Psalms 12:1

Context

Psalm 12¹

For the music director; according to the sheminith style;² a psalm of David.

12:1 Deliver, Lord!

For the godly³ have disappeared;⁴

people of integrity⁵ have vanished.⁶

Psalms 18:1

Context

Psalm 18⁷

For the music director; by the Lord’s servant David, who sang⁸ to the Lord the words of this song when⁹ the Lord rescued him from the power¹⁰ of all his enemies, including Saul.¹¹

18:1 He said:¹²

“I love¹³ you, Lord, my source of strength!¹⁴

[12:1] ¹sn Psalm 12. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene, for society is overrun by deceitful, arrogant oppressors and godly individuals are a dying breed. When the Lord announces his intention to defend the oppressed, the psalmist affirms his confidence in the divine promise.

[12:1] ²tn The meaning of the Hebrew term שְׁמִינִית (shÿminit) is uncertain; perhaps it refers to a particular style of music. See 1 Chr 15:21.

[12:1] ³tn The singular form is collective or representative. Note the plural form “faithful [ones]” in the following line. A “godly [one]” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).

[12:1] ⁴tn Or “have come to an end.”

[12:1] ⁵tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”

[12:1] ⁶tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”

[18:1] ⁷sn Psalm 18. In this long song of thanks, the psalmist (a Davidic king, traditionally understood as David himself) affirms that God is his faithful protector. He recalls in highly poetic fashion how God intervened in awesome power and delivered him from death. The psalmist’s experience demonstrates that God vindicates those who are blameless and remain loyal to him. True to his promises, God gives the king victory on the battlefield and enables him to subdue nations. A parallel version of the psalm appears in 2 Sam 22:1-51.

[18:1] ⁸tn Heb “spoke.”

[18:1] ⁹tn Heb “in the day,” or “at the time.”

[18:1] ¹⁰tn Heb “hand.”

[18:1] ¹¹tn Heb “and from the hand of Saul.”

[18:1] ¹²tn A number of translations (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV) assign the words “he said” to the superscription, in which case the entire psalm is in first person. Other translations (e.g., NAB) include the introductory “he said” at the beginning of v. 1.

[18:1] ¹³tn The verb רָחַם (rakham) elsewhere appears in the Piel (or Pual) verbal stem with the basic meaning, “have compassion.” The verb occurs only here in the basic (Qal) stem. The basic stem of the verbal root also occurs in Aramaic with the meaning “love” (see DNWSI 2:1068-69; Jastrow 1467 s.v. רָחַם; G. Schmuttermayr, “rhm: eine lexikalische Studie,” Bib 51 [1970]: 515-21). Since this introductory statement does not appear in the parallel version in 2 Sam 22:1-51, it is possible that it is a later addition to the psalm, made when the poem was revised for use in worship.

[18:1] ¹⁴tn Heb “my strength.” “Strength” is metonymic here, referring to the Lord as the one who bestows strength to the psalmist; thus the translation “my source of strength.”