Discovery BoxPsalms 31:12-24
Context31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; 1
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar. 2
31:13 For I hear what so many are saying, 3
the terrifying news that comes from every direction. 4
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
31:14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
31:15 You determine my destiny! 5
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
31:16 Smile 6 on your servant!
Deliver me because of your faithfulness!
31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you!
May evil men be humiliated!
May they go wailing to the grave! 7
31:18 May lying lips be silenced –
lips 8 that speak defiantly against the innocent 9
with arrogance and contempt!
31:19 How great is your favor, 10
which you store up for your loyal followers! 11
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter 12 in you. 13
31:20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks 14 of men; 15
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks. 16
31:21 The Lord deserves praise 17
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies. 18
31:22 I jumped to conclusions and said, 19
“I am cut off from your presence!” 20
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers 21 of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly. 22
31:24 Be strong and confident, 23
all you who wait on the Lord!
[31:12] 1 tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.
[31:12] 2 tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.
[31:13] 3 tn Heb “the report of many.”
[31:13] 4 tn Heb “the terror from all around.”
[31:15] 5 tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”
[31:16] 6 tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”
[31:17] 7 tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yiddÿmu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”
[31:18] 8 tn Heb “the [ones which].”
[31:19] 10 tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”
[31:19] 11 tn Heb “for those who fear you.”
[31:19] 12 tn “Taking shelter” in the
[31:19] 13 tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”
[31:20] 14 tn The noun רֹכֶס (rokhes) occurs only here. Its meaning is debated; some suggest “snare,” while others propose “slander” or “conspiracy.”
[31:20] 15 tn Heb “you hide them in the hiding place of your face from the attacks of man.” The imperfect verbal forms in this verse draw attention to God’s typical treatment of the faithful.
[31:20] 16 tn Heb “you conceal them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”
[31:21] 17 tn Heb “blessed [be] the
[31:21] 18 tn Heb “for he caused his faithfulness to be amazing to me in a besieged city.” The psalmist probably speaks figuratively here. He compares his crisis to being trapped in a besieged city, but the
[31:22] 19 tn Heb “and I, I said in my haste.”
[31:22] 20 tn Heb “from before your eyes.”
[31:23] 21 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
[31:23] 22 tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.
[31:24] 23 tn Heb “be strong and let your heart[s] be confident.”
