Psalms 23:2

23:2 He takes me to lush pastures, ¹ 

he leads me to refreshing water. ² 

Psalms 65:10

65:10 You saturate ³  its furrows,

and soak ⁴  its plowed ground. ⁵ 

With rain showers you soften its soil, ⁶ 

and make its crops grow. ⁷ 

Psalms 72:6

72:6 He ⁸  will descend like rain on the mown grass, ⁹ 

like showers that drench ¹⁰  the earth. ¹¹ 

Psalms 105:35

105:35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,

and devoured the crops of their fields. ¹² 

[23:2]  ¹ tn Heb “he makes me lie down in lush pastures.” The Hiphil verb יַרְבִּיצֵנִי (yarbitseniy) has a causative-modal nuance here (see IBHS 445-46 §27.5 on this use of the Hiphil), meaning “allows me to lie down” (see also Jer 33:12). The point is that the shepherd takes the sheep to lush pastures and lets them eat and rest there. Both imperfect verbal forms in v. 2 are generalizing and highlight the psalmist’s typical experience.

[23:2]  ² tn Both genitives in v. 2 indicate an attribute of the noun they modify: דֶּשֶׁא (deshe’) characterizes the pastures as “lush” (i.e., rich with vegetation), while מְנֻחוֹת (mÿnukhot) probably characterizes the water as refreshing. In this case the plural indicates an abstract quality. Some take מְנֻחוֹת in the sense of “still, calm” (i.e., as describing calm pools in contrast to dangerous torrents) but it is unlikely that such a pastoral scene is in view. Shepherds usually watered their sheep at wells (see Gen 29:2-3; Exod 2:16-19). Another option is to take מְנֻחוֹת as “resting places” and to translate, “water of/at the resting places” (i.e., a genitive of location; see IBHS 147-48 §9.5.2e).

[65:10]  ³ tn Heb “saturating” [the form is an infinitive absolute].

[65:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “flatten, cause to sink.”

[65:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “trenches,” or “furrows.”

[65:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “soften it,” that is, the earth.

[65:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “its vegetation you bless.” Divine “blessing” often involves endowing an object with special power or capacity.

[72:6]  ⁵ tn That is, the king (see vv. 2, 4).

[72:6]  ⁶ tn The rare term zg refers to a sheep’s fleece in Deut 18:4 and Job 31:20, but to “mown” grass or crops here and in Amos 7:1.

[72:6]  ⁷ tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to be an otherwise unattested noun. Many prefer to emend the form to a verb from the root זָרַף (zaraf). BHS in textual note b on this verse suggests a Hiphil imperfect, third masculine plural יַזְרִיפוּ (yazrifu), while HALOT 283 s.v. *זרף prefers a Pilpel perfect, third masculine plural זִרְזְפוּ (zirzÿfu). The translation assumes the latter.

[72:6]  ⁸ sn The imagery of this verse compares the blessings produced by the king’s reign to fructifying rains that cause the crops to grow.

[105:35]  ⁷ tn Heb “the fruit of their ground.”