Discovery BoxPsalms 31:1
ContextFor the music director; a psalm of David.
31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!
Never let me be humiliated!
Vindicate me by rescuing me! 2
Psalms 12:1--14:7
ContextFor the music director; according to the sheminith style; 4 a psalm of David.
12:1 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly 5 have disappeared; 6
people of integrity 7 have vanished. 8
12:2 People lie to one another; 9
they flatter and deceive. 10
12:3 May the Lord cut off 11 all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts! 12
12:4 They say, 13 “We speak persuasively; 14
we know how to flatter and boast. 15
Who is our master?” 16
12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, 17
because of the painful cries 18 of the needy,
I will spring into action,” 19 says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” 20
12:6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable. 21
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined. 22
12:7 You, Lord, will protect them; 23
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people, 24
12:8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere, 25
when people promote evil. 26
For the music director; a psalm of David.
13:1 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me? 28
How long will you pay no attention to me? 29
13:2 How long must I worry, 30
and suffer in broad daylight? 31
How long will my enemy gloat over me? 32
13:3 Look at me! 33 Answer me, O Lord my God!
Revive me, 34 or else I will die! 35
13:4 Then 36 my enemy will say, “I have defeated him!”
Then 37 my foes will rejoice because I am upended.
13:5 But I 38 trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance! 39
13:6 I will sing praises 40 to the Lord
when he vindicates me. 41
For the music director; by David.
14:1 Fools say to themselves, 43 “There is no God.” 44
They sin and commit evil deeds; 45
none of them does what is right. 46
14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven 47 at the human race, 48
to see if there is anyone who is wise 49 and seeks God. 50
they are all morally corrupt. 52
None of them does what is right, 53
not even one!
14:4 All those who behave wickedly 54 do not understand – 55
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
14:5 They are absolutely terrified, 56
for God defends the godly. 57
14:6 You want to humiliate the oppressed, 58
even though 59 the Lord is their 60 shelter.
14:7 I wish the deliverance 61 of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the well-being of his people, 62
may Jacob rejoice, 63
may Israel be happy! 64
[31:1] 1 sn Psalm 31. The psalmist confidently asks the Lord to protect him. Enemies threaten him and even his friends have abandoned him, but he looks to the Lord for vindication. In vv. 19-24, which were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18, the psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him.
[31:1] 2 tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”
[12:1] 3 sn 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] 4 tn 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] 5 tn 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] 6 tn Or “have come to an end.”
[12:1] 7 tn Heb “the faithful [ones] from the sons of man.”
[12:1] 8 tn The Hebrew verb פָּסַס (pasas) occurs only here. An Akkadian cognate means “efface, blot out.”
[12:2] 5 tn Heb “falsehood they speak, a man with his neighbor.” The imperfect verb forms in v. 2 describe what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.
[12:2] 6 tn Heb “[with] a lip of smoothness, with a heart and a heart they speak.” Speaking a “smooth” word refers to deceptive flattery (cf. Ps 5:9; 55:21; Prov 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21; 26:28; 28:23; Isa 30:10). “Heart” here refers to their mind, from which their motives and intentions originate. The repetition of the noun indicates diversity (see GKC 396 §123.f, IBHS 116 §7.2.3c, and Deut 25:13, where the phrase “weight and a weight” refers to two different measuring weights). These people have two different types of “hearts.” Their flattering words seem to express kind motives and intentions, but this outward display does not really reflect their true motives. Their real “heart” is filled with evil thoughts and destructive intentions. The “heart” that is seemingly displayed through their words is far different from the real “heart” they keep disguised. (For the idea see Ps 28:3.) In 1 Chr 12:33 the phrase “without a heart and a heart” means “undivided loyalty.”
[12:3] 7 tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the
[12:3] 8 tn Heb “a tongue speaking great [things].”
[12:4] 9 tn Heb “which say.” The plural verb after the relative pronoun indicates a plural antecedent for the pronoun, probably “lips” in v. 3.
[12:4] 10 tn Heb “to our tongue we make strong.” The Hiphil of גָבַר (gavar) occurs only here and in Dan 9:27, where it refers to making strong, or confirming, a covenant. Here in Ps 12 the evildoers “make their tongue strong” in the sense that they use their tongue to produce flattering and arrogant words to accomplish their purposes. The preposition -לְ (l) prefixed to “our tongue” may be dittographic.
[12:4] 11 tn Heb “our lips [are] with us.” This odd expression probably means, “our lips are in our power,” in the sense that they say what they want, whether it be flattery or boasting. For other cases where אֵת (’et, “with”) has the sense “in the power of,” see Ps 38:10 and other texts listed by BDB 86 s.v. 3.a.
[12:4] 12 sn The rhetorical question expresses the arrogant attitude of these people. As far as they are concerned, they are answerable to no one for how they speak.
[12:5] 11 tn The term translated “oppressed” is an objective genitive; the oppressed are the recipients/victims of violence.
[12:5] 12 tn Elsewhere in the psalms this noun is used of the painful groans of prisoners awaiting death (79:11; 102:20). The related verb is used of the painful groaning of those wounded in combat (Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15) and of the mournful sighing of those in grief (Ezek 9:4; 24:17).
[12:5] 13 tn Heb “I will rise up.”
[12:5] 14 tn Heb “I will place in deliverance, he pants for it.” The final two words in Hebrew (יָפִיחַ לוֹ, yafiakh lo) comprise an asyndetic relative clause, “the one who pants for it.” “The one who pants” is the object of the verb “place” and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix (in the phrase “for it”) is “deliverance.” Another option is to translate, “I will place in deliverance the witness for him,” repointing יָפִיחַ (a Hiphil imperfect from פּוּחַ, puakh, “pant”) as יָפֵחַ (yafeakh), a noun meaning “witness.” In this case the
[12:6] 13 tn Heb “the words of the
[12:6] 14 tn Heb “[like] silver purified in a furnace of [i.e., “on”] the ground, refined seven times.” The singular participle מְזֻקָּק (mÿzuqqaq, “refined”) modifies “silver.” The number seven is used rhetorically to express the thorough nature of the action. For other rhetorical/figurative uses of שִׁבְעָתָיִם (shiv’atayim, “seven times”), see Gen 4:15, 24; Ps 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.
[12:7] 15 tn The third person plural pronominal suffix on the verb is masculine, referring back to the “oppressed” and “needy” in v. 5 (both of those nouns are plural in form), suggesting that the verb means “protect” here. The suffix does not refer to אִמֲרוֹת (’imarot, “words”) in v. 6, because that term is feminine gender.
[12:7] 16 tn Heb “you will protect him from this generation permanently.” The third masculine singular suffix on the verb “protect” is probably used in a distributive sense, referring to each one within the group mentioned previously (the oppressed/needy, referred to as “them” in the preceding line). On this grammatical point see GKC 396 §123.f (where the present text is not cited). (Some Hebrew
[12:8] 17 tn Heb “the wicked walk all around.” One could translate v. 8a as an independent clause, in which case it would be a concluding observation in proverbial style. The present translation assumes that v. 8a is a subordinate explanatory clause, or perhaps a subordinate temporal clause (“while the wicked walk all around”). The adverb סָבִיב (saviv, “around”), in combination with the Hitpael form of the verb “walk” (which indicates repeated action), pictures the wicked as ubiquitous. They have seemingly overrun society.
[12:8] 18 tn Heb “when evil is lifted up by the sons of man.” The abstract noun זֻלּוּת (zulut, “evil”) occurs only here. On the basis of evidence from the cognate languages (see HALOT 272 s.v.), one might propose the meaning “base character,” or “morally foolish behavior.”
[13:1] 19 sn Psalm 13. The psalmist, who is close to death, desperately pleads for God’s deliverance and affirms his trust in God’s faithfulness.
[13:1] 20 tn Heb “will you forget me continually.”
[13:1] 21 tn Heb “will you hide your face from me.”
[13:2] 21 tn Heb “How long will I put counsel in my being?”
[13:2] 22 tn Heb “[with] grief in my heart by day.”
[13:2] 23 tn Heb “be exalted over me.” Perhaps one could translate, “How long will my enemy defeat me?”
[13:3] 24 tn Heb “Give light [to] my eyes.” The Hiphil of אוּר (’ur), when used elsewhere with “eyes” as object, refers to the law of God giving moral enlightenment (Ps 19:8), to God the creator giving literal eyesight to all people (Prov 29:13), and to God giving encouragement to his people (Ezra 9:8). Here the psalmist pictures himself as being on the verge of death. His eyes are falling shut and, if God does not intervene soon, he will “fall asleep” for good.
[13:3] 25 tn Heb “or else I will sleep [in?] the death.” Perhaps the statement is elliptical, “I will sleep [the sleep] of death,” or “I will sleep [with the sleepers in] death.”
[13:5] 27 tn The grammatical construction used here (conjunction with independent pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist’s defeated condition envisioned in v. 4 and confident attitude he displays in v. 5.
[13:5] 28 tn Heb “may my heart rejoice in your deliverance.” The verb form is jussive. Having expressed his trust in God’s faithful character and promises, the psalmist prays that his confidence will prove to be well-placed. “Heart” is used here of the seat of the emotions.
[13:6] 29 tn The verb form is cohortative, indicating the psalmist’s resolve (or vow) to praise the
[13:6] 30 tn Or “for he will have vindicated me.” The verb form indicates a future perfect here. The idiom גָמַל עַל (gamal ’al) means “to repay,” here in a positive sense.
[14:1] 31 sn Psalm 14. The psalmist observes that the human race is morally corrupt. Evildoers oppress God’s people, but the psalmist is confident of God’s protection and anticipates a day when God will vindicate Israel.
[14:1] 32 tn Heb “a fool says in his heart.” The singular is used here in a collective or representative sense; the typical fool is envisioned.
[14:1] 33 sn “There is no God.” The statement is probably not a philosophical assertion that God does not exist, but rather a confident affirmation that God is unconcerned about how men live morally and ethically (see Ps 10:4, 11).
[14:1] 34 tn Heb “they act corruptly, they make a deed evil.” The verbs describe the typical behavior of the wicked. The subject of the plural verbs is “sons of man” (v. 2). The entire human race is characterized by sinful behavior. This practical atheism – living as if there is no God who will hold them accountable for their actions – makes them fools, for one of the earmarks of folly is to fail to anticipate the long range consequences of one’s behavior.
[14:1] 35 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
[14:2] 33 sn The picture of the
[14:2] 34 tn Heb “upon the sons of man.”
[14:2] 35 tn Or “acts wisely.” The Hiphil is exhibitive.
[14:2] 36 sn Anyone who is wise and seeks God refers to the person who seeks to have a relationship with God by obeying and worshiping him.
[14:3] 35 tn Heb “everyone turns aside.”
[14:3] 36 tn Heb “together they are corrupt.”
[14:3] 37 tn Heb “there is none that does good.”
[14:4] 37 tn Heb “all the workers of wickedness.” See Pss 5:5; 6:8.
[14:4] 38 tn Heb “Do they not understand?” The rhetorical question (rendered in the translation as a positive affirmation) expresses the psalmist’s amazement at their apparent lack of understanding. This may refer to their lack of moral understanding, but it more likely refers to their failure to anticipate God’s defense of his people (see vv. 5-7).
[14:5] 39 tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror.
[14:5] 40 tn Heb “for God is with a godly generation.” The Hebrew noun דּוֹר (dor, “generation”) refers here to the general class of people who are characterized by godliness. See BDB 190 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.
[14:6] 41 tn Heb “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame.” Using a second person plural verb form, the psalmist addresses the wicked. Since the context indicates their attempt to harm the godly will be thwarted, the imperfect should be taken in a subjunctive (cf. NASB, NRSV) rather than an indicative manner (cf. NIV). Here it probably expresses their desire or intent (“want to humiliate”).
[14:6] 42 tn It is unlikely that כִּי (ki) has a causal force here. The translation assumes a concessive force; another option is to understand an asseverative use (“certainly, indeed”).
[14:6] 43 tn Heb “his.” The antecedent of the singular pronoun is the singular form עָנִי (’ani, “oppressed”) in the preceding line. The singular is collective or representative here (and thus translated as plural, “they”).
[14:7] 43 sn The deliverance of Israel. This refers metonymically to God, the one who lives in Zion and provides deliverance for Israel.
[14:7] 44 tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew term שְׁבוּת (shÿvut) is apparently a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv).
[14:7] 45 tn The verb form is jussive.
[14:7] 46 tn Because the parallel verb is jussive, this verb, which is ambiguous in form, should be taken as a jussive as well.
