Discovery BoxPsalms 78:47
Context78:47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.
Psalms 78:1
ContextA well-written song 2 by Asaph.
78:1 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction!
Listen to the words I speak! 3
Psalms 32:1--33:22
ContextBy David; a well-written song. 5
32:1 How blessed 6 is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven, 7
whose sin is pardoned! 8
32:2 How blessed is the one 9 whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, 10
in whose spirit there is no deceit. 11
32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, 12
my whole body wasted away, 13
while I groaned in pain all day long.
32:4 For day and night you tormented me; 14
you tried to destroy me 15 in the intense heat 16 of summer. 17 (Selah)
32:5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess 18 my rebellious acts to the Lord.”
And then you forgave my sins. 19 (Selah)
32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers 20 should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity. 21
Certainly 22 when the surging water 23 rises,
it will not reach them. 24
32:7 You are my hiding place;
you protect me from distress.
You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance. 25 (Selah)
32:8 I will instruct and teach you 26 about how you should live. 27
I will advise you as I look you in the eye. 28
32:9 Do not be 29 like an unintelligent horse or mule, 30
which will not obey you
unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit. 31
32:10 An evil person suffers much pain, 32
but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him. 33
32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!
Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright! 34
33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
33:2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!
33:3 Sing to him a new song! 36
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him! 37
33:4 For 38 the Lord’s decrees 39 are just, 40
and everything he does is fair. 41
33:5 The Lord promotes 42 equity and justice;
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth. 43
33:6 By the Lord’s decree 44 the heavens were made;
by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. 45
33:7 He piles up the water of the sea; 46
he puts the oceans 47 in storehouses.
33:8 Let the whole earth fear 48 the Lord!
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!
33:9 For he spoke, and it 49 came into existence,
he issued the decree, 50 and it stood firm.
33:10 The Lord frustrates 51 the decisions of the nations;
he nullifies the plans 52 of the peoples.
33:11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages. 53
33:12 How blessed 54 is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession. 55
33:13 The Lord watches 56 from heaven;
he sees all people. 57
33:14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
33:15 He is the one who forms every human heart, 58
and takes note of all their actions.
33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
33:17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory; 59
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, 60
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness 61
33:19 by saving their lives from death 62
and sustaining them during times of famine. 63
33:20 We 64 wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer 65 and shield. 66
33:21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
33:22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord, 67
for 68 we wait for you.
[78:1] 1 sn Psalm 78. The author of this lengthy didactic psalm rehearses Israel’s history. He praises God for his power, goodness and patience, but also reminds his audience that sin angers God and prompts his judgment. In the conclusion to the psalm the author elevates Jerusalem as God’s chosen city and David as his chosen king.
[78:1] 2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 74.
[78:1] 3 tn Heb “Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.”
[32:1] 1 sn Psalm 32. The psalmist recalls the agony he experienced prior to confessing his sins and affirms that true happiness comes when one’s sins are forgiven. He then urges others not to be stubborn, but to turn to God while forgiveness is available, for God extends his mercy to the repentant, while the wicked experience nothing but sorrow.
[32:1] 2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
[32:1] 3 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15). Here it refers to the relief that one experiences when one’s sins are forgiven.
[32:1] 5 tn Heb “covered over.”
[32:2] 1 tn Heb “man.” The word choice reflects the perspective of the psalmist, who is male. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender and age specific “man” has been translated with the more neutral “one.”
[32:2] 2 tn Heb “blessed [is] the man to whom the
[32:2] 3 sn In whose spirit there is no deceit. The point is not that the individual is sinless and pure. In this context, which focuses on confession and forgiveness of sin, the psalmist refers to one who refuses to deny or hide his sin, but instead honestly confesses it to God.
[32:3] 1 tn Heb “when I was silent.”
[32:3] 2 tn Heb “my bones became brittle.” The psalmist pictures himself as aging and growing physically weak. Trying to cover up his sin brought severe physical consequences.
[32:4] 1 tn Heb “your hand was heavy upon me.”
[32:4] 2 tc Heb “my [?] was turned.” The meaning of the Hebrew term לְשַׁד (lÿshad) is uncertain. A noun לָשָׁד (lashad, “cake”) is attested in Num 11:8, but it would make no sense to understand that word in this context. It is better to emend the form to לְשֻׁדִּי (lÿshuddiy, “to my destruction”) and understand “your hand” as the subject of the verb “was turned.” In this case the text reads, “[your hand] was turned to my destruction.” In Lam 3:3 the author laments that God’s “hand” was “turned” (הָפַךְ, hafakh) against him in a hostile sense.
[32:4] 3 tn The translation assumes that the plural form indicates degree. If one understands the form as a true plural, then one might translate, “in the times of drought.”
[32:4] 4 sn Summer. Perhaps the psalmist suffered during the hot season and perceived the very weather as being an instrument of divine judgment. Another option is that he compares his time of suffering to the uncomfortable and oppressive heat of summer.
[32:5] 1 tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”
[32:5] 2 tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.
[32:6] 1 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; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
[32:6] 2 tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the
[32:6] 3 tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.
[32:6] 4 sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.
[32:6] 5 tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.
[32:7] 1 tn Heb “[with] shouts of joy of deliverance you surround me.”
[32:8] 1 tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the
[32:8] 2 tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”
[32:8] 3 tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the
[32:9] 1 tn The verb form is plural (i.e., “do not all of you be”); the psalmist addresses the whole group.
[32:9] 2 tn Heb “like a horse, like a mule without understanding.”
[32:9] 3 tn Heb “with a bridle and bit, its [?] to hold, not to come near to you.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun עֲדִי (’adiy) is uncertain. Normally the word refers to “jewelry,” so some suggest the meaning “trappings” here (cf. NASB). Some emend the form to לְחֵיהֶם (lÿkhehem, “their jawbones”) but it is difficult to see how the present Hebrew text, even if corrupt, could have derived from this proposed original reading. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 265) takes the form from an Arabic root and translates “whose gallop.” Cf. also NRSV “whose temper must be curbed.”
[32:10] 1 tn Heb “many [are the] pains of evil [one].” The singular form is representative here; the typical evildoer, representative of the larger group of wicked people, is in view.
[32:10] 2 tn Heb “but the one who trusts in the
[32:11] 1 tn Heb “all [you] pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the
[33:1] 1 sn Psalm 33. In this hymn the psalmist praises the Lord as the sovereign creator and just ruler of the world who protects and vindicates those who fear him.
[33:3] 1 sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the lives of his people in fresh and exciting ways.
[33:3] 2 tn Heb “play skillfully with a loud shout.”
[33:4] 1 sn For the
[33:4] 2 tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the
[33:4] 4 tn Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”
[33:5] 1 tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the
[33:5] 2 tn Heb “fills the earth.”
[33:6] 2 tn Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.
[33:7] 1 tn Heb “[he] gathers like a pile the waters of the sea.” Some prefer to emend נֵד (ged, “heap, pile”; cf. NASB) to נֹד (nod, “bottle”; cf. NRSV; NIV “into jars”), but “pile” is used elsewhere to describe water that the
[33:7] 2 tn Or “watery depths.” The form תְּהוֹמוֹת (tÿhomot, “watery depths”) is the plural form of תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “great deep”; see Gen 1:2).
[33:8] 1 tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the
[33:9] 1 tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).
[33:9] 2 tn Heb “he commanded.”
[33:10] 1 tn Heb “breaks” or “destroys.” The Hebrew perfect verbal forms here and in the next line generalize about the
[33:11] 1 tn Heb “the thoughts of his heart for generation to generation.” The verb “abides” is supplied in the translation. The
[33:12] 1 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
[33:12] 2 tn Heb “inheritance.”
[33:13] 1 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal forms in v. 13 state general facts.
[33:13] 2 tn Heb “all the sons of men.”
[33:15] 1 tn Heb “the one who forms together their heart[s].” “Heart” here refers to human nature, composed of intellect, emotions and will. The precise force of יָחַד (yakhad, “together”) is unclear here. The point seems to be that the
[33:17] 1 tn Heb “a lie [is] the horse for victory.”
[33:18] 1 tn Heb “look, the eye of the
[33:18] 2 tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”
[33:19] 1 tn Heb “to save from death their live[s].”
[33:19] 2 tn Heb “and to keep them alive in famine.”
[33:20] 1 tn Or “our lives.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.
[33:20] 2 tn Or “[source of] help.”
