Discovery BoxPsalms 62:1-5
ContextFor the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.
62:1 For God alone I patiently wait; 2
he is the one who delivers me. 3
62:2 He alone is my protector 4 and deliverer.
He is my refuge; 5 I will not be upended. 6
62:3 How long will you threaten 7 a man?
All of you are murderers, 8
as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. 9
62:4 They 10 spend all their time planning how to bring him 11 down. 12
They love to use deceit; 13
they pronounce blessings with their mouths,
but inwardly they utter curses. 14 (Selah)
62:5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! 15
For he is the one who gives me confidence. 16
[62:1] 1 sn Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God’s justice and in his ability to protect his people.
[62:1] 2 tn Heb “only for God [is] there silence [to] my soul.”
[62:1] 3 tn Heb “from him [is] my deliverance.”
[62:2] 4 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
[62:2] 5 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
[62:2] 6 tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”
[62:3] 7 tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”
[62:3] 8 tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.
[62:3] 9 tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).
[62:4] 10 tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.
[62:4] 11 tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse.
[62:4] 12 tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”
[62:4] 13 tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”
[62:4] 14 sn The enemies use deceit to bring down their victim. They make him think they are his friends by pronouncing blessings upon him, but inwardly they desire his demise.
[62:5] 15 tn Heb “only for God be silent, my soul.” The wording is similar to that of v. 1a. Here an imperatival form, דּוֹמִּי (dommiy, “be silent”), appears instead of the noun דּוּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”). The psalmist is encouraging himself to maintain his trust in God.
