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Psalm 28
New English Translation

Psalm 28[a]

By David.

28 To you, O Lord, I cry out!
My Protector,[b] do not ignore me.[c]
If you do not respond to me,[d]
I will join[e] those who are descending into the grave.[f]
2 Hear my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help,
when I lift my hands[g] toward your holy temple.[h]
3 Do not drag me away with evil men,
with those who behave wickedly,[i]
who talk so friendly to their neighbors,[j]
while they plan to harm them.[k]
4 Pay them back for their evil deeds.
Pay them back for what they do.
Punish them.[l]
5 For they do not understand the Lord’s actions,
or the way he carries out justice.[m]
The Lord[n] will permanently demolish them.[o]
6 The Lord deserves praise,[p]
for he has heard my plea for mercy.[q]
7 The Lord strengthens and protects me;[r]
I trust in him with all my heart.[s]
I am rescued[t] and my heart is full of joy;[u]
I will sing to him in gratitude.[v]
8 The Lord strengthens his people;[w]
he protects and delivers his chosen king.[x]
9 Deliver your people.
Empower[y] the nation that belongs to you.[z]
Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms[aa] at all times![ab]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 28:1 sn Psalm 28. The author looks to the Lord for vindication, asks that the wicked be repaid in full for their evil deeds, and affirms his confidence that the Lord will protect his own.
  2. Psalm 28:1 tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.
  3. Psalm 28:1 tn Heb “do not be deaf from me.”
  4. Psalm 28:1 tn Heb “lest [if] you are silent from me.”
  5. Psalm 28:1 tn Heb “I will be equal with.”
  6. Psalm 28:1 tn Heb “the pit.” The noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead.
  7. Psalm 28:2 sn I lift my hands. Lifting one’s hands toward God was a gesture of prayer.
  8. Psalm 28:2 tn The Hebrew term דְּבִיר (devir, “temple”) actually refers to the most holy place within the sanctuary.
  9. Psalm 28:3 tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”
  10. Psalm 28:3 tn Heb “speakers of peace with their neighbors.”
  11. Psalm 28:3 tn Heb “and evil [is] in their heart[s].”
  12. Psalm 28:4 tn Heb “Give to them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds. According to the work of their hands give to them. Return their due to them.” The highly repetitive style reflects the psalmist’s agitated emotional state and draws attention to his yearning for justice.
  13. Psalm 28:5 tn Heb “or the work of his hands.” In this context “the Lord’s actions” and “the work of his hands” probably refer to the way he carries out justice by vindicating the godly and punishing the wicked. (Note the final line of the verse, which refers to divine judgment. See also Ps 92:4-7.) Evil men do not “understand” God’s just ways; they fail to realize he will protect the innocent. Consequently they seek to harm the godly, as if they believe they will never be held accountable for their actions.
  14. Psalm 28:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord, who is referred to in the two immediately preceding lines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  15. Psalm 28:5 tn Heb “will tear them down and not rebuild them.” The ungodly are compared to a structure that is permanently demolished.
  16. Psalm 28:6 tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”
  17. Psalm 28:6 sn He has heard my plea for mercy. The psalmist’s mood abruptly changes at this point, because the Lord responded positively to his petition and assured him that he would deliver him.
  18. Psalm 28:7 tn Heb “The Lord [is] my strength and my shield.”
  19. Psalm 28:7 tn Heb “in him my heart trusts.”
  20. Psalm 28:7 tn Or “I am helped.”
  21. Psalm 28:7 tn Heb “and my heart exults.”
  22. Psalm 28:7 tn Heb “and from my song I will thank him.” As pointed in the Hebrew text, מִשִּׁירִי (mishiri) appears to be “from my song,” but the preposition “from” never occurs elsewhere with the verb “to thank” (Hiphil of יָדָה, yadah). Perhaps משׁיר is a noun form meaning “song.” If so, it can be taken as an adverbial accusative, “and [with] my song I will thank him.” See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 236.
  23. Psalm 28:8 tn Heb “the Lord [is] strength to them” (or perhaps, “to him”). The form לָמוֹ (lamo, “to them/him”) probably needs to be emended to לְעַמּוֹ (leʿammo, “to his people”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 236), perhaps due to quiescence of the letter ʿayin (ע; see P. McCarter, Textual Criticism [GBS], 55). Note the reference to the Lord’s “people” in the next verse. Also, a few Hebrew mss, the LXX, and Syriac support לְעַמּוֹ (leʿammo, “to his people”).
  24. Psalm 28:8 tn Heb “he [is] a refuge of help for his anointed one.” The noun מָשִׁיחַ (mashiakh, “anointed one”) refers to the Davidic king, who perhaps speaks as representative of the nation in this psalm. See Pss 2:2; 18:50; 20:6; 84:9; 89:38, 51; 132:10, 17.
  25. Psalm 28:9 tn Or “bless.”
  26. Psalm 28:9 tn Heb “your inheritance.” The parallelism (note “your people”) indicates that Israel is in view.
  27. Psalm 28:9 tn Heb “shepherd them and lift them up.”sn The shepherd metaphor is sometimes associated with royal responsibility. See 2 Sam 5:2; 7:7; Mic 5:2-4).
  28. Psalm 28:9 tn Or “forever.”
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Psalm 27
Psalm 29
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Psalm 39
New English Translation

Psalm 39[a]

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

39 I decided,[b] “I will watch what I say
and make sure I do not sin with my tongue.[c]
I will put a muzzle over my mouth
while in the presence of an evil person.”[d]
2 I was stone silent;[e]
I held back the urge to speak.[f]
My frustration grew;[g]
3 my anxiety intensified.[h]
As I thought about it, I became impatient.[i]
Finally I spoke these words:[j]
4 “O Lord, help me understand my mortality
and the brevity of life.[k]
Let me realize how quickly my life will pass.[l]
5 Look, you make my days short-lived,[m]
and my life span is nothing from your perspective.[n]
Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.[o] (Selah)
6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts.[p]
Surely they accumulate worthless wealth
without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”[q]
7 But now, O Lord, upon what am I relying?
You are my only hope![r]
8 Deliver me from all my sins of rebellion.
Do not make me the object of fools’ insults.
9 I am silent and cannot open my mouth
because of what you have done.[s]
10 Please stop wounding me.[t]
You have almost beaten me to death.[u]
11 You severely discipline people for their sins;[v]
like a moth you slowly devour their strength.[w]
Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord.
Listen to my cry for help.
Do not ignore my sobbing.[x]
For I am a resident foreigner with you,
a temporary settler,[y] just as all my ancestors were.
13 Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy
before I pass away.[z]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 39:1 sn Psalm 39. The psalmist laments his frailty and mortality as he begs the Lord to take pity on him and remove his disciplinary hand.
  2. Psalm 39:1 tn Heb “I said.”
  3. Psalm 39:1 tn Heb “I will watch my ways, from sinning with my tongue.”
  4. Psalm 39:1 sn The psalmist wanted to voice a lament to the Lord (see vv. 4-6), but he hesitated to do so in the presence of evil people, for such words might be sinful if they gave the wicked an occasion to insult God. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 1:345.
  5. Psalm 39:2 tn Heb “I was mute [with] silence.”
  6. Psalm 39:2 tn Heb “I was quiet from good.” He kept quiet, resisting the urge to find emotional release and satisfaction by voicing his lament.sn I held back the urge to speak. For a helpful discussion of the relationship (and tension) between silence and complaint in ancient Israelite lamentation, see E. S. Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part I (FOTL), 166-67.
  7. Psalm 39:2 tn Heb “and my pain was stirred up.” Emotional pain is in view here.
  8. Psalm 39:3 tn Heb “my heart was hot within me.”
  9. Psalm 39:3 tn Heb “In my reflection fire burned.” The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite (past tense) or an imperfect being used in a past progressive or customary sense (“fire was burning”).
  10. Psalm 39:3 tn Heb “I spoke with my tongue.” The phrase “these words” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  11. Psalm 39:4 tn Heb “Cause me to know, O Lord, my end; and the measure of my days, what it is!”
  12. Psalm 39:4 tn Heb “Let me know how transient I am.”
  13. Psalm 39:5 tn Heb “Look, handbreadths you make my days.” The “handbreadth” (equivalent to the width of four fingers) was one of the smallest measures used by ancient Israelites. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 309.
  14. Psalm 39:5 tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”
  15. Psalm 39:5 tn Heb “surely, all vapor [is] all mankind, standing firm.” Another option is to translate, “Surely, all mankind, though seemingly secure, is nothing but a vapor.”
  16. Psalm 39:6 tn Heb “surely, as an image man walks about.” The preposition prefixed to “image” indicates identity here.sn People go through life (Heb “man walks about”). “Walking” is here used as a metaphor for living. The point is that human beings are here today, gone tomorrow. They have no lasting substance and are comparable to mere images or ghosts.
  17. Psalm 39:6 tc Heb “Surely [in] vain they strive, he accumulates and does not know who gathers them.” The MT as it stands is syntactically awkward. The verb forms switch from singular (“walks about”) to plural (“they strive”) and then back to singular (“accumulates and does not know”), even though the subject (generic “man”) remains the same. Furthermore there is no object for the verb “accumulates” and no plural antecedent for the plural pronoun (“them”) attached to “gathers.” These problems can be removed if one emends the text from הֶבֶל יֶהֱמָיוּן (hevel yehemayun, “[in] vain they strive”) to הֶבְלֵי הָמוֹן (hevle hamon, “vain things of wealth”). The present translation follows this emendation.
  18. Psalm 39:7 tn Heb “my hope, for you it [is].”
  19. Psalm 39:9 tn Heb “because you acted.” The psalmist has in mind God’s disciplinary measures (see vv. 10-13).
  20. Psalm 39:10 tn Heb “remove from upon me your wound.”
  21. Psalm 39:10 tn Heb “from the hostility of your hand I have come to an end.”
  22. Psalm 39:11 tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”
  23. Psalm 39:11 tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss.
  24. Psalm 39:12 tn Heb “do not be deaf to my tears.”
  25. Psalm 39:12 tn The Hebrew terms גֵּר (ger, “resident foreigner”) and תּוֹשָׁב (toshav, “resident/dweller”) have similar meanings. They are not used here with the technical distinctions of most references in Mosaic Law. Ps 39:12 takes up this language from Lev 25:23 where the terms emphasize that Israel would be a guest on God’s land. They were attached to the Lord’s household; they did not own the land. The Psalmist identifies himself with this privileged yet dependent position. Abraham also refers to himself by these terms in Gen 23:4.
  26. Psalm 39:13 tn Heb “Gaze away from me and I will smile before I go and am not.” The precise identification of the initial verb form (הָשַׁע, hashaʿ) is uncertain. It could be from the root שָׁעָע (shaʿaʿ, “smear over”), but “your eyes” would be the expected object in this case (see Isa 6:10). The verb may be an otherwise unattested Hiphil form of שָׁעָה (shaʿah, “to gaze”) meaning “cause your gaze to be.” Some prefer to emend the form to the Qal שְׁעֵה (sheʿeh, “gaze”; see Job 14:6). If one does read a form of the verb “to gaze,” the angry divine “gaze” of discipline would seem to be in view (see vv. 10-11). For a similar expression of this sentiment see Job 10:20-21.
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Psalm 38
Psalm 40
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Psalm 41-43
New English Translation

Psalm 41[a]

For the music director, a psalm of David.

41 How blessed[b] is the one who treats the poor properly.[c]
When trouble comes,[d] may[e] the Lord deliver him.[f]
2 May the Lord protect him and save his life.[g]
May he be blessed[h] in the land.
Do not turn him over[i] to his enemies.[j]
3 The Lord supports[k] him on his sickbed;
you have healed him from his illness.[l]
4 As for me, I said:[m]
“O Lord, have mercy on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you.
5 My enemies ask this cruel question about me,[n]
‘When will he finally die and be forgotten?’[o]
6 When someone comes to visit,[p] he pretends to be friendly;[q]
he thinks of ways to defame me,[r]
and when he leaves he slanders me.[s]
7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another;[t]
they plan ways to harm me.
8 They say,[u]
‘An awful disease[v] overwhelms him,[w]
and now that he is bedridden he will never recover.’[x]
9 Even my close friend[y] whom I trusted,
he who shared meals with me, has turned against me.[z]
10 As for you, O Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up,
so I can pay them back!”[aa]
11 By this[ab] I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does[ac] not triumph[ad] over me.
12 As for me, you uphold[ae] me because of my integrity;[af]
you allow[ag] me permanent access to your presence.[ah]
13 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise[ai]
in the future and forevermore.[aj]
We agree! We agree![ak]

Book 2 (Psalms 42-72)

Psalm 42[al]

For the music director, a well-written song[am] by the Korahites.

42 As a deer[an] longs[ao] for streams of water,
so I long[ap] for you, O God!
2 I thirst[aq] for God,
for the living God.
I say,[ar] “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”[as]
3 I cannot eat; I weep day and night.[at]
All day long they say to me,[au] “Where is your God?”
4 I will remember and weep.[av]
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.[aw]
5 Why are you depressed,[ax] O my soul?[ay]
Why are you upset?[az]
Wait[ba] for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[bb]
6 I am depressed,[bc]
so I will pray to you while in the region of the upper Jordan,[bd]
from Hermon,[be] from Mount Mizar.[bf]
7 One deep stream calls out to another[bg] at the sound of your waterfalls;[bh]
all your billows and waves overwhelm me.[bi]
8 By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,[bj]
and by night he gives me a song,[bk]
a prayer[bl] to the God of my life.
9 I will pray[bm] to God, my high ridge:[bn]
“Why do you ignore[bo] me?
Why must I walk around mourning[bp]
because my enemies oppress me?”
10 My enemies’ taunts cut me to the bone,[bq]
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”[br]
11 Why are you depressed,[bs] O my soul?[bt]
Why are you upset?[bu]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[bv]

Psalm 43[bw]

43 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me[bx] against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me[by] from deceitful and evil men.[bz]
2 For you are the God who shelters me.[ca]
Why do you reject me?[cb]
Why must I walk around[cc] mourning[cd]
because my enemies oppress me?
3 Reveal[ce] your light[cf] and your faithfulness.
They will lead me;[cg]
they will escort[ch] me back to your holy hill,[ci]
and to the place where you live.[cj]
4 Then I will go[ck] to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,[cl]
so that I may express my thanks to you,[cm] O God, my God, with a harp.
5 Why are you depressed,[cn] O my soul?[co]
Why are you upset?[cp]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[cq]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 41:1 sn Psalm 41. The psalmist is confident (vv. 11-12) that the Lord has heard his request to be healed (vv. 4-10), and he anticipates the joy he will experience when the Lord intervenes (vv. 1-3). One must assume that the psalmist is responding to a divine oracle of assurance (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 319-20). The final verse is a fitting conclusion to this psalm, but it is also serves as a fitting conclusion to the first “book” (or major editorial division) of the Psalter. Similar statements appear at or near the end of each of the second, third, and fourth “books” of the Psalter (see Pss 72:19; 89:52, and 106:48 respectively).
  2. Psalm 41:1 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
  3. Psalm 41:1 sn One who treats the poor properly. The psalmist is characterizing himself as such an individual and supplying a reason why God has responded favorably to his prayer. The Lord’s attitude toward the merciful mirrors their treatment of the poor.
  4. Psalm 41:1 tn Heb “in the day of trouble” (see Ps 27:5).
  5. Psalm 41:1 tn The prefixed verb יְמַלְּטֵהוּ (yemalletehu) has the form of the pronominal suffix typical of the jussive not the imperfect (יְמַלְּטֶנּוּ, yemalletennu). The jussive form continues throughout the next verse. The principle that begins v. 1 is the basis for the petition in vv. 1b-2. Verse 3 transitions to a statement of confidence and testimony.
  6. Psalm 41:1 tn That is, the one who has been kind to the poor.
  7. Psalm 41:2 tn The prefixed verbal forms are taken as jussives in the translation because of the form of the pronominal suffix (-ehu rather than -ennu) and because the jussive is clearly used in the final line of the verse.
  8. Psalm 41:2 tc The translation follows the consonantal Hebrew text (Kethib), which has a Pual (passive) prefixed form, regarded here as a jussive. The Pual of the verb אָשַׁר (ʾashar) also appears in Prov 3:18. The marginal reading (Qere) assumes a vav (ו) consecutive and Pual perfect. Some, with the support of the LXX, change the verb to a Piel (active) form with an objective pronominal suffix, “and may he bless him,” or “and he will bless him” (cf. NIV).
  9. Psalm 41:2 tn The negative particle אַל (ʾal) before the prefixed verbal form indicates the verb is a jussive and the statement a prayer. Those who want to take v. 2 as a statement of confidence suggest emending the negative particle to לֹא (loʾ), which is used with the imperfect. See the earlier note on the verbal forms in line one of this verse. According to GKC 322 §109.e, this is a case where the jussive is used rhetorically to “express that something cannot or should not happen.” In this case one might translate, “you will not turn him over to his enemies,” and take the preceding verbal forms as indicative in mood. However, none of the examples offered in GKC for this use of the jussive are compelling.
  10. Psalm 41:2 tn Heb “do not give him over to the desire of his enemies” (see Ps 27:12).
  11. Psalm 41:3 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as jussive, continuing the prayer of v. 2, but the parallel line in v. 3b employs the perfect, suggesting that the psalmist is again speaking in the indicative mood (see v. 1b). The imperfect can be understood as future or as generalizing (see v. 1).
  12. Psalm 41:3 tn Heb “all his bed you have changed in his illness.” The perfect verb may indicate a testimony of what God has done in the past as part of the statement of confidence.
  13. Psalm 41:4 sn In vv. 4-10 the psalmist recites the prayer of petition and lament he offered to the Lord.
  14. Psalm 41:5 tn Heb “my enemies speak evil concerning me.”
  15. Psalm 41:5 tn Heb “and his name perish.”
  16. Psalm 41:6 tn Heb “to see.”
  17. Psalm 41:6 tn Heb “he speaks deceitfully.”
  18. Psalm 41:6 tn Heb “his heart gathers sin to itself.”
  19. Psalm 41:6 tn Heb “he goes outside and speaks.”
  20. Psalm 41:7 tn Heb “together against me they whisper, all those who hate me.” The Hitpael of לָחַשׁ (lakhash) refers here to whispering to one another (see 2 Sam 12:19).
  21. Psalm 41:8 tn The words “they say” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to make it clear that v. 8 contains a quotation of what the psalmist’s enemies say about him (see v. 7a).
  22. Psalm 41:8 tn Heb “thing of worthlessness.” In Ps 101:3 the phrase refers to evil deeds in general, but here it appears to refer more specifically to the illness that plagues the psalmist.
  23. Psalm 41:8 tn Heb “is poured out on him.” The passive participle of יָצַק (yatsaq) is used.
  24. Psalm 41:8 tn Heb “and he who lies down will not again arise.”
  25. Psalm 41:9 tn Heb “man of my peace.” The phrase here refers to one’s trusted friend (see Jer 38:22; Obad 7).
  26. Psalm 41:9 tn Heb “has made a heel great against me.” The precise meaning of this phrase, which appears only here, is uncertain.sn The language of this verse is applied to Judas Iscariot in John 13:18.
  27. Psalm 41:10 tn The cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) here indicates purpose or result (“Then I will repay them”) after the preceding imperatives.
  28. Psalm 41:11 sn By this. Having recalled his former lament and petition, the psalmist returns to the confident mood of vv. 1-3. The basis for his confidence may be a divine oracle of deliverance, assuring him that God would intervene and vindicate him. The demonstrative pronoun “this” may refer to such an oracle, which is assumed here, though its contents are not included. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 319, 321.
  29. Psalm 41:11 tn Or “will.” One may translate the imperfect verbal form as descriptive (present, cf. NIV) or as anticipatory (future, cf. NEB).
  30. Psalm 41:11 tn Heb “shout.”
  31. Psalm 41:12 tn Or “have upheld.” The perfect verbal form can be taken as generalizing/descriptive (present) or as a present perfect.
  32. Psalm 41:12 sn Because of my integrity. See Pss 7:8; 25:21; 26:1, 11.
  33. Psalm 41:12 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive has the same aspectual function as the preceding perfect. It is either generalizing/descriptive (present) or has a present perfect nuance (“you have allowed”).
  34. Psalm 41:12 tn Heb “and you cause me to stand before you permanently.”
  35. Psalm 41:13 tn Heb “[be] blessed.” See Pss 18:46; 28:6; 31:21.
  36. Psalm 41:13 tn Heb “from everlasting to everlasting.” See 1 Chr 16:36; Neh 9:5; Pss 90:2; 106:48.
  37. Psalm 41:13 tn Heb “surely and surely” (אָמֵן וְאָמֵן [ʾamen veʾamen], i.e., “amen and amen”). This is probably a congregational response to the immediately preceding statement about the propriety of praising God.
  38. Psalm 42:1 sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalms 42 and 43 into a single psalm.
  39. Psalm 42:1 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
  40. Psalm 42:1 tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (ʾayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (ʾayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.
  41. Psalm 42:1 tn Or “pants [with thirst].”
  42. Psalm 42:1 tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
  43. Psalm 42:2 tn Or “my soul thirsts.”
  44. Psalm 42:2 tn The words “I say” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
  45. Psalm 42:2 tn Heb “When will I go and appear [to] the face of God?” Some emend the Niphal verbal form אֵרָאֶה (ʾeraʾeh, “I will appear”) to a Qal אֶרְאֶה (ʾerʾeh, “I will see”; see Gen 33:10), but the Niphal can be retained if one understands ellipsis of אֶת (ʾet) before “face” (see Exod 34:24; Deut 31:11).
  46. Psalm 42:3 tn Heb “My tears have become my food day and night.”
  47. Psalm 42:3 tn Heb “when [they] say to me all the day.” The suffixed third masculine plural pronoun may have been accidentally omitted from the infinitive בֶּאֱמֹר (beʾemor, “when [they] say”). Note the term בְּאָמְרָם (beʾomram, “when they say”) in v. 10.
  48. Psalm 42:4 tn Heb “These things I will remember and I will pour out upon myself my soul.” “These things” are identified in the second half of the verse as those times when the psalmist worshiped in the Lord’s temple. The two cohortative forms indicate the psalmist’s resolve to remember and weep. The expression “pour out upon myself my soul” refers to mourning (see Job 30:16).
  49. Psalm 42:4 tc Heb “for I was passing by with the throng [?], I was walking with [?] them to the house of God; with a voice of a ringing shout and thanksgiving a multitude was observing a festival.” The Hebrew phrase בַּסָּךְ אֶדַּדֵּם (bassakh ʾeddaddem, “with the throng [?] I was walking with [?]”) is particularly problematic. The noun סָךְ (sakh) occurs only here. If it corresponds to הָמוֹן (hamon, “multitude”) then one can propose a meaning “throng.” The present translation assumes this reading (cf. NIV, NRSV). The form אֶדַּדֵּם (“I will walk with [?]”) is also very problematic. The form can be taken as a Hitpael from דָּדָה (dadah; this verb possibly appears in Isa 38:15), but the pronominal suffix is problematic. For this reason many emend the form to ם[י]אַדִּרִ (ʾaddirim, “nobles”) or ר[י]אַדִּ (ʾaddir, “great,”) plus enclitic ם (mem). The present translation understands the latter and takes the adjective “great” as modifying “throng.” If one emends סָךְ (sakh, “throng [?]”) to סֹךְ (sokh, “shelter”; see the Qere of Ps 27:5), then ר[י]אַדִּ (ʾaddir) could be taken as a divine epithet, “[in the shelter of] the majestic one,” a reading which may find support in the LXX and Syriac Peshitta.
  50. Psalm 42:5 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
  51. Psalm 42:5 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
  52. Psalm 42:5 tn Heb “and [why] are you in turmoil upon me?” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive here carries on the descriptive present nuance of the preceding imperfect. See GKC 329 §111.t.
  53. Psalm 42:5 tn According to HALOT the term יָחַל (yakhal) means “to wait” in both the Piel and the Hiphil stems. The many contexts where the subjects are biding their time (e.g. Gen 8:10; Job 29:21; 1 Sam 10:8; 13:8; 2 Sam 18:14; 2 Kgs 6:33) suggest that simple waiting is its base meaning. In some contexts the person waiting is hopeful or expectant (Isa 42:4; Ezek 13:6). A number of translations use “hope” in Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5 (NASB, NIV, NRSV, ESV). This makes assumptions about what the Psalmist says to himself. The Psalmist presents a mixture of emotions and is at odds within himself. Given his level of distress, it is very possible that he is telling himself (his soul) to just hang on and not give up, while another part of him is confident that he will have reason to praise God in the future. The translation “wait for God” invites more consideration of the possible emotional state of the Psalmist. The nuance may be to “hope against hope,” to “gut it out” in faith despite not feeling hopeful, to trust, or to have hope.
  54. Psalm 42:5 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of his face.” The verse division in the Hebrew text is incorrect. אֱלֹהַי (ʾelohay, “my God”) at the beginning of v. 7 belongs with the end of v. 6 (see the corresponding refrains in 42:11 and 43:5, both of which end with “my God” after “saving acts of my face”). The Hebrew term פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”) should be emended to פְּנֵי (pene, “face of”). The emended text reads, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention.
  55. Psalm 42:6 tn Heb “my God, upon me my soul bows down.” As noted earlier, “my God” belongs with the end of v. 6.
  56. Psalm 42:6 tn Heb “therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan.” The term זָכַר (zakhar) most frequently means “to remember” but can also mean “to mention.” “Mentioning” may be viewed as an act of remembering. Or this may stand metonymically for prayer (see vv. 8-9). Based on the geography of the next line, the region of the upper Jordan, where the river originates and receives tributaries from the Hermon range, is in view.
  57. Psalm 42:6 tc Heb “Hermons.” The plural form of the name occurs only here in the OT. Some suggest the plural refers to multiple mountain peaks (cf. NASB) or simply retain the plural in the translation (cf. NEB), but the final mem (ם) is probably dittographic (note that the next form in the text begins with the letter mem) or enclitic. At a later time it was misinterpreted as a plural marker and vocalized accordingly.
  58. Psalm 42:6 tn The Hebrew term מִצְעָר (mitsʿar) is probably a proper name (“Mizar”), designating a particular mountain in the Hermon region. The name appears only here in the OT.
  59. Psalm 42:7 tn Heb “deep calls to deep.” The Hebrew noun תְּהוֹם (tehom) often refers to the deep sea, but here, where it is associated with Hermon, it probably refers to mountain streams. The word can be used of streams and rivers (see Deut 8:7; Ezek 31:4).
  60. Psalm 42:7 tn The noun צִנּוֹר (tsinnor, “waterfall”) occurs only here and in 2 Sam 5:8, where it apparently refers to a water shaft. The psalmist alludes to the loud rushing sound of mountain streams and cascading waterfalls. Using the poetic device of personification, he imagines the streams calling out to each other as they hear the sound of the waterfalls.
  61. Psalm 42:7 tn Heb “pass over me” (see Jonah 2:3). As he hears the sound of the rushing water, the psalmist imagines himself engulfed in the current. By implication he likens his emotional distress to such an experience.
  62. Psalm 42:8 sn The psalmist believes that the Lord has not abandoned him, but continues to extend his loyal love. To this point in the psalm, the author has used the name “God,” but now, as he mentions the divine characteristic of loyal love, he switches to the more personal divine name Yahweh (rendered in the translation as “the Lord”).
  63. Psalm 42:8 tn Heb “his song [is] with me.”
  64. Psalm 42:8 tc A few medieval Hebrew mss read תְּהִלָּה (tehillah, “praise”) instead of תְּפִלָּה (tefillah, “prayer”).
  65. Psalm 42:9 tn The cohortative form indicates the psalmist’s resolve.
  66. Psalm 42:9 tn This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3.
  67. Psalm 42:9 tn Or “forget.”
  68. Psalm 42:9 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.
  69. Psalm 42:10 tc Heb “with a shattering in my bones my enemies taunt me.” A few medieval Hebrew mss and Symmachus’ Greek version read “like” instead of “with.”
  70. Psalm 42:10 sn “Where is your God?” The enemies ask this same question in v. 3.
  71. Psalm 42:11 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
  72. Psalm 42:11 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
  73. Psalm 42:11 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
  74. Psalm 42:11 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yeshuʿot feney ʾelohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God”), that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is almost identical to the one in v. 5. See also Ps 43:5.
  75. Psalm 43:1 sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.
  76. Psalm 43:1 tn Or “argue my case.”
  77. Psalm 43:1 tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.
  78. Psalm 43:1 tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates.
  79. Psalm 43:2 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.
  80. Psalm 43:2 tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).
  81. Psalm 43:2 tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.
  82. Psalm 43:2 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
  83. Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “send.”
  84. Psalm 43:3 sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people.
  85. Psalm 43:3 tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.
  86. Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “bring.”
  87. Psalm 43:3 sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16.
  88. Psalm 43:3 tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 46:4; 84:1; 132:5, 7).
  89. Psalm 43:4 tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”
  90. Psalm 43:4 tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.
  91. Psalm 43:4 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.
  92. Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
  93. Psalm 43:5 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
  94. Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
  95. Psalm 43:5 tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yeshuʿot fene ʾelohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is identical to the one in Ps 42:11. See also 42:5, which differs only slightly.
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2 Samuel 16:16-17:23
New English Translation

16 When David’s friend Hushai the Arkite came to Absalom, Hushai said to him,[a] “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

17 Absalom said to Hushai, “Do you call this loyalty to your friend? Why didn’t you go with your friend?” 18 Hushai replied to Absalom, “No, I will be loyal to the one whom the Lord, these people, and all the men of Israel have chosen.[b] 19 Moreover, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.”[c]

20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?” 21 Ahithophel replied to Absalom, “Sleep with[d] your father’s concubines whom he left to care for the palace. All Israel will hear that you have made yourself repulsive to your father. Then your followers will be motivated to support you.”[e] 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof,[f] and Absalom slept with[g] his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

23 In those days Ahithophel’s advice was considered as valuable as a prophetic revelation.[h] Both David and Absalom highly regarded the advice of Ahithophel.[i]

The Death of Ahithophel

17 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me pick out 12,000 men. Then I will go and pursue David this very night. 2 When I catch up with[j] him he will be exhausted and worn out.[k] I will rout him, and the entire army that is with him will flee. I will kill only the king 3 and will bring the entire army back to you. In exchange for the life of the man you are seeking, you will get back everyone.[l] The entire army will return unharmed.”[m]

4 This seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders[n] of Israel. 5 But Absalom said, “Call for[o] Hushai the Arkite, and let’s hear what he has to say.”[p] 6 So Hushai came to Absalom. Absalom said to him, “Here is what Ahithophel has advised. Should we follow his advice? If not, what would you recommend?”

7 Hushai replied to Absalom, “Ahithophel’s advice is not sound this time.”[q] 8 Hushai went on to say, “You know your father and his men—they are soldiers and are as dangerous as a bear out in the wild that has been robbed of her cubs.[r] Your father is an experienced soldier; he will not stay overnight with the army. 9 At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first,[s] whoever hears about it will say, ‘Absalom’s army has been slaughtered!’ 10 If that happens even the bravest soldier—one who is lion-hearted—will virtually melt away. For all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are brave. 11 My advice therefore is this: Let all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba—in number like the sand by the sea—be mustered to you, and you lead them personally into battle. 12 We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive—not one of them! 13 If he regroups in a city, all Israel will take up ropes to that city and drag it down to the valley, so that not a single pebble will be left there!”

14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite sounds better than the advice of Ahithophel.” Now the Lord had decided[t] to frustrate the sound advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster on Absalom.

15 Then Hushai reported to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Here is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the leaders[u] of Israel to do, and here is what I have advised. 16 Now send word quickly to David and warn him,[v] “Don’t spend the night at the fords[w] of the wilderness tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over,[x] or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.”[y]

17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying in En Rogel. A female servant would go and inform them, and they would then go and inform King David. It was not advisable for them to be seen going into the city. 18 But a young man saw them on one occasion and informed Absalom. So the two of them quickly departed and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. There was a well in his courtyard, and they got down in it. 19 His wife then took the covering and spread it over the top of the well and scattered some grain over it. No one was aware of what she had done.

20 When the servants of Absalom approached the woman at her home, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman replied to them, “They crossed over the stream.” Absalom’s men[z] searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

21 After the men had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan[aa] climbed out of the well. Then they left and informed King David. They advised David, “Get up and cross the stream[ab] quickly, for Ahithophel has devised a plan to catch you.”[ac] 22 So David and all the people who were with him got up and crossed the Jordan River.[ad] By dawn there was not one person left who had not crossed the Jordan.

23 When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and returned to his house in his hometown. After setting his household in order, he hanged himself. So he died and was buried in the grave[ae] of his father.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 16:16 tn Heb “to Absalom.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  2. 2 Samuel 16:18 tn Heb “No for with the one whom the Lord has chosen, and this people, and all the men of Israel, I will be and with him I will stay.” The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew mss in reading לוֹ (lo, “[I will be] to him”) rather than the MT לֹא (loʾ, “[I will] not be”), which makes very little sense here.
  3. 2 Samuel 16:19 tn Heb “Just as I served before your father, so I will be before you.”
  4. 2 Samuel 16:21 tn Heb “approach,” The verb בּוֹא (boʾ) with the preposition אֶל (ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
  5. 2 Samuel 16:21 tn Heb “and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”
  6. 2 Samuel 16:22 sn That is, on top of the flat roof of the palace, so it would be visible to the public.
  7. 2 Samuel 16:22 tn Heb “approached.” See note at v. 21.
  8. 2 Samuel 16:23 tn Heb “And the advice of Ahithophel which he advised in those days was as when one inquires of the word of God.”
  9. 2 Samuel 16:23 tn Heb “So was all the advice of Ahithophel, also to David, also to Absalom.”
  10. 2 Samuel 17:2 tn Heb “and I will come upon him.”
  11. 2 Samuel 17:2 tn Heb “exhausted and slack of hands.”
  12. 2 Samuel 17:3 tc Heb “like the returning of all, the man whom you are seeking.” The LXX reads differently: “And I will return all the people to you the way a bride returns to her husband, except for the life of the one man whom you are seeking.” The other early versions also struggled with this verse. Modern translations are divided as well: the NAB, NRSV, REB, and NLT follow the LXX, while the NASB and NIV follow the Hebrew text.
  13. 2 Samuel 17:3 tn Heb “all of the people will be safe.”
  14. 2 Samuel 17:4 tn Heb “elders.”
  15. 2 Samuel 17:5 tc In the MT the verb is singular, but in the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate it is plural.
  16. 2 Samuel 17:5 tn Heb “what is in his mouth.”
  17. 2 Samuel 17:7 tn Heb “Not good is the advice which Ahithophel has advised at this time.”
  18. 2 Samuel 17:8 tc The LXX (with the exception of the recensions of Origen and Lucian) repeats the description as follows: “Just as a female bear bereft of cubs in a field.”
  19. 2 Samuel 17:9 tn Heb “that he falls on them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] at the first [encounter]; or “that some of them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] fall at the first [encounter].”
  20. 2 Samuel 17:14 tn Heb “commanded.”
  21. 2 Samuel 17:15 tn Heb “elders.”
  22. 2 Samuel 17:16 tn Heb “send quickly and tell David saying.”
  23. 2 Samuel 17:16 tc The MT reads “the rift valleys (עֲרָבוֹת, ʿaravot) of the wilderness.” The plural form typically refers to the gently sloping plains at the basin of the rift valley just north of the Dead Sea (while the larger rift valley extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba). Many translations render as the “fords” (NASB, ESV, NIV, NRSV) assuming the reversal of two letters as עֲבָרוֹת (ʿavarot, “fords, crossing”).
  24. 2 Samuel 17:16 tn That is, “cross over the Jordan River.”
  25. 2 Samuel 17:16 tn Heb “swallowed up.”
  26. 2 Samuel 17:20 tn Heb “they”; the referents (Absalom’s men) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. 2 Samuel 17:21 tn Heb “they”; the referents (Ahimaaz and Jonathan) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
  28. 2 Samuel 17:21 tn Heb “the water.”
  29. 2 Samuel 17:21 tn Heb “for thus Ahithophel has devised against you.” The expression “thus” is narrative shorthand, referring to the plan outlined by Ahithophel (see vv. 1-3). The men would surely have outlined the plan in as much detail as they had been given by the messenger.
  30. 2 Samuel 17:22 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text here or in v. 24, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  31. 2 Samuel 17:23 tc The Greek recensions of Origen and Lucian have here “house” for “grave.”
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