Mazmur 30:1--32:11
KonteksA psalm – a song used at the dedication of the temple; 2 by David.
30:1 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up, 3
and did not allow my enemies to gloat 4 over me.
30:2 O Lord my God,
I cried out to you and you healed me. 5
30:3 O Lord, you pulled me 6 up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave. 7
30:4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers 8 of his;
give thanks to his holy name. 9
30:5 For his anger lasts only a brief moment,
and his good favor restores one’s life. 10
One may experience sorrow during the night,
but joy arrives in the morning. 11
30:6 In my self-confidence I said,
“I will never be upended.” 12
30:7 O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure. 13
Then you rejected me 14 and I was terrified.
30:8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;
I begged the Lord for mercy: 15
30:9 “What 16 profit is there in taking my life, 17
in my descending into the Pit? 18
Can the dust of the grave 19 praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty? 20
30:10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me!
O Lord, deliver me!” 21
30:11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy. 22
30:12 So now 23 my heart 24 will sing to you and not be silent;
O Lord my God, I will always 25 give thanks to you.
For 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! 27
Quickly deliver me!
Be my protector and refuge, 29
a stronghold where I can be safe! 30
31:3 For you are my high ridge 31 and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation 32 you lead me and guide me. 33
31:4 You will free me 34 from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
31:5 Into your hand I entrust my life; 35
you will rescue 36 me, O Lord, the faithful God.
31:6 I hate those who serve worthless idols, 37
but I trust in the Lord.
31:7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am. 38
31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand 39 in a wide open place.
31:9 Have mercy on me, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim 40 from suffering. 41
I have lost my strength. 42
31:10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan. 43
My strength fails me because of 44 my sin,
and my bones become brittle. 45
31:11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me; 46
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering 47 –
those who know me are horrified by my condition; 48
those who see me in the street run away from me.
31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; 49
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar. 50
31:13 For I hear what so many are saying, 51
the terrifying news that comes from every direction. 52
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
31:14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
31:15 You determine my destiny! 53
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
31:16 Smile 54 on your servant!
Deliver me because of your faithfulness!
31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you!
May evil men be humiliated!
May they go wailing to the grave! 55
31:18 May lying lips be silenced –
lips 56 that speak defiantly against the innocent 57
with arrogance and contempt!
31:19 How great is your favor, 58
which you store up for your loyal followers! 59
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter 60 in you. 61
31:20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks 62 of men; 63
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks. 64
31:21 The Lord deserves praise 65
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies. 66
31:22 I jumped to conclusions and said, 67
“I am cut off from your presence!” 68
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers 69 of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly. 70
31:24 Be strong and confident, 71
all you who wait on the Lord!
By David; a well-written song. 73
32:1 How blessed 74 is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven, 75
whose sin is pardoned! 76
32:2 How blessed is the one 77 whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, 78
in whose spirit there is no deceit. 79
32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, 80
my whole body wasted away, 81
while I groaned in pain all day long.
32:4 For day and night you tormented me; 82
you tried to destroy me 83 in the intense heat 84 of summer. 85 (Selah)
32:5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess 86 my rebellious acts to the Lord.”
And then you forgave my sins. 87 (Selah)
32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers 88 should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity. 89
Certainly 90 when the surging water 91 rises,
it will not reach them. 92
32:7 You are my hiding place;
you protect me from distress.
You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance. 93 (Selah)
32:8 I will instruct and teach you 94 about how you should live. 95
I will advise you as I look you in the eye. 96
32:9 Do not be 97 like an unintelligent horse or mule, 98
which will not obey you
unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit. 99
32:10 An evil person suffers much pain, 100
but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him. 101
32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!
Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright! 102
[30:1] 1 sn Psalm 30. The author thanks the Lord for delivering him from death and urges others to join him in praise. The psalmist experienced divine discipline for a brief time, but when he cried out for help the Lord intervened and restored his favor.
[30:1] 2 tn Heb “a song of the dedication of the house.” The referent of “house” is unclear. It is possible that David wrote this psalm for the dedication ceremony of Solomon’s temple. Another possibility is that the psalm was used on the occasion of the dedication of the second temple following the return from exile, or on the occasion of the rededication of the temple in Maccabean times.
[30:1] 3 tn Elsewhere the verb דָּלָה (dalah) is used of drawing water from a well (Exod 2:16, 19; Prov 20:5). The psalmist was trapped in the pit leading to Sheol (see v. 3), but the
[30:2] 5 sn You healed me. Apparently the psalmist was plagued by a serious illness that threatened his life. See Ps 41.
[30:3] 7 tn Heb “you kept me alive from those descending into the pit.” The Hebrew noun בוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. The translation follows the consonantal Hebrew text (Kethib); the marginal reading (Qere) has, “you kept me alive so that I did not go down into the pit.”
[30:4] 8 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
[30:4] 9 tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The noun זֵכֵר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the
[30:5] 10 tn Heb “for [there is] a moment in his anger, [but] life in his favor.” Because of the parallelism with “moment,” some understand חַיִּים (khayyim) in a quantitative sense: “lifetime” (cf. NIV, NRSV). However, the immediate context, which emphasizes deliverance from death (see v. 3), suggests that חַיִּים has a qualitative sense: “physical life” or even “prosperous life” (cf. NEB “in his favour there is life”).
[30:5] 11 tn Heb “in the evening weeping comes to lodge, but at morning a shout of joy.” “Weeping” is personified here as a traveler who lodges with one temporarily.
[30:6] 12 sn In my self-confidence I said… Here the psalmist begins to fill in the background of the crisis referred to in the earlier verses. He had been arrogant and self-confident, so the Lord withdrew his protection and allowed trouble to invade his life (vv. 8-11).
[30:7] 13 tn Heb “in your good favor you caused to stand for my mountain strength.” Apparently this means “you established strength for my mountain” (“mountain” in this case representing his rule, which would be centered on Mt. Zion) or “you established strength as my mountain” (“mountain” in this case being a metaphor for security).
[30:7] 14 tn Heb “you hid your face.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or, as here, carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Ps 88:14).
[30:8] 15 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 8 are probably preterites; the psalmist recalls that he prayed in his time of crisis.
[30:9] 16 sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.
[30:9] 17 tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.
[30:9] 18 tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).
[30:9] 19 tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[30:9] 20 tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”
[30:9] sn According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 6:5; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!
[30:10] 21 tn Heb “be a helper to me.”
[30:11] 22 sn Covered me with joy. “Joy” probably stands metonymically for festive attire here.
[30:12] 23 tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”
[30:12] 24 tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (kÿvediy, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.
[31:1] 26 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] 27 tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”
[31:2] 28 tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
[31:2] 29 tn Heb “become for me a rocky summit of refuge.”
[31:2] 30 tn Heb “a house of strongholds to deliver me.”
[31:3] 31 sn The metaphor of the high ridge pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.
[31:3] 32 tn Heb “name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the
[31:3] 33 tn The present translation assumes that the imperfect verbal forms are generalizing, “you lead me and guide me.” Other options are to take them as an expression of confidence about the future, “you will lead me and guide me” (cf. NASB), or as expressing a prayer, “lead me and guide me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
[31:4] 34 tn Heb “bring me out.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form expresses the psalmist’s confidence about the future. Another option is to take the form as expressing a prayer, “free me.”
[31:5] 35 tn Heb “my spirit.” The noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) here refers to the animating spirit that gives the psalmist life.
[31:5] 36 tn Or “redeem.” The perfect verbal form is understood here as anticipatory, indicating rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer that he can describe his deliverance as if it had already happened. Another option is to take the perfect as precative, expressing a wish or request (“rescue me”; cf. NIV). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
[31:6] 37 tn Heb “the ones who observe vain things of falsehood.” See Jonah 2:9.
[31:7] 38 tn Heb “you know the distresses of my life.”
[31:8] 39 tn Heb “you cause my feet to stand.”
[31:9] 40 tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”
[31:9] 41 tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.
[31:9] 42 tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.
[31:10] 43 tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”
[31:10] 44 tn Heb “stumbles in.”
[31:10] 45 tn Heb “grow weak.”
[31:11] 46 tn Heb “because of all my enemies I am a reproach.”
[31:11] 47 tc Heb “and to my neighbors, exceedingly.” If the MT is retained, then these words probably go with what precedes. However the syntactical awkwardness of the text suggests it is textually corrupt. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 258) suggests that the initial mem (מ) on מְאֹד (me’od, “exceedingly”) be understood as an enclitic mem (ם) which was originally suffixed to the preceding form and then later misinterpreted. The resulting form אֵד (’ed) can then be taken as a defectively written form of אֵיד (’ed, “calamity”). If one follows this emendation, then the text reads literally, “and to my neighbors [I am one who experiences] calamity.” The noun פַחַד (fakhad, “[object of] horror”) occurs in the next line; אֵיד and פַחַד appear in parallelism elsewhere (see Prov 1:26-27).
[31:11] 48 tn Heb “and [an object of ] horror to those known by me.”
[31:12] 49 tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.
[31:12] 50 tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.
[31:13] 51 tn Heb “the report of many.”
[31:13] 52 tn Heb “the terror from all around.”
[31:15] 53 tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”
[31:16] 54 tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”
[31:17] 55 tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yiddÿmu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”
[31:18] 56 tn Heb “the [ones which].”
[31:19] 58 tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”
[31:19] 59 tn Heb “for those who fear you.”
[31:19] 60 tn “Taking shelter” in the
[31:19] 61 tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”
[31:20] 62 tn The noun רֹכֶס (rokhes) occurs only here. Its meaning is debated; some suggest “snare,” while others propose “slander” or “conspiracy.”
[31:20] 63 tn Heb “you hide them in the hiding place of your face from the attacks of man.” The imperfect verbal forms in this verse draw attention to God’s typical treatment of the faithful.
[31:20] 64 tn Heb “you conceal them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”
[31:21] 65 tn Heb “blessed [be] the
[31:21] 66 tn Heb “for he caused his faithfulness to be amazing to me in a besieged city.” The psalmist probably speaks figuratively here. He compares his crisis to being trapped in a besieged city, but the
[31:22] 67 tn Heb “and I, I said in my haste.”
[31:22] 68 tn Heb “from before your eyes.”
[31:23] 69 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
[31:23] 70 tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.
[31:24] 71 tn Heb “be strong and let your heart[s] be confident.”
[32:1] 72 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] 73 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] 74 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] 76 tn Heb “covered over.”
[32:2] 77 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] 78 tn Heb “blessed [is] the man to whom the
[32:2] 79 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] 80 tn Heb “when I was silent.”
[32:3] 81 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] 82 tn Heb “your hand was heavy upon me.”
[32:4] 83 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] sn You tried to destroy me. The psalmist’s statement reflects his perspective. As far as he was concerned, it seemed as if the Lord was trying to kill him.
[32:4] 84 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] 85 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] 86 tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”
[32:5] 87 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] 88 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] 89 tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the
[32:6] 90 tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.
[32:6] 91 sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.
[32:6] 92 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] 93 tn Heb “[with] shouts of joy of deliverance you surround me.”
[32:8] 94 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] 95 tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”
[32:8] 96 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] 97 tn The verb form is plural (i.e., “do not all of you be”); the psalmist addresses the whole group.
[32:9] 98 tn Heb “like a horse, like a mule without understanding.”
[32:9] 99 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] 100 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] 101 tn Heb “but the one who trusts in the
[32:11] 102 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
