Raphael Hirsch’s commentary, The Hirsch Psalms, which is back in print in a fine edition, as well as some other commentaries.
With regard to line 13, Hirsch says that the word I’ve translated “installed” refers in particular to anointing. The word nasak, he says, means “to cover” or “to pour out,” that is to pour “a liquid over something” and therefore refers to anointing. In this particular form, it seems always to refer to a drink offering, and so Holladay’s lexicon suggests that it may refer to an installation ritual that involves the pouring out of a drink offering. But Hirsch says that nasak is related to suk, which is a fairly common word for anointing, just as namal is related to mul, naqash to qush, natsar to tsur and so forth. It seems to me that Hirsch makes a fairly strong case for a relation between these words, and so I’m inclined toward seeing this line as referring to an installation by anointing, and I’m tempted to translate it “I have anointed my king….”
(2) The New King James Version has a very odd mistake here. In line 10, it has “The LORD,” which is its usual translation of God’s memorial name, Yahweh. But the Hebrew text has Adonai, “My Lord.”
(3) Revelation cites line 21 several times (2:27; 12:5; 19:15) and takes it as “He will rule them with an iron rod.” Some commentators (e.g., Kidner) think that Revelation is simply following the Septuagint which also says “He will rule them.” The Hebrew word, however, means “break.” I wonder, though. The word is very, very close to the word which means “to shepherd, rule.” Following Revelation, I’ve gone with “rule” here. Thoughts?
(4) Kiss the son has two major difficulties.
First, only in Aramaic does bar mean “son,” and why would the psalmist suddenly switch to Aramaic here? Craigie’s suggestion, namely that the Aramaic is used because the nations are addressed, seems weak to me. Why would just this one word be in Aramaic, instead of the whole section addressed to the kings and rulers of the nations? Besides, when the word “son” appears earlier in the psalm, bar isn’t used.Â
In Hebrew, though, bar means “pure.” Kidner suggests taking it adverbially, so that the phrase means “Kiss sincerely.”
But there’s a second problem. While the word here (nasseq) may mean kiss, that use for submission is rare in the Bible, if present at all. The only places Van Gemeren cites are 1 Kings 19:18 and Hosea 13:2, both of which refer to kissing images or idols, and those passages aren’t close parallels. Alexander cites 1 Samuel 10:1, where Samuel kisses Saul. That may be closer.
Hirsch says that the word here doesn’t mean kiss but rather gird, and so he takes the phrase to be “gird yourselves with purity” or with that which is pure. He cites Genesis 41:40, where the word seems to refer to making preparations or equipping oneself (“And according to your word will all my people prepare themselves“). Certainly kiss doesn’t make much sense in Genesis 41. Hirsch says that the idea is that all of Pharaoh’s people would equip themselves and prepare for the coming famine according to what Joseph had said.
Holladay’s lexicon, too, says that nasaq can refer to putting oneself in order. The term can be used for arming oneself (1 Chron. 12:2; 2 Chron. 17:17; Ps. 78:9) and the noun form of the word, neseq, refers to armor or weapons (2 Kings 10:2; Isa. 22:8) or an army in battle array (Ps. 140:8).
Taken this way, the phrase isn’t a command to “kiss the son,” which would imply (somehow) submission to the son and love for the son. Nor, as Kidner suggests, is is a command to “kiss purely,” though it could be. Rather, it’s a command for the kings and judges to gird on and arm themselves and prepare themselves with what is pure. Submission to the son is still is the context, as is clear from what follows (“lest he be angry”), though now the “he” refers back to Yahweh in the previous lines, not directly to the son. But the idea is that, if they do not want Yahweh to be angry, they must put on purity.
On the other hand, as Delitzsch argues, the word nasseq (nasaq in the Piel) is used in the Bible only for kissing. As well, bar means “pure,” and nowhere else means “purely” (though that doesn’t address Hirsch’s translation: “what is pure, the pure thing”). So perhaps the traditional interpretation is correct and the phrase does mean “Kiss the son.”
I don’t know. Thoughts?
It’s Good To Be A Fat-Head
As I’ve been working on preparing versions of the Psalms for use in our church’s liturgy, I’ve not only looked at the Hebrew but have also compared various translations, including the ones Jim Jordan has been producing in his monthly newsletters for donors. It’s often interesting to see how various translations put things.
For instance, the New King James Version is intended to be a very literal translation. And yet from time to time in the Psalms, I notice that it renders the word “Rock” as “strength.” It doesn’t do it consistently and I can’t figure out why it does it at all. (Possibly different translators worked on those different psalms?)
So, for instance, at the end of Psalm 19, the New King James has “O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” Why do they capitalize “Redeemer” and not “Strength”? I dunno. But the word for “strength” here is simply the word for “rock.”Â
More surprising perhaps is this: The word for “redeemer” here is actually the word for a kinsman. Now it’s true that a kinsman would redeem. But that isn’t all a kinsman would do. Kinsmen would also avenge. They would marry childless widows. Besides, we’re used to hearing about God as a redeemer. What’s surprising here is that the psalmist proclaims that Yahweh is his kinsman, his relative.
There’s usually at least one “revelation” like that in each psalm I work on. This week, I was working on Psalm 23 and once again discovered something “new.”
The word usually translated “anoint” in verse 5 is not the word that’s ordinarily used for anointing (e.g., in connection with anointing a king or a priest). Rather, it’s a word that elsewhere has to do with fatness.
Often a form of the word has to do with (fatty) ashes associated with sacrifices (e.g., Ex. 27:3; Lev. 1:16; 4:12; 6:10; 11:4; Num. 4:13; 1 Kings 13:3, 5; Jer. 31:40).
In several passages (Prov. 11:25; 13:4; 15:30; 28:27; Isa 34:6), it has to do with making fat. The resulting adjective (“fat”) appears frequently (Ps. 22:29[30]; 92:14[15]; Isa. 30:23) as does the noun (“fat”: Jud. 9:9; Job 36:16; Ps. 36:8[9]; 63:5[6]; 65:11[12]; Isa. 55:2; Jer. 31:14).
In Ps. 20:3 (or 4 in Hebrew), the verb is often rendered “accept,” but it refers to “making fat.” How do we get from there to acceptance? Well, the point is that Yahweh will regard the king’s Ascension offering as fat, fat being Yahweh’s own portion.
Here in Psalm 23, then, we aren’t speaking about anointing kings. It’s the kind of anointing you’d have at a banquet, where oil is poured on one’s head as a form of refreshment. But again, this word doesn’t simply mean “refresh.” It appears that oil is added to one’s head to, um, make one’s head fat with it. Perhaps, as in Psalm 20, the idea has something to do with dedication to Yahweh and acceptance by him. I don’t know and I’d appreciate your suggestions.
But for now, it seems to me that we could render this line like so:
You fatten my head with oil.
And this would be one time when it’s good to be a fat-head.
Psalm 1
Thanks to my mother-in-law, I now have the bulletins I had deleted from my computer, including the versions of the psalms they contained. I started posting these a few entries back with Psalm 5, but now I can go back to Psalm 1. Thanks, Mom!
Again, as I mentioned in my previous entry on the psalms, I welcome feedback on these translations. (The alternation between plain text and bold is designed for responsive reading in the liturgy.)
PSALM 1
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
And in the way of sinners does not stand,
And in the seat of mockers does not sit,
But in Yahweh’s Teaching is his delight,
And on his Teaching he meditates day and night.And he is like a tree planted by streams of waters,
Who yields his fruit in his season,
And his leaf does not wither,
And whatever he does prospers.Not so the wicked!
But they are like the chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous,
For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 5
Every Sunday, our congregation recites a psalm antiphonally. I’ll say a line or two and the congregation responds with the next line or two. Eventually, we’d like to learn to chant all the psalms (vigorously!), but that’s a long-term project. For now, we’re reciting them responsively.
And every week, I’ve been trying to use a translation that’s as accurate as I can get and as close to the original syntax as I can get and still have it be understandable in English. It’s been an interesting project so far. I keep discovering that a lot of English translations miss things in the text or even mistranslate. For instance, the NKJV, one of the most literal translations out there, frequently translates the word “rock” as “strength”! Of course, all the translations I’ve looked at mistranslate the names of the offerings (e.g., “burnt offering” instead of “Ascension”) and have “LORD” (in capital letters) instead of “Yahweh.”
I certainly wouldn’t claim that my translations are necessarily the best. But I appreciate what James Jordan wrote about his translation of Leviticus:
Of course, I’m not a Hebrew scholar, and I’m not the best person to do this. But Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy has taught me that if I wait for the right person to do it, it will never be done, because the right persons generally don’t see the need to do it. Thus, the thing to do is put out the best translation I can do, warts and all, and hope that it makes some “right person” irritated enough to do a better job himself!
So, imperfect though these translations are, I thought I would post them to invite your feedback so that I can make improvements for our next time through the Psalms. Unfortunately, I can’t (at this moment, at least) seem to find my translations of Psalms 1-4. But here is Psalm 5:
PSALM 5
For the director.
For flutes.
A Psalm.
By David.To my words give ear, Yahweh;
Consider my groaning.
Heed the voice of my cry, my King and my God,
For to you I pray.
Yahweh, in the morning you hear my voice;
In the morning I lay it before you — and I watch,Because you are not a Mighty One who takes pleasure in wickedness;
Not with you will evil sojourn.
The arrogant will not stand before your eyes;
You hate all who make trouble.
You destroy those who speak falsehood;
A man of bloodshed and deceit Yahweh abhors.But as for me, in the abundance of your loyalty I will enter your house;
I will bow toward your holy temple in fear of you.Yahweh, lead me in your righteousness because of my enemies.
Make your way straight before my face,
Because there is in his mouth nothing reliable;
Their inward part is destruction.
An open tomb is their throat;
Their tongue they make smooth.
Hold them guilty, God!
Let them fall by their own schemes!
In the abundance of their transgressions, cast them out
Because they are rebellious against you.And let all those who take refuge in you rejoice!
Forever let them shout for joy,
And cover them.
And let those who love your name exult in you,
Because you bless the righteous man, Yahweh;
Like a shield, with favor you surround him.
[Updated: February 2009]
Psalm 110 Sermon Outline
DAVID’S SON AT GOD’S RIGHT HAND
Psalm 110
(May 8, 2005, Sermon Notes)
Ascension Day doesn’t attract attention the way Christmas and Easter do. Perhaps that’s because Jesus’ ascension is seen as irrelevant (Jesus going away) or offensive (Jesus rules the world). But Jesus’ ascension is good news for us and for the world.
THE UNIVERSAL KING (vv. 1-3)
David announces that Yahweh, Israel’s God, will exalt David’s son above David. David’s son will be David’s lord, seated at God’s right hand, and Yahweh will put all his enemies under his feet (see Josh. 10).
God always intended to have a man ruling the world (Gen. 1; Ps. 8) and now Jesus, David’s son, sits on that throne and Yahweh is extending his rule from Zion. Jesus rules from the heavenly Mount Zion (Heb. 12:22), but he sent out his gospel — the announcement that he is lord — from Jerusalem, the earthly Zion, to the ends of the earth.
By that announcement, he conquers and rules even in the midst of his enemies (v. 2). He gathers followers who volunteer for service, presenting themselves as “freewill offerings” (v. 3). Already, the king is dressed in beauty and “the dew of his youth” (which probably is related to both his ordination and the Spirit’s power to serve: see Ps. 133) will keep him fresh and strong until the battle is ended and the final victory is won.
THE PERMANENT PRIEST (v. 4)
David carried out some priestly tasks (2 Sam. 6), but this king is actually going to be a priest, as well. According to the Torah, a priest had to be from the house of Aaron and the tribe of Levi. But this priest is from a greater order, the order of Melchizedek (Gen. 14; Heb. 7), the original priest-king who served Yahweh in the city of (Jeru)Salem.
Jesus is a greater priest than Aaron and his sons. Unlike them, he has no sin, won’t ever die, and won’t need to be replaced (as Eli was: 1 Sam. 2:35). Yahweh has sworn that David’s son will be a priest forever. And unlike those other priests, Jesus is able to sit down and rest because his work is finished (Heb. 10).
THE TRIUMPHANT WARRIOR (vv. 5-7).
But the battle isn’t over. David acknowledges that his son, “the Lord,” is at Yahweh’s right hand (v. 5). The word for “Lord” here is used only for God: David’s son will be God himself and therefore the victory is certain.
Jesus crushed the serpent’s head on the cross (Gen. 3:15). But now he must go on to “execute kings” and crush the other “heads” of the nations.
He fights through us, his body. We get weary in the battle, but we won’t be defeated because Jesus keeps drinking of the brook, probably a reference to the Spirit (see Judges 15:19), and lifts up his head. He keeps us refreshed so that we keep fighting until the battle is done.