Psalms 30:1-2

Context

Psalm 30¹

A psalm – a song used at the dedication of the temple;² by David.

30:1 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,³

and did not allow my enemies to gloat⁴ over me.

30:2 O Lord my God,

I cried out to you and you healed me.⁵

Psalms 30:11-12

Context

30:11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.⁶

30:12 So now⁷ my heart⁸ will sing to you and not be silent;

O Lord my God, I will always⁹ give thanks to you.

[30:1] ¹sn Psalm 30. The author thanks the Lord for delivering him from death and urges others to join him in praise. The psalmist experienced divine discipline for a brief time, but when he cried out for help the Lord intervened and restored his favor.

[30:1] ²tn Heb “a song of the dedication of the house.” The referent of “house” is unclear. It is possible that David wrote this psalm for the dedication ceremony of Solomon’s temple. Another possibility is that the psalm was used on the occasion of the dedication of the second temple following the return from exile, or on the occasion of the rededication of the temple in Maccabean times.

[30:1] ³tn Elsewhere the verb דָּלָה (dalah) is used of drawing water from a well (Exod 2:16, 19; Prov 20:5). The psalmist was trapped in the pit leading to Sheol (see v. 3), but the Lord hoisted him up. The Piel stem is used here, perhaps suggesting special exertion on the Lord’s part.

[30:1] ⁴tn Or “rejoice.”

[30:2] ⁵sn You healed me. Apparently the psalmist was plagued by a serious illness that threatened his life. See Ps 41.

[30:11] ⁶sn Covered me with joy. “Joy” probably stands metonymically for festive attire here.

[30:12] ⁷tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”

[30:12] ⁸tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.

[30:12] ⁹tn Or “forever.”