Category Archive: Bible – OT – Psalms

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Psalm 33

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!

Exult, you righteous ones, in Yahweh!
To the upright, praise is fitting.
Give thanks to Yahweh with a harp;
With a ten-stringed instrument psalm to him!
Sing to him a new song!
Play well with a loud shout,
Because upright is the word of Yahweh,
And all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The loyalty of Yahweh fills the earth.

By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made;
And by the spirit of his mouth, all their host.
He gathers as a heap the waters of the sea,
Putting in storehouses the deeps.
Let them fear Yahweh —  all the earth!
Of him let them be afraid — all the inhabitants  of the world,
For he himself spoke and it was;
He himself commanded and it stood firm.

Yahweh destroys the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the thoughts of the peoples.
The counsel of Yahweh will stand firm to eternity;
The thoughts of his heart to generation and generation.

Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh,
The people he chose for his inheritance.

From heaven Yahweh looked;
He saw all the sons of Adam.
From the place of his habitation he gazed
At all the inhabitants of the earth.
It is he who fashions together their hearts,
Who understands all their deeds.

No king is saved by greatness of force;
A warrior is not rescued by greatness of strength.
A false hope is the horse for salvation,
And by the greatness of his force he will not deliver.
Look, Yahweh’s eye is on those who fear him,
On those waiting for his loyalty,
To rescue from death their soul
And to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul has waited for Yahweh;
Our help and our shield is he,
Because in him our hearts will rejoice
Because in his holy name we have trusted.
Let your loyalty, Yahweh, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for you.

Psalm 32

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!

By David.
Maskil.

Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose impurity is covered up.
Happy is the man to whom Yahweh does not impute liability,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
In my groaning all the day,
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.
My best oil was turned into the droughts of summer.  Selah.

 

My impurity I acknowledged to you,
And my liability I did not cover up.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh”;
And you forgave the liability of my impurity.  Selah.

For this, let every loyal one pray to you in a time for finding you;
Surely when many waters rise they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place; from oppression you preserve me;
With songs of deliverance you surround me.  Selah.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should walk;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like a horse, like a mule, having no understanding.
By bit and bridle he is harnessed for control;
He does not come near you.

Many are the pains of the wicked one;
But he who trusts in Yahweh: loyalty surrounds him.
Be glad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous ones,
And sing out, all you who are upright in heart!

A few comments about this psalm:

(1) In the title, maskil may mean “understanding, insight, wisdom.”  Here, it may refer to a song of instruction or may be a musical term.

(2) The word in line 8 translated “best oil” appears in only one other place, Num. 11:8, where manna is said to taste like “____ of oil.”  Many versions take it to be a cake of oil, but that doesn’t fit here in this Psalm.  Perhaps, as James Jordan suggests, it’s the best part of the olive oil pressing (“best oil”).  Here, it describes the man as a plant and the best oil is his own moisture.

(3) In his notes on this psalm, James Jordan points out that there are three different terms used for sin in the first and third sections of the psalm: transgression, which is basic sin or disobedience; the word may refer to rebellion; impurity, uusally translated “sin,” but “really meaning the defiling, death-result of sin”; and liability, usually translated “iniquity,” but “actually meaning the legal guilt incurred by sin.”

I haven’t studied the use of these terms sufficiently to be sure that they always have the sense that Jordan gives them, but it does seem, for instance, that the word translated “liability” does have to do with not only the sin itself (“iniquity”) but also with the guilt incurred by it.  So for now at least, I’ve followed Jordan in my translation of these terms.

Psalm 31

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.
A Psalm.
By David.

In you, Yahweh, I have taken refuge.
Let me not be shamed forever.
In your righteousness deliver me.
Incline to me your ear;
Quickly rescue me.

Be for me a rock of refuge,
A house of strongholds to save me,
Because you are my rock and my stronghold,
And for your name’s sake you will lead me and guide me.
You will bring me out from the net which they hid for me,
Because you yourself are my refuge.

Into your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, Yahweh, God of trustworthiness.
I have hated those who regard vain things of falsehood;
And as for me, in Yahweh I have trusted.
I will shout for joy and rejoice in your loyalty,
You who have seen my affliction,
Who have known the distresses of my soul,
And who have not shut me up in the hand of the enemy;
Who have made my feet stand in a wide place.

Be gracious to me, Yahweh, for I am in distress!
Weakened in irritation is my eye — my soul and my belly.
Indeed, wasted away in trouble is my life,
And my years in groaning;
My strength stumbles in my iniquity
And my bones are weak.
Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach —
And to my neighbors especially —
And a terror to my acquaintances who see me in the streets:
They flee from me.
I was forgotten, like a dead man, from their heart;
I became like a broken vessel,
Because I heard the slander of many —
Fear all around! —
As they schemed together against me;
To take my soul they plotted.
As for me, upon you I trusted, Yahweh;
I said, “You are my God!”
In your hand are my times;
Rescue me from my enemies’ hand and from my persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
Save me in your loyalty.
Yahweh, do not let me be shamed, for I have called on you!
Let the wicked be shamed, be silenced — to Sheol!
Silenced be the lips of lying,
Which speak against a righteous man insolently, in pride and in scorn.

How great is your goodness
Which you have stored up for those who fear you,
And worked for those who take refuge in you
Before the sons of man!
You will hide them in the hiding-place of your face from the conspiracies of men
You will store them in your shelter from the disputes of tongues.

Blessed be Yahweh,
Because he has made his loyalty wonderful to me in a fortified city.
And as for me, I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before your eyes.”
Nevertheless you heard the voice of my prayers
When I cried to you.

Love Yahweh,
All you his loyal ones!
A preserver of the faithful is Yahweh,
Repaying abundantly the one who acts proudly.
Be strong and let your heart be firm,
All you who wait for Yahweh.

A few comments about this psalm:

(1) David says in line 31 that he was “forgotten like a dead man from their heart.”  Literally, it’s “from the heart,” but it’s the heart of the people who used to know him and acknowledge him.  Now they want nothing to do with him.  It’s not just “Out of sight, out of mind.” It’s deeper than that.  It’s “keep him out of our sight, out of our heart.”

(2) In line 54, David talks about how God has “made wonderful” His loyalty toward him “in a fortified city.” The word for “fortified” is also sometimes used for “besieged.”  It could be that David is praising God for bringing him safely into a strong city.  Or it could be that he’s  praising Him for protecting him even when the city was under siege.

(3) Toward the very end of the psalm, in line 62, “repaying abundantly” is literally “repaying until a remainder.” That may mean that Yahweh repays the proud until there’s some left over, until He’s paid him back and then some.  But it may just be an expression for a full and abundant repayment.

Psalm 30

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.
A song for the dedication of the house.
By David.

I will lift you up, Yahweh, for you have drawn me up
And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
Yahweh, my God, I cried to you
And you healed me.
Yahweh, you brought up my soul from Sheol;
You kept me alive from among those going down to the pit.

Psalm to Yahweh, you his loyal people,
And give thanks to his holy memorial-name,
Because there is a moment in his anger,
Lifetimes in his favor.
In the evening weeping lodges,
But in the morning, rejoicing.

Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
Yahweh, in your favor,
You established strength for my mountain!
You hid your face;
I was dismayed.
To you, Yahweh, I called,
And to my Lord I made supplication:
“What profit is there in my blood,
In my going down to the grave?
Will dust praise you?
Will it declare your trustworthiness?
Hear, Yahweh, and be gracious to me!
Yahweh, be my helper!”

You turned my mourning into dancing for me;
You loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
In order that glory may psalm to you and not be silent.
Yahweh, my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

A few comments about this psalm:

(1) It’s not clear when David wrote this psalm. It speaks of him being secure, then humbled, then restored, so it may have been written for a (re)dedication of his house after Absalom’ revolt, as James Jordan suggests.

(2) The “holy memorial-name” (in the eighth line) is the name Yahweh (Ex. 3:15).

(3) The second last line speaks of “glory” making music, which may refer to David’s own “glory,” the sounds of music and singing which he makes as he rejoices.

Psalm 29

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.

Ascribe to Yahweh, sons of mighty ones,
Ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength!
Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of his name!
Bow to Yahweh in the majesty of holiness.

The voice of Yahweh is upon the waters;
The Mighty One of the glory thundered:
Yahweh is upon many waters.
The voice of Yahweh is in power!
The voice of Yahweh is in majesty!
The voice of Yahweh breaks cedars,
And Yahweh shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
And he makes them skip like a calf,
Lebanon and Sirion like a son of wild oxen.
The voice of Yahweh is striking with flames of fire.
The voice of Yahweh makes the wilderness writhe;
Yahweh makes the wilderness of Kadesh writhe.
The voice of Yahweh makes the deer writhe in labor,
And uncovers honeycombs,
And in his palace, everything says, “Glory!”

Yahweh sat enthroned at the Flood,
And Yahweh sits as king unto eternity.
Yahweh gives strength to his people;
Yahweh blesses his people with peace.

A few comments about this psalm:

(1) In line 4, most versions translate the first word as worship (e.g., “Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness”).  The word for worship here, however, is a word that’s used for bowing down deeply before someone.  It’s not used only in relation to God; people bow down before other people in Scripture, too (e.g., 1 Sam. 2:36, where this same word appears).  Nor does it refer to many of the things we think of in connection with worship (e.g., singing and praise); rather, it refers to bodily posture.  For these reasons, I’ve chosen to translate it as bow.

(2) In lines 4 and 9 we hear about majesty. The word can refer to ornamentation or beautiful clothing. So line 4 may refer to the holy garments priests wore and, by extension, to our being clothed in holiness. In line 9, Yahweh’s voice is adorned with majesty. When he speaks, it’s glorious.

(3) There are seven references to Yahweh’s voice. The word for shattered (line 11) is a more intense form of break (line 10). The word for the wilderness writhing is also used for deer writhing in labor.

(4) The word for honeycombs in the next line is unusual. The masculine form of this root means forest, and so a lot of translations have “And strips the forests bare.” It’s possible that what we have in this psalm is a rare feminine form of the word, which appears only here in this psalm, and that “forests” is the correct translation.

But this form of the word is the word used in 1 Sam. 14:27 for the honeycombs from which Jonathan ate honey and was refreshed. It’s possible, then, as James Jordan suggests, that this line means that God’s voice uncovers the honeycombs in the Land of Milk and Honey, so that people can eat and be refreshed like Jonathan. For my translation, I’ve opted to go with the only meaning for this word that we know from Scripture.

Psalm 28

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!

By David.

To you, Yahweh, I cry,
My rock, do not be silent toward me,
Lest, if you are quiet toward me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.

Hear the sound of my supplications when I cry to you,
When I lift my hands to your most holy place.

Do not drag me away with wicked men
And with workers of iniquity,
Who speak peace with their neighbors
And evil is in their hearts.

Give to them according to their act,
And according to the evil of their deeds.
According to the work of their hands give to them;
Return their doings to them.

Because they do not attend to Yahweh’s acts,
Or to the work of his hands,
He will tear them down
And not build them up.

Blessed be Yahweh,
Because he has heard the sound of my supplications.
Yahweh, my strength and my shield!
In him my heart trusted
And I was helped, and my heart exults,
And with my song I will thank him.

Yahweh is strength to them;
And a saving refuge for his Anointed one is he.

Save your people,
And bless your inheritance,
And shepherd them,
And lift them up unto eternity.

A few comments about this psalm.

1.  In the opening stanza, I’ve translated a couple phrases as “be silent toward me” and “are quiet toward me.”  The Hebrew actually has “from me” both times.  That sounds strange to our ears, but perhaps the idea is that silence would mean that Yahweh is keeping his distance: if he’s silent when I cry, that means he’s staying away from me.

2.  At the end of that first stanza, David speaks about lifting his hands to the debir of Yahweh’s holiness.  Commentaries and dictionaries say that word applies to the Most Holy Place and that’s probably correct.  But it’s interesting to notice that this word is derived from dabar, which means “to speak,” perhaps because the Most Holy Place is where Yahweh’s earthly throne is, the place from which he speaks and where his Law is kept.  For that reason, James Jordan suggests that we understand this as “the holy room of your enthroned word.”

David wants Yahweh not to be silent.  He wants him to speak.  And so he lifts his hands in prayer toward the place from which Yahweh speaks.

3.  In the second last stanza, “them” comes as a surprise (“Yahweh is a strength to them“) especially since David has been talking about himself (“I,” “me”) in contrast to the wicked (“them”).  But here, “them” seems to refer to the righteous in general, to God’s people (as in the next stanza: “Save your people.”

There’s a close connection, therefore, between David and Israel.  If Yahweh stays silent and keeps his distance from David, allowing him to be dragged away with the wicked, then Israel will not be saved either.  David is “the Anointed One” (the Hebrew word here is the source of our word”Messiah”) and the “Anointed One” represents his people.  That is especially true of Jesus: Yahweh is a strength to us because he is the saving refuge of our Messiah, Jesus Christ.

4.  In the last stanza, “lift them up” has the sense of carrying them, too.  Yahweh lifts us up in his arms and carries us into the future.

Psalm 27

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!

By David.

Yahweh is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the fortress of my life;
Whom shall I dread?

When evildoers draw near against me
To eat my flesh,
My oppressors and enemies,
They themselves stumble and fall.
If an army encamps against me,
My heart will not fear.
If a war rises up against me,
In this I am confident.

One thing I have asked from Yahweh;
That is what I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of Yahweh
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of Yahweh
And to inquire in his palace.

Indeed, he will conceal me in his booth in the day of evil;
He will hide me in the hidden place of his tent.
On a rock he will lift me up.
And now my head will be lifted up
Above my enemies all around me.
And I will sacrifice in his tent sacrifices of shouts.
I will sing and psalm to Yahweh!

Hear, Yahweh! With my voice I call!
And be gracious to me and answer me!
To you my heart has spoken.
“Seek my face.”
Your face, Yahweh, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me!
Do not turn your servant away in anger!
You have been my help!
Do not forsake me and do not leave me,
God of my salvation!
Indeed, my father and my mother have left me,
But Yahweh will gather me in.

Guide me, Yahweh, in your way
And lead me in a level path because of my enemies.
Do not give me over to the desire of my oppressors,
Because they have risen against me —
False witnesses and a violent testifier.
If I hadn’t trusted
That I would see Yahweh’s goodness in the land of life….

Wait for Yahweh!
Be strong and he will strengthen your heart!
And wait for Yahweh!

Some comments about this psalm.

1.  In the middle of the psalm, there are a couple lines which are a bit confusing.  David says, “To you my heart has spoken” and we expect the next line to be what his heart said.  Instead, it appears to be something Yahweh said to David and to others along with him: “Seek my face.”  You can’t see it in English, but the command here (“Seek”) is plural.  Only then do we hear what David’s heart said to Yahweh: “Your face I will seek.”

On the other hand, it’s possible that the first line shouldn’t be translated “To you my heart has spoken” but rather should be “To you he has spoken, my heart, ‘Seek my face.'”  In this translation, David is addressing his own heart and reminding himself of what Yahweh said to David and to others.  At any rate, the line “Seek my face” is Yahweh addressing David and others, and then we have the response of David’s heart.

2.  Near the end of the psalm, there’s an unfinished exclamation: “If I hadn’t trusted that I would see Yahweh’s goodness in the land of life…” It’s like what we might say after an accident: “Boy, if I hadn’t been wearing my seatbelt….”  Leaving the rest of the sentence unfinished doesn’t puzzle people who hear us.  They don’t need us to spell out what terrible thing might have happened, and leaving it unfinished may actually heighten the sense of danger-just-past.  So, too, here.

Psalm 26

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!

By David.

Judge me, Yahweh,
Because as for me, I have walked in my blamelessness;
And in Yahweh I have trusted;
I have not wavered.
Examine me, Yahweh, and try me;
Test my kidneys and my heart,
Because your loyalty is before my eyes,
And I walk in your trustworthiness.

I do not sit with men of falsehood,
And with hidden ones I do not go.
I hate the assembly of evildoers,
And with the wicked I do not sit.

I wash my hands in innocence,
And I go around your altar, Yahweh,
To proclaim with a voice of thanksgiving,
And to declare all your wonders.

Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house,
And the place of the tabernacle of your glory.

Do not gather my soul away with sinners
And my life with men of bloodshed,
In whose hands is a scheme
And whose right hand is full with a bribe.

But as for me, in my blamelessness I walk;
Redeem me and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
In the assemblies I will bless Yahweh.

Some comments on this psalm and on my translation: 

1.  In line 6, the “kidneys” here are the inward parts, associated with thoughts and emotions.

2.   In the second stanza, the “hidden ones” may be people who say one thing and mean another, who have hidden agendas, who hide their wicked thoughts and plans.  Perhaps we could translate this phrase with the word hypocrites.

3.  In the third stanza, David talks about “going around” the altar.  That may refer to a ceremonial procession around the altar, or perhaps the way the Levites and others encircled the altar when they sang God’s praise.

The altar in the Old Covenant wasn’t the place where animals were slaughtered.  Rather, it was God’s Table.  It was the place where God ate the animals which represented His people and the place from which God’s people sometimes received portions to eat.  The altar is thus the site of communion and David is singing here about the privileges of that communion with God.

4.  The first and last stanzas of this psalm are closely parallel (note the second line and the fourth from the end: “As for me, I have walked in my blamelessness” and “As for me, in my blamelessness I walk”).  In fact, the Hebrew word for stand (עמד) in the second last line has the same consonants as the word for slip or waver (מעד) in the fourth line, only the first two are in reverse order!

Psalm 25

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!

By David.

?    To you, Yahweh,
I lift up my soul!
?    My God, in you I trust: do not let me be shamed;
Do not let my enemies triumph over me.
?    Indeed, all who wait for you will not be shamed;
Shamed will be those who deal treacherously without cause.
?    Your ways, Yahweh, make me know!
Your paths, teach me!
?    Make me walk in your trustworthiness and teach me,
Because you are the God of my salvation;
You I have awaited all the day.
?    Remember your mercies, Yahweh, and your loyalties,
Because they are from everlasting.
?    Sins of my youth and my transgressions do not remember;
According to your loyalty remember me
Because of your goodness, Yahweh.
?    Good and upright is Yahweh;
Therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
?    He leads the afflicted in justice
And he teaches the afflicted his way.
?    All Yahweh’s paths are loyalty and trustworthiness
For those who guard his covenant and his testimonies.
?    For your name’s sake, Yahweh,
Pardon my liability, for it is great.
?    Who is the man who fears Yahweh?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
?    His soul will lodge in goodness,
And his seed will inherit the land.
?    The secret counsel of Yahweh is for those who fear him,
And his covenant in order to make them know.
?    My eyes are always toward Yahweh,
Because he will bring my feet out of the net.
?    Turn to me and be gracious to me,
Because lonely and afflicted am I.
?    The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
From my distresses bring me out.
?    See my affliction and my trouble
And forgive all my sins.
?    See my enemies, for they have increased,
And with violent hatred they hate me.
?    Guard my soul and deliver me.
Do not let me be shamed, for I take refuge in you.
?    Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
Because I wait for you.
Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

Psalm 25 is an acrostic.  Each of the twenty-two verses of this psalm starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which has twenty-two letters.  Interestingly, though, there are two anomalies.  The letter vav is missing: we’d expect it between “Make me walk” and “Remember your mercies.”  Also missing is the letter qoph, which we’d expect where we have “See my affliction.”  Instead, we have the letter resh twice (“See my afflection” and “See my enemies”).  Why these anomalies?  I have no idea.

[Update, June 10, 2011: When I first wrote this blog entry, I was able to put the Hebrew font in without a problem. Then … well, it’s become garbled. And now it’s only question marks. Someday, I’ll revisit this blog entry and try to fix that.]