Discovery BoxPsalms 108:1--110:7
ContextA song, a psalm of David.
108:1 I am determined, 2 O God!
I will sing and praise you with my whole heart. 3
108:2 Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!
I will wake up at dawn! 4
108:3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord!
I will sing praises to you before foreigners! 5
108:4 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, 6
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
108:5 Rise up 7 above the sky, O God!
May your splendor cover the whole earth! 8
108:6 Deliver by your power 9 and answer me,
so that the ones you love may be safe. 10
108:7 God has spoken in his sanctuary: 11
“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem,
the valley of Succoth I will measure off. 12
108:8 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh! 13
Ephraim is my helmet, 14
Judah my royal scepter. 15
108:9 Moab is my wash basin. 16
I will make Edom serve me. 17
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
108:10 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom? 18
108:11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
108:12 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile. 19
108:13 By God’s power we will conquer; 20
he will trample down 21 our enemies.
For the music director, a psalm of David.
109:1 O God whom I praise, do not ignore me! 23
109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;
they lie to me. 24
109:3 They surround me and say hateful things; 25
they attack me for no reason.
109:4 They repay my love with accusations, 26
but I continue to pray. 27
109:5 They repay me evil for good, 28
and hate for love.
109:6 29 Appoint an evil man to testify against him! 30
May an accuser stand 31 at his right side!
109:7 When he is judged, he will be found 32 guilty! 33
Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful.
May another take his job! 35
109:9 May his children 36 be fatherless,
and his wife a widow!
109:10 May his children 37 roam around begging,
asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home! 38
109:11 May the creditor seize 39 all he owns!
May strangers loot his property! 40
109:12 May no one show him kindness! 41
May no one have compassion 42 on his fatherless children!
109:13 May his descendants 43 be cut off! 44
May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! 45
109:14 May his ancestors’ 46 sins be remembered by the Lord!
May his mother’s sin not be forgotten! 47
109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them, 48
and cut off the memory of his children 49 from the earth!
109:16 For he never bothered to show kindness; 50
he harassed the oppressed and needy,
and killed the disheartened. 51
109:17 He loved to curse 52 others, so those curses have come upon him. 53
He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings. 54
109:18 He made cursing a way of life, 55
so curses poured into his stomach like water
and seeped into his bones like oil. 56
109:19 May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on, 57
or a belt 58 one wears continually!
109:20 May the Lord repay my accusers in this way, 59
those who say evil things about 60 me! 61
109:21 O sovereign Lord,
intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation! 62
Because your loyal love is good, deliver me!
109:22 For I am oppressed and needy,
and my heart beats violently within me. 63
109:23 I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; 64
I am shaken off like a locust.
109:24 I am so starved my knees shake; 65
I have turned into skin and bones. 66
109:25 I am disdained by them. 67
When they see me, they shake their heads. 68
109:26 Help me, O Lord my God!
Because you are faithful to me, deliver me! 69
109:27 Then they will realize 70 this is your work, 71
and that you, Lord, have accomplished it.
109:28 They curse, but you will bless. 72
When they attack, they will be humiliated, 73
but your servant will rejoice.
109:29 My accusers will be covered 74 with shame,
and draped in humiliation as if it were a robe.
109:30 I will thank the Lord profusely, 75
in the middle of a crowd 76 I will praise him,
109:31 because he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to deliver him from those who threaten 77 his life.
A psalm of David.
110:1 Here is the Lord’s proclamation 79 to my lord: 80
“Sit down at my right hand 81 until I make your enemies your footstool!” 82
110:2 The Lord 83 extends 84 your dominion 85 from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!
110:3 Your people willingly follow you 86 when you go into battle. 87
On the holy hills 88 at sunrise 89 the dew of your youth 90 belongs to you. 91
110:4 The Lord makes this promise on oath 92 and will not revoke it: 93
“You are an eternal priest 94 after the pattern of 95 Melchizedek.” 96
110:5 O sovereign Lord, 97 at your right hand
he strikes down 98 kings in the day he unleashes his anger. 99
110:6 He executes judgment 100 against 101 the nations;
he fills the valleys with corpses; 102
he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield. 103
110:7 From the stream along the road he drinks;
then he lifts up his head. 104
[108:1] 1 sn Psalm 108. With some minor variations, this psalm is a composite of Ps 57:7-11 (see vv. 1-5) and Ps 60:5-12 (see vv. 6-13).
[108:1] 2 tn Or perhaps “confident”; Heb “my heart is steadfast.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and/or emotions.
[108:1] 3 tn Heb “also my glory,” but this makes little sense in the context. Some view the term כָּבוֹד (“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 (kÿvodiy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 30:12; 57:9; as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 3:93. 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.”
[108:2] 4 tn BDB 1007 s.v. שַׁחַר takes “dawn” as an adverbial accusative, though others understand it as a personified direct object. “Dawn” is used metaphorically for the time of deliverance and vindication the psalmist anticipates. When salvation “dawns,” the psalmist will “wake up” in praise.
[108:3] 5 tn Or “the peoples.”
[108:4] 6 tn Heb “for great upon the sky [or “heavens”] [is] your loyal love.”
[108:5] 8 tn Heb “over all the earth [be] your splendor.” Though no verb appears, the tone of the statement is a prayer or wish. (Note the imperative form in the preceding line.)
[108:6] 9 tn Heb “right hand.”
[108:6] 10 tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text: “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”
[108:7] 11 tn Heb “in his holy place.”
[108:7] 12 sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan River; the valley of Succoth represents the region east of the Jordan.
[108:8] 13 tn Gilead was located east of the Jordan River. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.
[108:8] 14 tn Heb “the protection of my head.”
[108:8] 15 sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan River. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.
[108:9] 16 sn The metaphor of the wash basin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 7-8), would be reduced to the status of a servant.
[108:9] 17 tn Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of.” Others translate עַל (’al) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.
[108:10] 18 sn The psalmist speaks again and acknowledges his need for help in battle. He hopes God will volunteer, based on the affirmation of sovereignty over Edom in v. 9, but he is also aware that God has seemingly rejected the nation of Israel (v. 11).
[108:12] 19 tn Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”
[108:13] 20 tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 60:12; 118:16-16).
[108:13] 21 sn On the expression trample down our enemies see Ps 44:5.
[109:1] 22 sn Psalm 109. Appealing to God’s justice, the psalmist asks God to vindicate him and to bring severe judgment down upon his enemies.
[109:1] 23 tn Heb “do not be deaf.”
[109:2] 24 tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”
[109:3] 25 tn Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”
[109:4] 26 tn Heb “in place of my love they oppose me.”
[109:4] 27 tn Heb “and I, prayer.”
[109:5] 28 tn Heb “and they set upon me evil in place of good.”
[109:6] 29 sn In vv. 6-19 the psalmist calls on God to judge his enemies severely. Some attribute this curse-list to the psalmist’s enemies rather than the psalmist. In this case one should paraphrase v. 6: “They say about me, ‘Appoint an evil man, etc.’” Those supporting this line of interpretation point out that vv. 2-5 and 20 refer to the enemies’ attack on the psalmist being a verbal one. Furthermore in vv. 1-5, 20 the psalmist speaks of his enemies in the plural, while vv. 6-19 refer to an individual. This use of the singular in vv. 6-19 could be readily explained if this is the psalmist’s enemies’ curse on him. However, it is much more natural to understand vv. 6-19 as the psalmist’s prayer against his enemies. There is no introductory quotation formula in v. 6 to indicate that the psalmist is quoting anyone, and the statement “may the
[109:6] 30 tn Heb “appoint against him an evil [man].”
[109:6] 31 tn The prefixed verbal form is taken as a jussive here (note the imperative in the preceding line).
[109:7] 32 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as a jussive, but the use of the imperfect form in the following line suggests that v. 7 anticipates the outcome of the accusation envisioned in v. 6.
[109:7] 33 tn Heb “he will go out [as] a criminal” (that is, guilty).
[109:8] 34 tn The prefixed verbal forms (except those with vav [ו] consecutive) in vv. 8-20 are taken as jussives of prayer. Note the distinct jussive forms used in vv. 12-13, 15, 19.
[109:8] 35 tn The Hebrew noun פְּקֻדָּה (pÿquddah) can mean “charge” or “office,” though BDB 824 s.v. suggests that here it refers to his possessions.
[109:10] 38 tn Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (vÿdoreshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (yÿgoreshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shi’elu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.
[109:11] 39 tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).
[109:11] 40 tn Heb “the product of his labor.”
[109:12] 41 tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”
[109:12] 42 tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).
[109:13] 43 tn Or “offspring.”
[109:13] 44 sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.
[109:13] 45 tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”
[109:14] 46 tn Or “fathers’ sins.”
[109:14] 47 tn Heb “not be wiped out.”
[109:15] 48 tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the
[109:15] 49 tn Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13, and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.
[109:16] 50 tn Heb “he did not remember to do loyal love.”
[109:16] 51 tn Heb “and he chased an oppressed and needy man, and one timid of heart to put [him] to death.”
[109:17] 52 sn A curse in OT times consists of a formal appeal to God to bring judgment down upon another. Curses were sometimes justified (such as the one spoken by the psalmist here in vv. 6-19), but when they were not, the one pronouncing the curse was in danger of bringing the anticipated judgment down upon himself.
[109:17] 53 tn Heb “and he loved a curse and it came [upon] him.” A reference to the evil man experiencing a curse seems premature here, for the psalmist is asking God to bring judgment on his enemies. For this reason some (cf. NIV, NRSV) prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” as conjunctive and translate the verb as a jussive of prayer (“may it come upon him!”). The prefixed form with vav consecutive in the next line is emended in the same way and translated, “may it be far from him.” However, the psalmist may be indicating that the evil man’s lifestyle has already begun to yield its destructive fruit.
[109:17] 54 tn Heb “and he did not delight in a blessing and it is far from him.”
[109:18] 55 tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”
[109:18] 56 tn Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” to a conjunctive vav and interpret the prefixed verb as a jussive, “may it come!”
[109:19] 57 tn Heb “may it be for him like a garment one puts on.”
[109:19] 58 tn The Hebrew noun מֵזַח (mezakh, “belt; waistband”) occurs only here in the OT. The form apparently occurs in Isa 23:10 as well, but an emendation is necessary there.
[109:20] 59 tn Heb “[may] this [be] the repayment to my accusers from the
[109:20] 61 tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being; soul”) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
[109:21] 62 tn Heb “but you,
[109:22] 63 tc The verb in the Hebrew text (חָלַל, khalal) appears to be a Qal form from the root חלל meaning “pierced; wounded.” However, the Qal of this root is otherwise unattested. The translation assumes an emendation to יָחִיל (yakhil), a Qal imperfect from חוּל (khul, “tremble”) or to חֹלַל (kholal), a polal perfect from חוּל (khul). See Ps 55:4, which reads לִבִּי יָחִיל בְּקִרְבִּי (libbiy yakhil bÿqirbbiy, “my heart trembles [i.e., “beats violently”] within me”).
[109:23] 64 tn Heb “like a shadow when it is extended I go.” He is like a late afternoon shadow made by the descending sun that will soon be swallowed up by complete darkness. See Ps 102:11.
[109:24] 65 tn Heb “my knees stagger from fasting.”
[109:24] 66 tn Heb “and my flesh is lean away from fatness [i.e., “lean so as not to be fat”].”
[109:25] 67 tn Heb “as for me, I am a reproach to them.”
[109:25] 68 sn They shake their heads. Apparently shaking the head was a taunting gesture. See also Job 16:4; Ps 22:7; Lam 2:15.
[109:26] 69 tn Heb “deliver me according to your faithfulness.”
[109:27] 70 tn After the preceding imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
[109:27] 71 tn Heb “that your hand [is] this.”
[109:28] 72 tn Another option is to translate the imperfect as a prayer/request (“may you bless”).
[109:28] 73 tn The verbal sequence is perfect + prefixed form with vav (ו) consecutive. Since the psalmist seems to be anticipating the demise of his enemies, he may be using these forms rhetorically to describe the enemies’ defeat as if it were already accomplished. Some emend the text to קָמוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ (qamu yevoshu, “may those who attack me be humiliated”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 75.
[109:29] 74 tn Heb “clothed.” Another option is to translate the prefixed verbal forms in this line and the next as jussives (“may my accusers be covered with shame”).
[109:30] 75 tn Heb “I will thank the
[110:1] 78 sn Psalm 110. In this royal psalm the psalmist announces God’s oracle to the Davidic king. The first part of the oracle appears in v. 1, the second in v. 4. In vv. 2-3 the psalmist addresses the king, while in vv. 5-7 he appears to address God.
[110:1] 79 tn The word נְאֻם (nÿ’um) is used frequently in the OT of a formal divine announcement through a prophet.
[110:1] 80 sn My lord. In the psalm’s original context the speaker is an unidentified prophetic voice in the royal court. In the course of time the psalm is applied to each successive king in the dynasty and ultimately to the ideal Davidic king. NT references to the psalm understand David to be speaking about his “lord,” the Messiah. (See Matt 22:43-45; Mark 12:36-37; Luke 20:42-44; Acts 2:34-35).
[110:1] 81 tn To sit at the “right hand” of the king was an honor (see 1 Kgs 2:19). In Ugaritic myth (CTA 4 v. 108-10) the artisan god Kothar-and Khasis is described as sitting at the right hand of the storm god Baal. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 61-62.
[110:1] 82 sn When the Lord made his covenant with David, he promised to subdue the king’s enemies (see 2 Sam 7:9-11; Ps 89:22-23).
[110:2] 83 tn Since the
[110:2] 84 tn The prefixed verbal form is understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though it could be taken as future.
[110:2] 85 tn Heb “your strong scepter,” symbolic of the king’s royal authority and dominion.
[110:3] 86 tn Heb “your people, free will offerings.” Perhaps the people, in their willingness to volunteer, are compared metaphorically to freewill offerings. Following the LXX, some revocalize the text and read “with you is nobility.”
[110:3] 87 tn Heb “in the day of your power.”
[110:3] 88 tc Heb “in splendor of holiness.” The plural construct form הַדְרֵי (hadrey, from הָדַר, hadar, “splendor”) occurs only here; it may indicate degree or perhaps refer by metonymy to garments (see Pss 29:2 and 96:9, where the phrase הַדְרַת קֹדֶשׁ [hadrat qodesh] refers to “holy attire”). If one retains the reading of the MT, this phrase should probably be taken with the preceding line. However, because of the subsequent references to “dawn” and to “dew,” it is better to emend the text to הַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ (harrey qodesh, “mountains of holiness”), a reading found in many medieval Hebrew
[110:3] 89 tn Heb “from the womb of dawn.” The Hebrew noun רֶחֶם (rekhem, “womb”) is probably used here metonymically for “birth.” The form מִשְׁחָר (mishkhar) occurs only here and should be emended to שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”) with the mem (מ) being understood as dittographic (note the final mem [ם] on the preceding word). The phrase “womb [i.e., “birth”] of dawn” refers to sunrise.
[110:3] 90 sn The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. The dew may symbolize the king’s youthful vitality or, more likely (note the parallelism), may refer to his army of strong, youthful warriors.
[110:3] 91 tn Heb “to you [is].”
[110:4] 92 tn Or “swears, vows.”
[110:4] 93 tn Or “will not change his mind.” The negated Niphal imperfect of נָחַם (nakham) is a way of marking an announcement as an irrevocable decree. See 1 Sam 15:29; Ezek 24:14, as well as R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.
[110:4] 94 sn You are an eternal priest. The Davidic king exercised a non-Levitical priestly role. The king superintended Judah’s cultic ritual, had authority over the Levites, and sometimes led in formal worship. David himself instructed the Levites to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chr 15:11-15), joined the procession, offered sacrifices, wore a priestly ephod, and blessed the people (2 Sam 6:12-19). At the dedication of the temple Solomon led the ceremony, offering sacrifices and praying on behalf of the people (1 Kgs 8).
[110:4] 95 tn The phrase עַל־דִּבְרָתִי (’al-divratiy) is a variant of עַל־דִּבְרָת (’al-divrat; the final yod [י] being an archaic genitival ending), which in turn is a variant of עַל דָּבַר (’al davar). Both phrases can mean “concerning” or “because of,” but neither of these nuances fits the use of עַל־דִּבְרָתִי in Ps 110:4. Here the phrase probably carries the sense “according to the manner of.” See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 81.
[110:4] 96 sn The Davidic king’s priestly role is analogous to that of Melchizedek, who was both “king of Salem” (i.e., Jerusalem) and a “priest of God Most High” in the time of Abraham (Gen 14:18-20). Like Melchizedek, the Davidic king was a royal priest, distinct from the Aaronic line (see Heb 7). The analogy focuses on the king’s priestly role; the language need not imply that Melchizedek himself was “an eternal priest.”
[110:5] 97 tn As pointed in the Hebrew text, this title refers to God (many medieval Hebrew
[110:5] 98 tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 5-6 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing. Another option is to take them as rhetorical. In this case the psalmist describes anticipated events as if they had already taken place.
[110:5] 99 tn Heb “in the day of his anger.”
[110:6] 100 tn The imperfect verbal forms in vv. 6-7 are understood here as descriptive-dramatic or as generalizing, though they could be taken as future.
[110:6] 102 tn Heb “he fills [with] corpses,” but one expects a double accusative here. The translation assumes an emendation to גְוִיּוֹת גֵאָיוֹת(בִּ) מִלֵּא or מִלֵּא גֵאָיוֹת גְּוִיוֹת (for a similar construction see Ezek 32:5). In the former case גֵאָיוֹת(ge’ayot) has accidentally dropped from the text due to homoioteleuton; in the latter case it has dropped out due to homoioarcton.
[110:6] 103 tn Heb “he strikes [the verb is מָחַץ (makhats), translated “strikes down” in v. 5] head[s] over a great land.” The Hebrew term רַבָּה (rabbah, “great”) is here used of distance or spatial measurement (see 1 Sam 26:13).
[110:7] 104 tn Here the expression “lifts up the head” refers to the renewed physical strength and emotional vigor (see Ps 3:3) provided by the refreshing water. For another example of a victorious warrior being energized by water in the aftermath of battle, see Judg 15:18-19 (see also 1 Sam 30:11-12, where the setting is different, however).
