PSALM 28
(Of Dawid)
1. To You, O YHWH, I will cry; O my Rock, don’t be deaf to me,
lest if You are deaf to me, I become comparable with those who go down into a pit!
2. Listen to the sound of my pleas for favor when I cry out to You [for help],
when I lift up my hands toward the sanctuary of Your holiness!
3. Don’t drag me away with the wicked or with troublemakers
who speak peaceably with their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts.
4. Give to them according to their actions
and according to how evil their dealings are!
Give to them what they their hands have done,
and bring back to them what they deserve!
5. Because they do not discern the activities of YHWH
or [give consideration] to the works of His hands,
may He tear them down and not build them up!
6. May the knee be bent to YHWH
Because He has listened to my pleas for favor.
7. YHWH is my source of boldness and my defender;
in Him my heart has [safely] trusted and I have been helped,
so my heart is becoming jubilant, and from my song I will keep thanking Him!
8. YHWH is their source of boldness,
And He Himself is the means of deliverances for His anointed one.
Means: source of refuge and strength, place of protection and safety.
9. Save Your people and [stoop down to] bless Your inherited possession;
Both shepherd them and carry them all the way to the Age [to come]!
PSALM 29
[Liturgy for the Sabbath]
(A psalm of David)
1. Credit to YHWH, O sons of the mighty ones,
Credit to YHWH importance and strength!
Strength: as imparted to us.
2. Credit to YHWH the importance His reputation [is due]!
Worship YHWH in the adornment of holiness!
Adornment: beautiful decoration; i.e., let dedication to Him alone be what you “wear” when bowing down to Him.
3. The voice of YHWH is over the waters;
the El Who carries most weight [makes us tremble with His] thundering!
YHWH is over many waters.
Over the waters: probably an allusion to the creation account. (Gen. 1:2)
4. The voice of YHWH sounds powerfully;
the voice of YHWH is majestic!
5. YHWH’s voice is breaking the cedar [tree]s;
YHWH is indeed splintering [even] the cedars of Levanon!
Cedars of Levanon: since the earth’s pole shifted by 6 degrees between the first and second temples (shown by the change in alignment which each of them had toward true east in its time), at this time the climate of Israel was more like northern California than its southern-California-like climate of today, so cedars of Levanon, as impressive as they are today, would have grown as large as redwood trees at this time, making this statement even more significant.
6. He makes them frolic around like a calf—
Levanon and Siryon like the offspring of a wild ox.
Frolic: skip or dance merrily. Siryon: a Tsidonian name for Mt. Hermon (Deut. 3:9), emphasizing its snow cover. Tsidon is one of the city-states (along with Tzur, or Tyre) that controlled access to the cedars of Levanon. (2 Shmu’el 5:11) It is the largest massif on the border between Israel, Syria, and Lebanon today. Wild ox: a now-extinct animal still extant at his time; some even render it unicorn. In Arabic the cognate word refers to a white antelope—also very sure on its feet.
7. The voice of YHWH splits the flames of fire!
8. YHWH’s voice makes the wilderness to swirl about;
YHWH makes the Wilderness of Qadesh to whirl.
Swirl/whirl: to writhe or twist about—possibly referring to the wind changing the patterns of the sand, as this particular wilderness is (at least now) desert.
9. YHWH’s voice makes the does give birth and strips the forest [of its trees],
and in His temple, everyone says, “Honor!”
Give birth: i.e., due to its startling volume. “Give birth” is not the most common term for this concept, but a play on the “whir or swirl” of the previous verse, being a different form of the same root word, probably emphasizing the writhing when trying to be delivered of the offspring. Strips of trees: seen when Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980. Levanon and Sirion are in a volcanic zone, and sometimes active volcanoes blow chunks of themselves a great distance, which the “frolicking” of verse 6 may describe. Honor: or glory, but the term really means “heavy” (as used in v. 3 as “carries weight”), for anyone seeing YHWH’s marvels of this sort would be impressed by His superiority over the comical gods of pagan lore.
10. YHWH remained seated for the Deluge,
and YHWH remains seated as king forever!
Remained seated: us unfazed by it; or, took His throne (as dominant over those rebels against Him whom He destroyed by the Deluge).
11. YHWH will give His people boldness;
YHWH will bless His people with total well-being.
PSALM 30
(A Psalm. A song of dedication of a house for Dawid.)
1. I will lift You up, O YHWH, because You have pulled me free
and have not let my enemies triumph over me.
2. YHWH, My Elohim, I cried out to You for help
and You healed me!
3. YHWH, You brought my soul up out of the underworld;
You kept me alive so I would not go down into a pit.
4. Sing praise to YHWH, O [you] who have deep faith in Him,
and give thanks for [the] reminder of His holiness!
5. Though for a moment [we] experience His anger,
for a lifetime we experience His goodwill!
[You] may spend a night weeping, but in the morning—a ringing shout of joy!
6. As for me, when I was at ease [and prosperous], I said,
“I will never be dislodged!”
7. YHWH, [when I was] in Your favor
You made me stand as firm as a strong mountain range.
You concealed Your face [and] I became alarmed.
8. I started to cry out to You, O YHWH,
And I begged Adonai for favor.
Adonai: literally, “my Lord” (majestic plural).
9. What profit is there in my blood when I go down into a pit of destruction?
Will the dust thank You? Will it declare Your truth?
10. Listen to me, O YHWH, and show me favor!
O YHWH, be a help to me!
11. You have turned my wailing into dancing for me!
You have loosened my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness!
Sackcloth: traditionally worn when mourning or in deep repentance.
12. In order that honor may sing praise to You and not remain muted,
O YHWH, my Elohim, I thank You for [a whole] age!
PSALM 31
(For the chief musician; a psalm of Dawid)
1. In You, O YHWH, I seek refuge; never let me be put to shame!
In Your righteousness, deliver me to safety!
2. Bend Your ear toward me; rescue me quickly!
Become a rock of refuge for me, like the inside of a fortress to keep me safe!
Inside: literally, house, often used in contrast to the outside, where one could still be open to assault.
3. Because You are my [high] cliff and my stronghold,
So for Your own sake, lead me and guide me to a well-watered place.
4. Get me out of this trap that they have secretly laid for me,
because You are my place of protection.
5. Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have ransomed me, O YHWH, Elohim of faithfulness.
Commit my spirit: This is a traditional prayer upon going to sleep, the time that is most like death, in trust that He will “return our souls to our bodies”. This was given fuller meaning when Yeshua prayed it just before his departure into the realm over which he had no control, relying upon YHWH’s promise not to let His holy one undergo corruption. (16:10; Luke 23:46) Faithfulness: literally, being true (to His Word).
6. I have turned down those who [try to] keep empty, fleeting things [boxed in];
instead, I have directed my trust toward YHWH.
Turned down: repudiated, rejected, rebuffed—the choice left unchosen. Fleeting: literally a vapor. This is the essence of idolatry: trying to embody an abstract—or spiritual—idea in a corporeal form, so as to have a semblance of controlling it, while it is actually elusive. YHWH, in contrast, means “the One who always is—in every tense”.
7. I will be glad and rejoice in Your kindness,
by which You took my affliction into consideration;
You have acknowledged the distresses of my soul
Distresses: stressors or tight spots.
8. and have not let an enemy’s hand close in around me;
You have let my feet stand in a wide-open space.
9. Show me favor, O YHWH, because I am in dire straits!
My eye wastes away with vexation, [along with] my soul and my belly!
10. Because my life is used up with grief and my years with groaning;
my strength is drained away by my iniquity and my bones waste away!
Drained away: or collapses, falters, fails.
11. I am the object of scorn from all my oppressors,
but especially to my neighbors;
I am a horror to those who recognize me,
and those who see me outside run away from me!
12. I am forgotten from mind like a dead [person];
I have become like a lost tool,
13. because I have heard the defamation of many, terror from every side
while they plot together against me; they scheme to take my life!
14. But I have set my trust on you, O YHWH;
I have declared, “You are mt Elohim!”
15. My times are in Your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who are pursuing me!
16. Smile upon Your servant;
in Your kindness, deliver me!
Smile: literally, make Your face shine.
17. O YHWH, don’t let me be put to shame, because I have called to You!
Let the wicked be [the ones who are] put to shame;
let them go underground in silence.
18. Let the lying lips that speak against the righteous be bound--
insolence with haughtiness and contempt.
19. How great is Your goodness,
which You have stored up for those who revere You;
You have done [this] for those who seek refuge in You
in front of the sons of Adam.
20. You will conceal them in the shelter of Your presence
from the conspiracies of man;
You will hide them in a sukkah from the strife of tongues.
21. Blessed is YHWH, because He has shown me His extraordinary kindness
in a city under siege.
22. Though I said when I was alarmed, “I am cut off from before Your face!”,
You actually did listen to the voice of my pleas for favor
when I cried out to You for help!
23. Love YHWH, all [you] His devout ones;
YHWH preserves the faithful [from danger]
and brings payback on the rest who act arrogantly.
Love: don’t just be faithful and devoted to Him, but enjoy Him also!
24. Hold on tightly, and He will make your hearts courageous,
all [of you] who wait expectantly for YHWH!
PSALM 32
(Belonging to Dawid: a contemplative poem)
1. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!
2. Blessed is the person to whom YHWH does not charge iniquity,
in whose spirit there is no negligence.
3. When I kept silent, my bones wore out
through my moaning all day long
4. because day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
the moisture in me was turned into the drought of summer.
Ponder this.
5. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not conceal;
I said, “I will make confession about my transgressions to YHWH”,
and You lifted off the crookedness of my error!
[I will] ponder this.
6. On account of this everyone who is devout will pray to You
in a time when [You] may be found;
even in [something as bad as] a flood of many waters, it will not reach him.
7. You are a hiding place for me; You will blockade me from distress.
You will surround me with ringing shouts of “Deliverance!”
Ponder this!
Deliverance: rescue, a means of escape.
8. “I will give you insight and instruct you
in the particular path on which you should walk.
I will advise you; My eye is on you!”
9. Don’t become like the horse [or] like the mule, [which have] no un derstanding;
with trappings of bit and bridle they must be restrained,
[or they’ll] hardly get close to you.
10. The wicked have many [kinds of] suffering,
but kindness will surround the one who trusts in YHWH.
11. Be joyful in YHWH, and be glad, you who do right,
And give a ringing cry of delight, all [you] who who are unbent [in] heart!
PSALM 33
1. Shout for joy in YHWH, [you] righteous ones!
Praise is appropriate for those who are upright.
2. Thank YHWH on a harp;
Play music to Him on a ten-stringed instrument!
3. Sing to Him a [fresh] new song;
please Him with a melody played loudly.
4. YHWH’s word is right,
and all His acts [are done] in faithfulness.
Right: straight, level, or upright--not crooked or flawed in any way.
5. He loves what is just and proper legal procedures;
The earth is filled with the kindness of YHWH.
6. By the word of YHWH the heavens were fashioned,
And all their hosts by the breath of His mouth.
Hosts: commanded armies, ordered forces; here, an idiom for the stars and other heavenly bodies.
7. He gathers the waters of the sea together as [if in] a pile;
He puts [the] depths in storehouses.
8. Let the whole earth revere YHWH;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him,
9. because He spoke and it came into being;
He commanded, and it remained in place.
10. YHWH brings the purpose of the nations to nothing;
He restrains the plans of the peoples.
Restrains: holds back, frustrates, hinders.
11. The purpose of YHWH remains standing forever,
the plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12. Blessed is the nation whose Elohim is YHWH,
the people He has chosen as an inheritance for Himself.
The nation: Israel, of course, but also any other that adopts YHWH as its King.
13. YHWH looks [down] from the heavens;
He sees all the sons of the human race.
Sees: or inspects.
14. From the place of His dwelling,
He gazes at all the inhabitants of the earth.
15. He forms [all] their hearts alike;
He gives consideration to all of their activities.
Alike: or together, in unity, individually, one by one.
16. There is no king who is saved by the size of his army;
a brave [warrior] is not delivered by [his] great strength.
17. [Relying on] a horse for deliverance will disappoint [you],
and its great strength will not [help you] escape.
18. Look! YHWH’s eye is on those who revere Him--
those who place their expectation on His kindness
19. to rescue their soul from death.
and to keep them alive in a famine.
20. Our soul waits for YHWH;
He is our helper and our defender,
21. because through Him, our heart will be glad,
since we have trusted in His reputation for being one of a kind.
22. O YHWH, let Your lovingkindness come over us,
to the extent that we wait expectantly for You.
Or possibly, just as we would expect from You.
PSALM 34
(Of Dawid, when he changed his [demeanor to feign loss of] sanity, who drove him away, and he departed)
1. I will bless YHWH at every time;
His praise will be in my mouth continually.
2. YHWH [is the One] my soul will boast about;
the humble will hear and be glad.
3. Magnify YHWH with me!
Together let’s raise His reputation higher!
Magnify: amplify, elaborate or expand on the truth about Him, for we can only describe, not actually enlarge what He is.
4. I inquired of YHWH, and He listened to me
and rescued me from everything I feared.
5. They took Him into consideration and brightened up,
and their faces were no longer ashamed.
6. This afflicted [man] called out, and YHWH heard
And saved him out of all of his distresses.
7. The messenger of YHWH encamps all around those who revere Him
and he rescues them.
8. Taste and see that YHWH is good!
The valiant one who seeks refuge in Him is blessed!
9. Show reverence for YHWH, [you] His holy ones,
Because there is no lack for those who revere Him.
10. Young lions are in want and [suffer] hunger,
but those who avail themselves of recourse to YHWH will not lack anything good.
11. Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach You to respect YHWH.
Teach: or prod, goad.
12. Who is the man who desires life
and loves [length of] days so that he may see good [things]?
13. Keep your tongue away from evil
And your lips from speaking [what is] dishonest.
14. Turn away from evil and do good;
Seek out peace and chase after it!
Peace: or, total well-being.
15. The eyes of YHWH are on righteous people;
His ears [are open] to their cries for help.
16. YHWH’s face is set against those who do evil
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17. They cried out, and YHWH heard
and rescued them out of all of their distresses.
This is verse 6 multiplied into the plural.
18. YHWH is close to those whose heart is broken
and whose spirit is crushed.
19. Many are the troubles of a righteous person,
But YHWH rescues him out of them all!
20. He preserves all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21. May the wicked be put to death!
May the evil and those who hate the righteous be [condemned as] guilty!
22. YHWH ransoms the soul of His servants,
and none of those who seek refuge in Him will be held guilty.
Ransoms the soul: This became literally true when He provided Yeshua as payment for our guilt.
PSALM 35
(Belonging to Dawid.)
1. Conduct a legal case, O YHWH, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who war with me!
2. Grab hold of shield and buckler,
and rise to be my help!
Shield: literally, defender which surrounds. Buckler: a larger shield than the first type.
3. And draw out the spear
and block off the encounter of those who are chasing me!
Tell my soul, “I am your deliverance!”
4. Let those who are seeking [to end] my life be put to shame and humiliated;
let those who are devising trouble for me
be turned around backwards and disoriented!
5. Let them become like chaff before [the] wind,
and let an angel of YHWH push them down!
6. Let their path be obscured and slippery,
and let an angel of YHWH chase them [away]!
7. Because for no reason they have secretly laid their net [in a pit]
for my destruction,
which they have dug for my life, though [I] don’t deserve it!
8. Let devastation come upon him unexpectedly!
Let him be caught in the very trap that he himself set;
let him fall into it [to his] ruin,
9. and my soul will be glad in YHWH.
Rejoice in His deliverance!
10. All the parts of my body will say, “YHWH, who is like You—
delivering the afflicted from one who is stronger than he,
yes, the poor and needy from the one who plunders him?”
11. Violent [false] witnesses whom I do not know
are rising up and interrogating me!
12. They pay me back evil in place of good
to my soul’s bereavement!
13. But as for me, when they were sick, what I wore was sackcloth;
I afflicted my soul with fasting
so that my prayer might return upon my own bosom.
Fasting: This verse sheds light on the meaning of the command in Lev. 16:29.
14. I paced back and forth as if he were my companion—or my brother!
I bowed down in darkness like one mourning for a mother!
15. But when I was limping, they were glad and gathered together;
Attackers assembled against me when I did not know it.
They tore [at me] and would not be quiet!
16. Like irreverent feast-buffoons,
they [snapped and] ground their teeth at me!
Feast-buffoons: literally, mockers of cake—i.e., comedic entertainers hired for a drinking party.
17. Adonai, how long will You [just] watch?
Bring my soul back from their devastations,
my one and only [life] from the[se] young lions!
18. I will thank You in the great assembly;
among the uncountable people, I will rave about You!
Great assembly: or grand congregating—i.e., when all Israel gathers at the three pilgrimage festivals.
19. Don’t let my enemies be wrongfully glad about me,
[nor let] those who hate me wink their eye when [I] don’t deserve it!
20. Because they don’t speak peace[fully],
but against the unobtrusive [people] of the land they devise [crafty] deception!
21. They even opened their mouths widely over me
and said, “Aha! Aha! Our eyes have seen it!”
Those who think they have to answer to no one often gloat foolishly like mocking children.
22. You have seen [it], YHWH! Don’t remain silent!
Don’t distance Yourself from me!
23. Rouse Yourself, My Elohim, to vindicate me,
and cause a stir, my Lord, to plead my cause!
24. Give Your verdict according to righteousness, O YHWH my Elohim,
and don’t let them gloat about me!
25. Don’t let them say in their hearts, “Aha! [We have] what we desired!”
Don’t let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”
26. Let [all] those who are glad about my trouble be put to shame and confounded;
Let those who grow arrogant against me
be clothed with humiliation and disgrace!
27. Let those who desire my vindication be overjoyed and made glad,
and let them constantly say,
“May YHWH be promoted, who delights in His servant’s well-being!”
28. My tongue, too, will declare how You are righteous
[and] praise You all day long!
PSALM 36
(For the chief musician; [a psalm] belonging to Dawid, for the servant of YHWH)
1. A declaration of rebellion belonging to the guilty one—deep within my own heart [as well]!
There is no dread of YHWH in front of his eyes,
My own heart: Dawid does not pretend that he could not become just like one of those he is describing.
2. because he apportions to himself in his own eyes,
To find out his crookedness, to hate [it].
3. The words of his mouth are harmful and dishonest;
he has left consideration and doing good behind.
4. He devises trouble on his bed.
He sets himself on a path that is not good; he does not despise evil.
Having made it clear in verse 1 that wickedness is just a matter of degree among all human beings, he now presents the contrasting high standard against which all wickedness can alone be measured and defined:
5. O YHWH, Your lovingkindness is in the skies;
Your faithfulness [reaches] as far as the thinnest [part of the atmosphere].
6. Your righteousness is like the highest [looming] mountains;
Your [decisive] verdicts have great depth!
O YHWH, You preserve [both] human and animal.
Highest: Heb., El, a variant of Elohim; i.e., the superlative form of whatever the term is describing.
7. How precious is Your mercy, O Elohim!
The children of Adam seek refuge under the shade of Your wings.
8. They are abundantly satisfied with the choicest things from Your house,
and You give them a drink from the rushing torrent of Your delightful things!
9. For with You is the source of life;
through Your illumination we perceive light!
10. Prolong Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And [keep] doing right to the upright [in] heart.
11. Don’t let the foot of pride come against me,
or [let] the hand of the wicked cause me to stagger!
12. The perpetrators of crookedness have fallen there[by];
they have been thrust down, and are unable to get [back] up!
PSALM 37
(Belonging to Dawid.)
1. Don’t let yourself get worked up into a rage because of evildoers,
or be excited to jealousy by those who cause injustice,
2. because like the grass they will soon be cut [down]
and will wither away like the verdant vegetation.
3. Trust in YHWH and do [what is] good;
Settle down [on the] Land and feed [on His] faithfulness!
4. Let yourself be delighted about YHWH,
and He will grant you your heart’s petitions.
5. Roll your [the] direction of your [life] onto YHWH,
and trust Him, and He will bring it about.
Roll: compare “cast your burden onto” Him in 55:22.
6. He will also bring out your righteousness like the light,
and [will make] justice [shine for] you like the noonday [sun]!
Like a sudden break in the clouds, He will come through for you.
7. Be quiet toward YHWH and [if you are going to] be anxious, let it be for Him.
Don’t let yourself burn [in frustration] over the one who is successful in his way,
over the man who accomplishes his [evil] purposes,
8. Withdraw from anger and leave wrath behind;
don’t get frustrated; it only causes trouble,
9. because evildoers will be cut off,
But those who [pin their] hope [on] YHWH—
they [are the ones who] will inherit the Land.
Land: or earth; compare verse 11.
10. Because only a little while longer, and there will be no wicked [one];
indeed, you will look hard for his place, and it will not be there!
11. But the meek will inherit the earth,
and will delight themselves over the sheer abundance of well-being!
This is why Yeshua said the meek (the poor, humble, afflicted, and oppressed) are blessed (see verse 22!) despite present appearances. (Mat. 5:5) Hold patiently to what is right, and you will win in the end.
12. The wicked [one] devises plots against the righteous,
and grinds his teeth in regard to him.
He is the one who should be frustrated, since he knows he is the one kicking against the goads of reality.
13. YHWH laughs at him,
because He sees that his time is coming.
14. The wicked have drawn their sword and bent their bow [with their feet]
to make the poor and needy drop [even] lower, to butcher those whose way is upright.
With their feet: implied in the word; think of how much more tension one could put into a taut bowstring with one’s legs than with one’s arms; they are this ambitious to destroy those who are good.
15. Their sword will enter their own heart,
and their bows will be splintered into pieces.
They strained so hard at their bows in their frenzied eagerness to be rid of those whose very existence highlights their guilt, that they reached the breaking point and shattered.
16. The little that the righteous person has
is better than the wealth of many wicked people!
17. because the strong arms of the wicked will be broken,
but YHWH is the support of the righteous.
18. YHWH is intimately familiar with the days of those [with] integrity,
and their heritage will continue to the Age.
The Age: that is, the Age to Come, when most of the rewards for our present decisions will be realized.
19. They will not be disconcerted in the time of evil,
and in the days of the worst famine, they will still remain full,
Full: or satisfied; i.e., they will not go hungry.
20. because the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of YHWH, have vanished like the splendor of the meadow—
they have disappeared into smoke.
21. The wicked [person] borrows but does not repay,
but the righteous [person] shows consideration and keeps giving,
22. because those blessed by him shall inherit the earth,
while those He considers of little account will be cut off.
By him: either the generous righteous person of v. 22, or YHWH who is behind his giving, or (most probably) both, for YHWH is indeed the most righteous one.
23. The steps of a man of valor are established from YHWH,
and his way will be pleasing [to him].
The “his” is ambivalent; it could apply to either YHWH or the man, or, again, both.
24. Though he falls, it will not [be as if] he were hurled down,
because YHWH upholds [him with] His hand.
Hurled: dashed to the ground, by which he would expect to be severely injured. Or, upholds his hand.
25. I was [once] young and I have also experienced age,
yet I have not [ever] seen the righteous forsaken
or his descendants begging [for] bread.
26. All day long he is considerate and lends,
and his descendants will turn out to be a blessing.
27. Turn away from evil and do good—
and settle into the Age!
28. Because YHWH loves justice and will never abandon His reverent ones;
they are protected, but what is sown by the wicked will be cut off.
Protected: the tense is actually perfect, indicating that they have already been reserved and sealed for preservation. What is sown by the wicked: Compare Yeshua’s dictum that any plant that his Father has not planted will be cut down. (Mat. 15:13)
29. Righteous ones will inherit the Land
and settle down on it forever.
30. The mouth of a righteous [person] utters wisdom
and his tongue speaks forth justice.
31. The Instruction of his Elohim is on his heart
and his steps will not be unstable.
Instruction: Heb., Torah. On his heart: which means he is already a partaker of the renewed covenant. (Yirmeyahu/Jer. 31:33) Unstable: literally shaking or slipping/sliding.
32. The wicked one spies on the righteous
and demands to have him put to death;
We still see numerous examples of this in modern politics, if we consider the “death” metaphorical.
33. YHWH will not leave him in his hand
and will not condemn him as guilty when he is judged.
34. Look toward YHWH for your expectation, and guard His direction,
and He will raise you up to inherit the Land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will be watching.
35. I have seen the wicked spreading terror
and spreading out unhindered like a verdant, naturally-growing tree,
36. yet when he passed away, he was no longer there;
though I looked hard for him, he could not be found.
The historybooks tend to forget those whose intrepidness is not directed to a beneficial purpose.
37. Pay attention to the person of integrity and watch the upright,
because [that] man has a prosperous future,
Prosperous: Heb., shalom—one of total well-being.
38. while rebels will be altogether annihilated;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
Rebels: literally those who transgress or cross a line they are not authorized to cross. Annihilated: or exterminated (from the earth); it does not seem to be speaking of their souls.
39. But the deliverance of the righteous is from YHWH,
[who is] their place of refuge in a time of distress.
40. YHWH will both help them and let them slip away to safety;
He will let them escape from the wicked and bring them victory,
because they seek [their] protection in Him.
PSALM 38
(A psalm of Dawid, for a reminder.)
1. O YHWH, don’t make a [binding] decision about me
during Your splintering indignation;
when You are hot with rage, don’t [choose that time to] discipline me!
2. Because Your arrows penetrate deeply into me,
and Your hand is pressing down on me.
3. No part of my flesh remains completely intact in the face of Your indignation;
There is no healthiness in my bones in the face of my error.
Healthiness: wholeness; Heb., shalom. Bones: or simply, bodily members.
4. Because my own crookednesses have gotten [me in] over my head;
like a weighty burden, they are becoming too heavy for me!
Over: surpassing, overwhelming, growing too big to handle.
5. My wounds are festering [and emitting] a foul odor
due to the existence of my own foolishness.
6. I am all bent out of shape and stooped over [under the weight]
to the point of collapsing;
all day long I go around in a darkness [as if I were in mourning]
7. since [even] the plump parts of my thighs are full of inflammation
and there is no soundness in my flesh!
8. I have gone numb and am crushed to the extreme;
I groan from the agitation of my heart.
9. Adonai, my longing is obvious to You,
and my sighing is not hidden from You.
10. My heart has been palpitating, my strength has failed,
and [as for] the light of my eyes, I don’t even have them with me!
11. My loved ones and friends remain at a distance [due to] my plague,
and those [who were] close to me stand afar off!
12. And those who aim to lay traps for me are demanding my life,
while those who seek to injure me speak of calamity,
and all day long they plot deceptions.
13. But I, like a deaf man, am not hearing,
and like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14. Indeed, I am becoming like a man who does not hear
and in whose mouth there is no argument,
15. because for You, O YHWH, I wait expectantly;
You will answer, Adonai, my Elohim.
16. Because I said, “Lest they rejoice over me;
[lest] when my foot slips, they magnify themselves over me!”
17. Because I am ready to stumble;
My pain is constantly in the forefront [of my consciousness],
18. because I admit my crookedness;
I will be in anguish as a result of my sin.
Anguish: or anxiety, concern.
19. But my enemies are full of vigor; they are [so] strong!
Those who hate me wrongfully have become [so] numerous!
Wrongfully: or, because they have been deceived, having been given false information.
20. And those who pay back evil for good have become my adversaries;
I, instead, [am choosing] to pursue [what is] good.
21. Don’t forsake me, O YHWH my Elohim!
Don’t remove [Yourself] far from me!
22. Come quickly to my aid,
O Adonai, my Deliverance!
PSALM 39
(For the chief musician, Y'duthun; [a psalm] of Dawid)
1. I said, “I will keep a careful watch over my ways
to avoid sinning with my tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are in my sight!”
2. I bound myself to silence; I remained inactive, even from [doing] good,
and my sorrow was stirred up.
3. My heart was heated up within my innermost [self];
while I was deliberating, the fire kept burning.
I spoke with my tongue!
4. O YHWH, let me know my limit and what the extent of my days is,
[so] I will know how frail I am!
Frail: literally, fleeting or transient, short-lived; compare Psalm 90:9-12.
5. Look! You have allowed my days [to be mere] handbreadths,
And to You the length of my life is as if it did not exist!
Indeed, [it is] all a [mere] vapor—every human being at his best!
Think about [it].
Handbreadths: the width of the palm, not the span of the spread fingers; i.e., quite minimal! His best: literally, while he stands upright, at his most stable.
6. Each [man] walks around in just a shadow!
Oh! They get so worked up for nothing!
He piles up [goods] and does not even know who will gather them.
7. And now, what am I hoping for?
O Adonai, my expectation is [turned] toward You!
8. From all [the times I have] overstepped boundaries, rescue me!
Don’t let me be the reproach of fool!
9. I was speechless; I was not opening my mouth,
because You had brought [this] about.
10. Take away Your blow from being upon me;
due to the opposition of Your hand, I am being finished off!
Blow: i.e., a stroke, a hit, a pounding. Opposition: or hostility, conflict. Finished off: spent or used up.
11. When You discipline a man with corrections in regard to iniquity,
You make his desire melt away like a moth!
Oh! Every man is [nothing but] a [passing] vapor!
Think about [it].
Melt away: or vanish—as if drawn inexplicably to a flame and consumed thereby.
12. Hear my prayer, O YHWH, and bend Your ear to my cry for help!
Don’t be deaf to my tears, because I am a [mere] guest with You,
a temporary inhabitant [just passing through], as all my ancestors [were]!
13. Remove Your scrutiny from me, so that I can have a little break,
before I depart and there is nothing left of me!
Have a little break: have some brief comfort, and recover my strength.
PSALM 40
(To the chief musician; belonging to Dawid: a psalm)
1. I looked eagerly for YHWH, waiting expectantly,
and He turned toward me and listened to my cry for help.
2. He lifted me up out of the unstable pit, out of the miry mud,
and stood my feet upon a [solid] rock, making my steps sure,
Unstable: or tumultuous, roaring, turbulent, chaotic. Sure: stable, secure, fixed, firm.
3. and He has put a fresh song in my mouth—a [song of] praise to our Elohim;
many will see [it] and be in awe, and put their trust in YHWH.
4. Blessed is the valiant one who makes YHWH his security
and does not turn to the proud, or fall prey to lies.
Fall prey: or swerve, turn aside.
5. Many are the extraordinary things You have done, O YHWH,
and Your thoughts toward us;
There is nothing that compares to You!
Let me tell about [them], let me talk about [them]—
they are more than can be counted!
6. Slaughtering and tribute You have not desired;
both ears You have opened for me.
You did not ask for an ascending offering or a sin offering.
7. Then I said, “Look! I have come
(on the scroll of a legal document it is written about me)
Very early on this was recognized as a Messianic prophecy (Heb. 10:7, 9) about Yeshua being what YHWH actually desired when He prescribed flawless animal offerings—the closest we could come to what was really needed, since they were more innocent than we, but not really adequate to deal with our sin at its root.
8. “to do what You [really] want, my Elohim! [It is] my pleasure!
Your instruction is at the center of my affection!
9. I have announced the glad news of righteousness in the great assembly.
Look! You do know, O YHWH, [that] I am not restraining my lips!
Great assembly: during one of the three annual convocations of all Israel.
10. I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your deliverance!
I have not denied Your kindness or Your reliability to the great assembly.
11. You, O YHWH, do not hold back Your compassions from me;
Your kindness and Your reliability keep watch over me continually.
12. So many troubles have surrounded me that I’ve lost count of them;
My crooked [deeds] have caught up with me, so that I am unable to see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me!
13. Be pleased, O YHWH, to rescue me;
O YHWH, hurry to my aid!
14. Let [all] those who seek to sweep away my life
be put to shame and confounded together;
Let them be driven back and humiliated who wish me trouble!
15. Let them be stupefied as a consequence of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
16. Let all those who are seeking You rejoice and be glad in You!
Let those who love Your deliverance constantly say, “Be magnified, O YHWH!”
17. Though I am lowly and oppressed, [still] Adonai thinks about me!
You are my help and the One who brings me to safety, My Elohim; don’t be late!
PSALM 41
(To the chief musician; a psalm of Dawid)
1. Blessed is the one who takes the poor into consideration;
in the day of trouble, YHWH will let him escape.
2. YHWH will watch over him and keep him alive, and he will be allowed to advance on earth,
and You will not give him over to the appetites of his enemies.
3. YHWH will sustain him on a sickbed;
Whenever he is convalescent, You will turn his illness around.
4. I said, “O YHWH, show me favor; heal me,
because I have sinned against You!”
5. My enemies are promising trouble for me:
“When will he die, and his reputation be erased?”
6. And if he comes to see, he says worthless things; his heart gathers crookedness to him.
when he goes [back] outside, he will talk [about it].
7. All who hate me are united, whispering about me;
They are plotting against me to hurt me:
8. “A worthless thing is poured out on him,
and whenever he lies down, he will never get up again!”
9. Even a man who is at peace with me, in whom I trusted—
who ate my bread—has made his heel powerful against me!
Yeshua (Yoch. 13:18) took this as a prophecy about Yehudah (Judas), possibly clued in by the heel theme that hints at Genesis 3:15, though Yeshua would thus end up being the one with the victorious heel—not over Judas but over the one he was inadvertently working for:
10. But You, O YHWH—favor me and make me stand firm
So that I can bring recompense on them!
Recompense: payback in kind, having them receive the treatment they wanted to dole out—i.e., the one they thought would be the victim of the heel would conquer with his heel.
11. By this I know that You are pleased with me:
because my enemy does not raise a triumphant shout over me.
12. But as for me, You uphold me in my integrity
and station me perpetually before Your face.
13. Blessed is YHWH, Elohim of Israel,
since [the obscure] antiquity and until the Age [to come].
[This is] firmly established and reliable!
PSALM 42
(For the chief musician; a poem of contemplation, belonging to the descendants of Qorakh)
1. As the deer pants over the brooks of water,
that is how my soul longs for You, O Elohim!
2. My soul is thirsty for Elohim—for the living Elohim!
When can I come and appear before Elohim?
Appear: literally, be seen.
3. My tears have been my food day and night,
when all day long they say to me, “Where has your Elohim gone?”
Where: not the locative sense, but they are asking why He has not been in evidence like He used to be.
4. Nevertheless, these [are the things] I remember
when I pour out my soul in regard to myself:
I used to travel with the crowd;
I went with them in process all the way to the House of Elohim.
With a voice proclaiming joy and thanksgiving,
a throng was keeping the pilgrimage festival!
5. My soul, why are you bowed down [in despair] and troubled about myself?
Wait expectantly for Elohim, for yet again I will give thanks to Him
[for] the deliverance of His face!
6. O Elohim, my soul is bowed down in regard to myself;
for this very reason I remember You from the land of the Yarden
and [the summits of Mount] Hermon and the Hill of Mitz’ar!
These locations are in the northeasternmost part of Israel, in what was then Nafthali’s and Menashe’s territory.
7. Depth calls out to depth at the noise of Your waterspouts;
all of Your breakers and waves have passed over me!
Depth: an abyss-like chasm, often under the sea, as here. Waterspouts: “pipes” in the rock through which the breaking billows pass and shoot upward. Yonah recalls and even quotes this psalm when in the belly of the great fish, and also refers several times to going back to YHWH’s Temple. (Yonah 2:2-8, as in vv. 2-4 here.)
8. In the daytime YHWH will put His lovingkindness in charge,
and at night His song will be with me—a prayer to the Elohim of my life.
9. I will say to Elohim, the Cliff of my [security],
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go about in darkness [as if mourning]
because of an enemy’s oppression?”
10. [As if] with a shattering of my bones
those who are putting me in distress taunt me
when they say to me all day long, “Where has your Elohim gone?”
11. My soul, why are you bowed down [in despair]
and why [are you] troubled about myself?
Wait expectantly for Elohim, for yet again I will give thanks to Him
[who is] the deliverance of my face and my Elohim!
PSALM 43
1. Vindicate me, O Elohim, and plead my cause from a nation [that is] not devout;
from a deceitful and unjust man, let me escape,
2. because You are the Elohim of my refuge!
Why do you reject me [like something that stinks]?
Why do I go around in the dark [as if in mourning], under pressure from an enemy?
3. Send out Your light and Your truth! They can guide me!
They can bring me to the mountain of Your holiness and to Your dwelling place.
4. When I can go to the altar of Elohim,
to Elohim [about whom] I am glad to rejoice,
I will thank You with the harp, O Elohim, my Elohim!
5. Why are you bowed low, O my soul?
And why are you in an uproar over myself?
Wait expectantly for Elohim, because I will again thank Him—
The deliverance of my face, and my Elohim!
PSALM 44
(For the chief musician, belonging to the descendants of Qorakh; a poem of contemplation)
1. O Elohim, with our ears we have heard;
Our fathers have recounted to us the deeds You did in their days—in the days of old.
2. You—Your hand—dispossessed the nations, and You planted them
You brought trouble to the peoples, and You sent them away.
Them (first instance): our ancestors (v. 1).
3. Because not by their own sword did they gain possession of the Land,
nor did their own arm deliver them,
because [it was] Your right hand and Your arm, and the light of Your face
because You were pleased with them.
They used their swords and arms, but they only succeeded because they were under YHWH’s direction:
4. You are the One who is my King, O Elohim;
take charge of Yaaqov’s victories!
5. Through You we will thrust out our oppressors;
in Your Name we will trample down those who rise up [against] us,
6. because I will not trust in my bow,
nor shall my sword save me,
7. because You have saved us from our oppressors
and put to shame those who hated us.
8. In Elohim we have made our boast all the day [long]
And we give thanks to Your Name forever.
Consider this carefully.
9. But You have cast us off and made us a reproach,
and You have not been going out among our armies!
10. You make us turn our back[s] on account of an oppressor,
And those who hate us have taken plunder for themselves!
Turn our backs: i.e., run away from.
11. You have given us over like sheep [to become] food,
and have scattered us among the nations.
12. You have been selling Your people for an insufficient [price],
and You are not profiting by their sale.
13. You make us and object of scorn to our neighbors,
[the brunt of] ridicule and a laughingstock to those all around us.
14. You make us a byword among the nations,
A [reason for] the peoples to shake their heads [in derision].
15. All day [long] my disgrace is right in front of me;
the shame of my face has overwhelmed me
16. because of the voice of the one who taunts and reviles [with cutting words],
because of the presence of an enemy and avenger.
17. Though all this has come upon us, we have not forgotten You,
Nor have we been untrue to Your covenant.
18. Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from Your path,
Path: course, way of life, route of travel.
19. though You have crushed us to pieces in a place [full] of dragons
and covered us up with the shadow of death.
20. If we had forgotten the Name of our Elohim
or stretched out our hands to a foreign deity,
21. wouldn’t Elohim investigate this thoroughly?
Because He knows the things a heart [tries to] hide!
22. Yet for Your sake we have been slain all day [long];
we are counted as sheep [to be] slaughtered [for meat].
23. Rouse Yourself! Why do You sleep, my Master?
Wake up! Don’t keep perpetually rejecting us!
24. Why do You keep concealing Your face,
Forgetting our affliction and the scantiness of our [supply]?
25. Because our soul has sunk down into the dust;
our belly sticks to the ground!
26. Get up! [Come] to our aid
and ransom us for the sake of Your lovingkindness!
PSALM 45
(For the chief musician, on six-stringed instruments; an instructive poem belonging to the sons of Qorakh—a love song.)
Six-stringed instruments: or “six-petalled flowers”—possibly the name of a common tune.
1. My heart is overflowing [with] a good matter!
I am speaking to the king of things that I have composed;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer!
Ready writer: or skilled/quick/prompt scribe.
2. You are better-looking than the children of Adam;
favor is poured out onto your lips.
Therefore Elohim has blessed you forever.
It becomes clear below that he is speaking of the Messiah, who is only the second specimen ever seen of what Adam was before he fell—a beauty that was diminished in all of his descendants (Gen. 5:3) until this one came along who again bore the full image of Elohim—so of course, especially once he was promoted to the higher level because of his faithfulness (v. 7), he appears more robust than the sub-humans that all we had previously called humans really are. Before that, he was nothing special to look at (Yeshayahu 53:2), but this is speaking of his return to depose the tyrants who are no longer to be permitted to dominate the earth.
3. Gird your sword to your thigh; your splendor and your dignity are outstanding!
Dignity: or majesty.
4. And your dignity shall prosper!
Ride forth upon the word of truth and righteous gentleness.
Your right hand shall also teach you awesome [thing]s.
Gentleness: humble condescension to the needs of those lesser than you.
5. Your arrows are sharp--peoples fall beneath you—
in the heart of the king’s enemies!
6. Your throne, O elohim, is for ever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
Elohim: as contrasted with the same term in the next verse, see note on Hebrews 1:8.
7. You have loved what is right and hated wickedness. Therefore, Elohim, your Elohim, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than your companions.
Companions: Elohim as such has no peers, but a mighty human judge could.
8. All of your garments [are scented with] myrrh, aloes, and cassia
out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made you glad!
9. Kings’ daughters are among those you prize most highly;
the one with whom you are intimate
stands at your right hand in pure gold [from] Ofir.
Here we see Messiah’s bride. King Shlomo, with his many wives, was a foreshadowing of this but in an imperfect way since all prior kings of Israel were still fallen; Messiah has many honorable, influential women attending and possibly advising him, but in his purity, only one is his intimate partner. She has been taken from another “land”:
10. Listen, O daughter! Direct your attention and incline your ear:
Forget both your countrymen and your father’s household,
11. and the King will crave your beauty, because he is your lord,
so bow to him in homage!
12. And the daughter of Tzor will come with a tribute-gift;
your face will cause the wealthy among the people to wane!
Wane: in comparison, both in influence and in public opinion.
13. All the glory of the king’s daughter is within;
gold is interwoven into her clothing.
Glory: or importance, weightiness. Within: or inward, where it matters most; her outward beauty is just the “icing on the cake”.
14. In vari-colored embroidery will she be brought to the King;
Her virginal attendants who follow her will be brought in to you.
The “you” here is feminine singular.
15. They will be conducted with [a multitude of] joys;
with circles of rejoicing will they be brought into the King’s palace.
16. Your sons, whom you will make into princes throughout the whole earth,
will take the place of your ancestors.
17. I will cause your name to be remembered everywhere
from generation to generation;
therefore peoples will praise you forever and ever!
PSALM 46
[For the Chief Musician, belonging to the descendants of Qorakh, to the tune of “The Young Women”]
1 Elohim is our refuge and strength--a very accessible help in trouble.
2. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be moved, and the mountains be carried into the middle of the sea,
3. though its waters roar and boil over,
though the mountains shake as it wells up so high!
Ponder [this].
4. There is a river, whose split streams shall make glad the city of Elohim--
most unique of the dwelling-places of the Most High.
5. Elohim is in her midst; she will not be dislodged. Elohim will aid her—
like the coming of the [much-watched-for] morning.
6. Nations were in tumult; kingdoms were removed.
He uttered His voice; the earth melted.
7. YHWH [Master] of armies is with us; the Elohim of Yaaqov is our safe tower. Ponder [this].
8. Come, gaze [in wonder] at the masterpieces of Elohim,
who has wrought stunning things on the earth!
Stunning things: the term incorporates both the sense of wonder and also great destruction or appalling desolation, as He will have to do to those who are “destroying the earth”. (Revelation 11:18) But after that:
9. He makes wars to cease to the [very] ends of the earth! He breaks the bow and divides the spear in two; [military] conveyances He burns with fire.
10. “Relax, and realize that I Myself am Elohim. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be raised up on the earth.”
11. YHWH [Master] of armies is with us; the Elohim of Yaaqov is our safe tower. Ponder [this].
PSALM 47
(For the Chief Musician, belonging to the descendants of Qorakh, a psalm.)
1. All [you] peoples, clap your hands!
Raise a shout to Elohim with the sound of a ringing cry!
2. Because YHWH, [the] Most High, is awesome--
a great King over all of the earth!
3. He will declare peoples [to be] under us,
and nations under our feet.
4. He will choose our inheritance for us—
The majesty of Yaaqov, whom He has loved.
Ponder [this].
We will have much more optimal conditions when the all-knowing One does the choosing.
5. Elohim has ascended with a shout,
YHWH with the sound of a shofar!
6. Sing [the] praises of Elohim; sing praises!
Sing praises to our King; sing praises,
Sing praises: or, make music, melody.
7. because Elohim is the King of all the earth;
sing praises knowledgeably.
Knowledgeably: with understanding, comprehension, wisely, with consideration and attentively.
8. Elohim has begun to reign over the nations!
Elohim has taken a seat on His holy throne!
9. Generous ones of [different] nations have been added to the people of the Elohim of Avraham,
because the defenders of earth belong to Elohim; He has been highly exalted!
Added to: or brought into association with, gathered together with. This is what occurs when “the Kingdom of this world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah” (Rev. 11:15)—He shares His wealth and citizenship with those over whom He rules, a complete reversal of the tendencies of the corrupt rulers of this age.
PSALM 48
(A song; a psalm belonging to the descendants of Qorakh)
1. Great is YHWH, and greatly to be praised
in the city of our Elohim, [the] mountain of His holiness!
2. A beautiful sight, a cause for the whole world to rejoice
is Mount Tzion at its northernmost sides—the town of [the] Great King!
Sight: or view. Northernmost sides: where the view is the finest, but just north of Mount Tzion is the Temple complex, which may be the focus of the view the writers are describing. But the very same phrase is linked with “the mountain of the appointed assembly” to describe a part of Heaven to which haSatan aspired to ascend and surpass YHWH’s authority (Yeshayahu 14:13), so the physical place described here is a shadow of something even greater which it represents in our realm.
3. Elohim is in her palaces;
He is known as her place of refuge.
4. Because, look! The kings have met at a designated time;
together they have crossed over.
Crossed over: or passed by.
5. They saw the same [thing] and were astonished;
they were alarmed and they hurried away.
6. Trembling seized them there,
and writhing, like a woman who is giving birth.
7. With a [strong] east wind
You break the ships of Tharshish.
East wind: or, ancient spirit. Ships of Tharshish: the largest, most seaworthy vessels of that time.
8. Just as what we had heard, the same is what we have seen
In the city of YHWH [Master] of Armies, the city of our Elohim.
Elohim will firmly establish it forever.
Ponder [this].
9. We had [tried to find something to] compare
[with] Your lovingkindness, O Elohim,
in the innermost part of Your temple!
Tried to compare: or tried to imagine it, intended or planned to see it,
hoped to find some way to describe it.
10. Your renown is commensurate with Your reputation,
past the outermost limits of the earth;
Your right hand is filled with righteousness!
11. Let Mount Tzion rejoice; let the daughters of Yehudah be glad
on account of Your just verdicts!
12. Make a circuit around Tzion; walk all the way around her;
count [all] her towers!
13. Station your hearts toward her ramparts;
pass through into her fortifications
so that you may recount it [even] to the [very] last generation,
14. because this Elohim is our Elohim forever and ever;
He will be our guide [even] in the matter of death.
Or, He will conduct us over (or beyond) death! He will get us over even that obstacle!
PSALM 49
(For the Chief Musician, belonging to the descendants of Qorakh,
1. Listen to this, all [you] peoples!
Bend your ear, all [you] inhabitants of [this transitory] world!
World: or, age, a the word emphasizes life’s short duration.
2. Equally sons [both] of humanity and of a man,
rich and poor together:
3. My mouth will speak wise things,
And [the] musings of my heart, matters of
4. I will turn my ear to a parable;
with a harp I will disclose my enigmatic saying.
5. Why should I be afraid in the days of trouble
[when] the perversity [at] my heels surrounds me?
6. Those who rely on their own ability,
And who boast in the abundance of their riches
7. A man cannot redeem his brother by any means,
nor can he give Elohim a ransom [to atone for] him,
This is referring to sinful men, who are on the same footing as other sinners, but a man who has his feet on solid ground—a sinless man—could be Elohim’s means (v. 15) of bringing redemption to many brothers because he alone had adequate means to pay the high price:
8. as the redemption of their souls is costly
and [even if he had] forever, he would fail [to complete this task]--
9. that he would continue to live into perpetuity
and not see destruction,
10. because he would see wise men die; fool and senseless person alike will perish
and leave their wealth to others.
11. What is inside their houses [will endure] for an age,
their dwelling-places to generation upon generation,
upon lands that they call by their own names!
12. Yet the splendor of mankind can hardly endure;
just like the beasts he will be made silent.
13. This is their way; [though it is] folly for them and their posterity,
they are pleased to accept [the words of] their own mouths.
Ponder [this].
14. Like sheep they are laid under the ground; death will feed on them
though the upright had dominion over them in the morning,
and their [lovely] form will be swallowed up by the underworld,
[far] from the elevated habilitation it [once] had.
15. Nonetheless, Elohim will ransom my soul from the hand of She’ol,
Because He will carry me away.
Ponder [this]!
16. Don’t be in awe [just] because a man becomes rich,
when the importance of his household is increasing,
17. because he won’t take any of it [with him] when he dies;
[no matter how] weighty his [substance], it will not follow him down [there].
18. Though he may bend the knee to himself while he is alive,
But [people] will praise you because you make yourself do good.
19. He will enter [all the way] into the generation of his ancestors;
They will never again see [the] light [of day].
20. A human being [who lives] in splendor yet has no understanding
has become just like the beasts that have been brought to silence.
Compare Qoheleth (Eccles.) 3:18-21.
PSALM 50
(A psalm of Asaf)
1. The mighty [judge] Elohim, YHWH, has spoken,
And called out [to] the land from the rising of the sun to its going down.
2. Out of Tzion—from the perfection of beauty—
Elohim will shine forth!
3. Our Elohim will come and He will not remain silent!
A fire will devour before Him and all around Him is like a very violet storm.
4. He will call out to the heavens above and to the earth
[to summon them] for the vindication of His people:
As He used the planets on their paths to win a battle in Devorah’s day (Judges 5:20), He will use everything at His disposal to rescue His people when they are in trouble.
5. “Assemble for Me My pious ones,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by means of a slaughtering.
Assemble: from the same root word as Asaf’s name. A slaughtering: in the latter days, this may mean Yeshua’s death.
6. “And let the heavens proclaim that he is in the right,
because Elohim—He is the one vindicating! Ponder [this].
He: His people (as a singular unit)--apparently regathered Israel in this context. (‘Am is a masculine noun.)
7. “Listen, My people, and I will speak;
Israel, and I, Elohim, will bring testimony! I am your Elohim!
8. “Not in regard to your slaughterings will I reprove you,
or [for] your ascending offerings, which are constantly right in front of Me.
In front of: the Temple altar is just in front of the doors to His House.
9. “I will not take a bull from your house,
Or rams from out of your folds,
10. “because every living thing [in] the forest is Mine,
the livestock on a thousand hills!
11. “I know all the birds of [the] mountains,
and the creatures that migrate [through] My fields are with Me.
12. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
because the world and all that fills it are Mine.
13. “Would I eat the flesh of mighty [bull]s,
Or drink the blood of rams?
14. “Offer thanks to YHWH,
And fulfill your vows to the Most High,
Offer: or slaughter. Thanks: or a thanksgiving offering (rather than needing to bring a sin offering).
15. “then call upon Me in the day of distress,
and I will pull you out, and you will honor Me [heavily].”
16. But to the wicked, Elohim says,
“What [right] do you have to recount My prescribed customs,
or to take My covenant upon your mouth,
17. “when you have rejected correction
and cast My words behind you[r back]?
18. “If you saw a thief, you sought favor with him,
and have been a seductive partaker with adulterers!
19. “You gave your mouth over to evil,
and your tongue is becoming attached to deceit.
20. “You sit [in judgment], you speak against your own brother;
against the son of your own mother you lodge a complaint.
21. “These things you have done, and I kept silent;
you imagined that I was just like you,
but I will convict you and set forth [the case] in front of your eyes.
One of the first things YHWH will do when He regathers Israel is bring us into judgment to determine which can enter His holy Land again. (Y’hezq’El/Ezek. 20:34-41)
22. “Please pay close attention to this [and be discerning],
you who forget [the singular] Eloah,
lest I tear [you] in pieces when there is no one to rescue [you]!
He already tore our nation into pieces (1 Kings 11:30ff); He wants to bring us back together (Hos. 6:1), but it must be based on truth and righteousness, not an undiscerning spirit of mere tolerance.
23. “Whoever offers praise honors Me,
and to him who sets [his] path [in the right order]
I will show the deliverance of Elohim.”
Offers: the same word used numerous times above for “slaughtering”. Psalm 51 gives more insight into this type of “offering”:
PSALM 51
[For the Director (of Music): A psalm of Dawid, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone into Bath-Sheva’]
1. Spare me, O Elohim, according to Your mercy!
According to the abundance of Your compassions, obliterate my trespassings!
Trespassings: He had crossed at least two lines he had no right to cross—taking another man’s wife and putting him in a position where he would certainly be killed, and this also involved deceiving him and those over him in the army. (2 Shmu’el 11) David Ison renders it, “discharge my obligation”.
2. Wash me thoroughly from what is not straight in me,
And cleanse me from my error,
Error: Ison, waywardness.
3. because I acknowledge my trespasses,
And my error is constantly conspicuous to me!
Acknowledge: Ison, admit thoroughly.
4. Against You alone I have sinned, and done what is evil in Your eyes,
so You have a just case when You pronounce [my verdict]
and are clear [of any blame] when You sentence [me].
Ison: I have offended You alone above all.
5. Indeed, I was born [already] crooked;
And in [a state of error] my mother conceived me.
This does not mean she did wrong in the act of allowing his father to beget him, but rather that both of them, since before birth, carried the fallenness inherited from what Adam put into his body in violation of YHWH’s orders.
6. Look, You are pleased by truth in the innermost parts,
and in the hidden [part] You can make me [able] to recognize wisdom.
YHWH desires honesty about our errors even if we are capable of hiding our guilt from others or even ourselves. Ison: clearly you sincerely desire truth, and to instruct me in profound wisdom.
7. Purge me [from sin] with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Hyssop: used in the ritual cleansing ceremony for a leper (Lev. 14:4ff)—one who is physically unclean, but from a disease often caused by crossing a line spiritually (Num. 12:10; 2 Kings 5:27; 2 Chron. 26:20), as Dawid admits to having done (vv. 1, 3). He is saying he is essentially a leper and needs the same kind of cleaning. Clean: Ison, restored.
8. Allow me to hear joy and gladness,
So that the bones You have crushed can rejoice.
Only a report of YHWH’s forgiveness could get him out of this state of feeling overwhelmed by his guilt.
9. Hide Your face from my sins,
and obliterate all my crookedness!
Ison: “Oh, please, don’t gaze upon my sin, but instead, blot out all my iniquities.”
10. Create in me a pure heart, O Elohim,
and renew a spirit of correctness within me!
Correctness: set in order, having right, sure, and reliable motives again.
11. Don’t throw me out of Your presence
or take the spirit of Your holiness away from me!
Spirit: what motivates us; he does not want his errors to put him permanently into the wrong pattern of thought or action.
12. Restore to me the joy of Your deliverance,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Willing: or inclined to generosity.
13. Let me teach transgressors Your ways,
so sinners will return to You!
14. Rescue me from the guilt of having shed blood, O Elohim, the Elohim of my deliverance;
My tongue will [loudly] celebrate [how] You [have] vindicated [me].
He knew that according to the Torah he deserved the death penalty on several counts, but he was confident that somehow YHWH could find a way to forgive him since he had fully renounced the error of his ways. YHWH would, in fact, allow Dawid to be the ancestor of the man who would be able to renew not just him but any repentant sinner to the innocence of Adam before he sinned, but not without tremendous cost to that descendant and to YHWH, who had to place an undeserved burden of sacrifice on that favored son to accomplish this.
15. My Master, open my lips
And my mouth will proclaim Your praise[worthiness]!
Only He can give us the right words to properly explain all He has done for us.
16. Because You take no pleasure in slaughter, though I will give it,
nor do you delight in [an offering that wholly] goes up in smoke.
Though YHWH commanded slaughterings in regard to our sin, He would rather have us avoid the need for them. (Compare 40:6; 1 Shmu’el 15:22; Hoshea 6:6) No slaughterings in Torah, however, are permitted for capital offenses like murder or adultery, of which Dawid was guilty; no animal’s death could pay for the human blood that was spilt. Only the death of his illustrious descendant, whose blood would be untainted from Adam’s sin, would ever be capable of expunging that kind of guilt. But to even merit the application of that blood, he had to come around to the right attitude:
17. The sacrifices Elohim [wants] are a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart, O Elohim, You will not regard with contempt.
Ison, “Sacrifices to Elohim, rather, are a contrite spirit…” He “looks on the heart” (1 Shmu’el 16:7), and does not despise those who have the right response after they realize they have offended Him.
18. In Your acceptance, do Tzion good;
[this will] build up the walls of Yerushalaim.
Ison, “May it be Your will to prosper Tzion…” Build up: or rebuild, walls that figuratively had become vulnerable because of Dawid’s violations.
19. Then You will be pleased with the right kind of offerings—going up [in smoke], in its entirety;
Ison, “Then You will expect proper sacrifices of burnt and whole offerings…”
Psalms or T'hillim
(Prayer-Songs)
INTRODUCTION: The psalms give us many examples of the way YHWH wants to be approached and worshipped, whether there is an official sanctuary in place or not. The psalms are a songbook specifically designed for use in the Temple. They call on all to participate in praise to YHWH using a melody and instruments. (e.g., Psalm 33) When they tell us to clap our hands, shout, or dance to YHWH, these are not requests but commands. They call for a vivid response to what He has done. When He delivers His people throughout Scripture, a new song usually comes forth. (Psalm 98) Shouting aloud brings great release when we have been afraid or angered. People do it for worthless events like a football match, and the teams feed off it; how much more do YHWH’s awesome deeds deserve an emphatic response?
Mt. Hermon
