Mazmur 60:1--62:12
KonteksFor the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 2 a prayer 3 of David written to instruct others. 4 It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down 5 12,000 Edomites 6 in the Valley of Salt. 7
60:1 O God, you have rejected us. 8
You suddenly turned on us in your anger. 9
Please restore us! 10
60:2 You made the earth quake; you split it open. 11
Repair its breaches, for it is ready to fall. 12
60:3 You have made your people experience hard times; 13
you have made us drink intoxicating wine. 14
60:4 You have given your loyal followers 15 a rallying flag,
so that they might seek safety from the bow. 16 (Selah)
60:5 Deliver by your power 17 and answer me, 18
so that the ones you love may be safe. 19
60:6 God has spoken in his sanctuary: 20
“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem;
the Valley of Succoth I will measure off. 21
60:7 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh! 22
Ephraim is my helmet, 23
Judah my royal scepter. 24
I will make Edom serve me. 26
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.” 27
60:9 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom? 28
60:10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
60:11 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile. 29
60:12 By God’s power we will conquer; 30
he will trample down 31 our enemies.
For the music director; to be played on a stringed instrument; written by David.
61:1 O God, hear my cry for help!
Pay attention to my prayer!
61:2 From the most remote place on earth 33
I call out to you in my despair. 34
Lead me 35 up to an inaccessible rocky summit! 36
61:3 Indeed, 37 you are 38 my shelter,
a strong tower that protects me from the enemy. 39
61:4 I will be a permanent guest in your home; 40
I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. 41 (Selah)
61:5 For you, O God, hear my vows;
you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers. 42
61:6 Give the king long life!
Make his lifetime span several generations! 43
61:7 May he reign 44 forever before God!
Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him. 45
61:8 Then I will sing praises to your name continually, 46
as I fulfill 47 my vows day after day.
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.
62:1 For God alone I patiently wait; 49
he is the one who delivers me. 50
62:2 He alone is my protector 51 and deliverer.
He is my refuge; 52 I will not be upended. 53
62:3 How long will you threaten 54 a man?
All of you are murderers, 55
as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. 56
62:4 They 57 spend all their time planning how to bring him 58 down. 59
They love to use deceit; 60
they pronounce blessings with their mouths,
but inwardly they utter curses. 61 (Selah)
62:5 Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! 62
For he is the one who gives me confidence. 63
62:6 He alone is my protector 64 and deliverer.
He is my refuge; 65 I will not be upended. 66
62:7 God delivers me and exalts me;
God is my strong protector and my shelter. 67
62:8 Trust in him at all times, you people!
Pour out your hearts before him! 68
God is our shelter! (Selah)
62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;
human beings are unreliable. 69
When they are weighed in the scales,
all of them together are lighter than air. 70
62:10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! 71
Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! 72
If wealth increases, do not become attached to it! 73
62:11 God has declared one principle;
two principles I have heard: 74
God is strong, 75
62:12 and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. 76
For you repay men for what they do. 77
[60:1] 1 sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.
[60:1] 2 tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.
[60:1] 3 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
[60:1] 5 tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.
[60:1] 6 tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).
[60:1] 7 sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.
[60:1] 8 sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.
[60:1] 9 tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”
[60:1] 10 tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.
[60:2] 11 tn The verb פָּצַם (patsam, “split open”) occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “crack,” and an Aramaic cognate is used in Tg. Jer 22:14 with the meaning “break open, frame.” See BDB 822 s.v. and Jastrow 1205 s.v. פְּצַם.
[60:2] sn You made the earth quake; you split it open. The psalmist uses the imagery of an earthquake to describe the nation’s defeat.
[60:2] 12 sn It is ready to fall. The earth is compared to a wall that has been broken by the force of the earthquake (note the preceding line) and is ready to collapse.
[60:3] 13 tn Heb “you have caused your people to see [what is] hard.”
[60:3] 14 tn Heb “wine of staggering,” that is, intoxicating wine that makes one stagger in drunkenness. Intoxicating wine is here an image of divine judgment that makes its victims stagger like drunkards. See Isa 51:17-23.
[60:4] 15 tn Heb “those who fear you.”
[60:4] 16 tn There is a ray of hope in that God has allowed his loyal followers to rally under a battle flag. The translation assumes the verb is from the root נוּס (nus, “flee”) used here in the Hitpolel in the sense of “find safety for oneself” (HALOT 681 s.v. נוס) or “take flight for oneself” (BDB 630-31 s.v. נוּס). Another option is to take the verb as a denominative from נֵס (nes, “flag”) and translate “that it may be displayed” (BDB 651 s.v. II נסס) or “that they may assemble under the banner” (HALOT 704 s.v. II נסס). Here קֹשֶׁט (qoshet) is taken as an Aramaized form of קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “bow”; BDB 905-6 s.v. קֶשֶׁת), though some understand the homonymic קֹשְׁטְ (qosht, “truth”) here (see Prov 22:21; cf. NASB). If one follows the latter interpretation, the line may be translated, “so that they might assemble under the banner for the sake of truth.”
[60:5] 17 tn Heb “right hand.”
[60:5] 18 tn The Qere (marginal reading) has “me,” while the Kethib (consonantal text) has “us.”
[60:5] 19 tn Or “may be rescued.” The lines are actually reversed in the Hebrew text, “So that the ones you love may be rescued, deliver by your power and answer me.”
[60:6] 20 tn Heb “in his holy place.”
[60:6] 21 sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan, the Valley of Succoth for the region east of the Jordan.
[60:7] 22 sn Gilead was located east of the Jordan. Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan in the region of Bashan.
[60:7] 23 tn Heb “the protection of my head.”
[60:7] sn Ephraim, named after one of Joseph’s sons, was one of two major tribes located west of the Jordan. By comparing Ephraim to a helmet, the Lord suggests that the Ephraimites played a primary role in the defense of his land.
[60:7] 24 sn Judah, like Ephraim, was the other major tribe west of the Jordan. The Davidic king, symbolized here by the royal scepter, came from this tribe.
[60:8] 25 sn The metaphor of the washbasin, used to rinse one’s hands and feet, suggests that Moab, in contrast to Israel’s elevated position (vv. 6-7), would be reduced to the status of a servant.
[60:8] 26 tn Heb “over Edom I will throw my sandal.” The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. Some interpret this as idiomatic for “taking possession of,” i.e., “I will take possession of Edom.” Others translate עַל (’al) as “to” and understand this as referring to a master throwing his dirty sandal to a servant so that the latter might dust it off.
[60:8] 27 tc Heb “over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph.” The translation follows the text of Ps 108:9. When the initial עֲלֵיוֹ (’aleyo, “over”) was misread as עָלַי (’alay, “over me”), the first person verb form was probably altered to an imperative to provide better sense to the line.
[60:9] 28 sn In v. 9 the psalmist speaks again and acknowledges his need for help in battle. He hopes God will volunteer, based on the affirmation of sovereignty over Edom in v. 8, but he is also aware that God has seemingly rejected the nation (v. 10, see also v. 1).
[60:11] 29 tn Heb “and futile [is] the deliverance of man.”
[60:12] 30 tn Heb “in God we will accomplish strength.” The statement refers here to military success (see Num 24:18; 1 Sam 14:48; Pss 108:13; 118:15-16).
[60:12] 31 sn Trample down. On this expression see Ps 44:5.
[61:1] 32 sn Psalm 61. The psalmist cries out for help and expresses his confidence that God will protect him.
[61:2] 33 tn Heb “from the end of the earth.” This may indicate (1) the psalmist is exiled in a distant land, or (2) it may be hyperbolic (the psalmist feels alienated from God’s presence, as if he were in a distant land).
[61:2] 34 tn Heb “while my heart faints.”
[61:2] 35 tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.
[61:2] 36 tn Heb “on to a rocky summit [that] is higher than I.”
[61:3] 39 tn Heb “a strong tower from the face of an enemy.”
[61:4] 40 tn Heb “I will live as a resident alien in your tent permanently.” The cohortative is understood here as indicating resolve. Another option is to take it as expressing a request, “please let me live” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
[61:4] 41 sn I will find shelter in the protection of your wings. The metaphor compares God to a protective mother bird.
[61:5] 42 tn Heb “you grant the inheritance of those who fear your name.” “Inheritance” is normally used of land which is granted as an inheritance; here it refers metaphorically to the blessings granted God’s loyal followers. To “fear” God’s name means to have a healthy respect for his revealed reputation which in turn motivates one to obey God’s commands (see Ps 86:11).
[61:6] 43 tn Heb “days upon days of the king add, his years like generation and generation.”
[61:6] sn It is not certain if the (royal) psalmist is referring to himself in the third person in this verse, or if an exile is praying on behalf of the king.
[61:7] 44 tn Heb “sit [enthroned].” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive here, expressing the psalmist’s prayer.
[61:7] 45 tn Heb “loyal love and faithfulness appoint, let them protect him.”
[61:8] 47 tn Or perhaps, “and thereby fulfill.” The preposition with the infinitive construct here indicates an accompanying circumstance.
[62:1] 48 sn Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God’s justice and in his ability to protect his people.
[62:1] 49 tn Heb “only for God [is] there silence [to] my soul.”
[62:1] 50 tn Heb “from him [is] my deliverance.”
[62:2] 51 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
[62:2] 52 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
[62:2] 53 tn The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see v. 6b, where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, “I will not be greatly upended” meaning “I will not be annihilated.”
[62:3] 54 tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”
[62:3] 55 tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.
[62:3] 56 tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).
[62:4] 57 tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.
[62:4] 58 tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse.
[62:4] 59 tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”
[62:4] 60 tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”
[62:4] 61 sn The enemies use deceit to bring down their victim. They make him think they are his friends by pronouncing blessings upon him, but inwardly they desire his demise.
[62:5] 62 tn Heb “only for God be silent, my soul.” The wording is similar to that of v. 1a. Here an imperatival form, דּוֹמִּי (dommiy, “be silent”), appears instead of the noun דּוּמִיָּה (dumiyyah, “silence”). The psalmist is encouraging himself to maintain his trust in God.
[62:5] 63 tn Heb “for from him [is] my hope.”
[62:6] 64 tn Heb “my high rocky summit.”
[62:6] 65 tn Or “my elevated place” (see Ps 18:2).
[62:6] 66 sn The wording is identical to that of v. 2, except that רַבָּה (rabbah, “greatly”) does not appear in v. 6.
[62:7] 67 tn Heb “upon God [is] my deliverance and my glory, the high rocky summit of my strength, my shelter [is] in God.”
[62:8] 68 tn To “pour out one’s heart” means to offer up to God intense, emotional lamentation and petitionary prayers (see Lam 2:19).
[62:9] 69 tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bÿney ’adam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bÿney ’ish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.
[62:9] 70 tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.
[62:10] 71 tn Heb “do not trust in oppression.” Here “oppression” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by oppressive measures, as the final line of the verse indicates.
[62:10] 72 tn Heb “and in robbery do not place vain hope.” Here “robbery” stands by metonymy for the riches that can be gained by theft, as the next line of the verse indicates.
[62:10] 73 tn Heb “[as for] wealth, when it bears fruit, do not set [your] heart [on it].”
[62:11] 74 tn Heb “one God spoke, two which I heard.” This is a numerical saying utilizing the “x” followed by “x + 1” pattern to facilitate poetic parallelism. (See W. M. W. Roth, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament [VTSup], 55-56.) As is typical in such sayings, a list corresponding to the second number (in this case “two”) follows. Another option is to translate, “God has spoken once, twice [he has spoken] that which I have heard.” The terms אַחַת (’akhat, “one; once”) and שְׁתַּיִם (shÿtayim, “two; twice”) are also juxtaposed in 2 Kgs 6:10 (where they refer to an action that was done more than “once or twice”) and in Job 33:14 (where they refer to God speaking “one way” and then in “another manner”).
[62:11] 75 tn Heb “that strength [belongs] to God.”
[62:12] 76 tn Heb “and to you, O Master, [is] loyal love.”
[62:12] 77 tn Heb “for you pay back to a man according to his deed.” Another option is to understand vv. 11b and 12a as the first principle and v. 12b as the second. In this case one might translate, “God has declared one principle, two principles I have heard, namely, that God is strong, and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love, and that you repay men for what they do.”
[62:12] sn You repay men for what they do. The psalmist views God’s justice as a demonstration of both his power (see v. 11c) and his loyal love (see v. 12a). When God judges evildoers, he demonstrates loyal love to his people.
