Mazmur 16:5-8

16:5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity; ¹ 

you make my future secure. ² 

16:6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields

or received a beautiful tract of land. ³ 

16:7 I will praise ⁴  the Lord who ⁵  guides ⁶  me;

yes, during the night I reflect and learn. ⁷ 

16:8 I constantly trust in the Lord; ⁸ 

because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended.

[16:5]  ¹ tn Heb “O Lord, the portion of my possession and my cup”; or “the Lord [is] the portion of my possession and my cup.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel, and to a cup of wine, which may symbolize a reward (in Ps 11:6 it symbolizes the judgment one deserves) or divine blessing (see Ps 23:5). The metaphor highlights the fact that God is the psalmist’s source of security and prosperity.

[16:5]  ² tc Heb “you take hold of my lot.” The form תּוֹמִיךְ (tomikh) should be emended to a participle, תוֹמֵךְ (tomekh). The psalmist pictures the Lord as casting his lot (a method used to allot landed property) for him, thus assuring that he will receive a fertile piece of land (see v. 6). As in the previous line, land represents security and economic stability, thus “you make my future secure.”

[16:6]  ³ tn Heb “measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant [places]; yes, property [or “an inheritance”] is beautiful for me.” On the dative use of עַל, see BDB 758 s.v. II.8. Extending the metaphor used in v. 5, the psalmist compares the divine blessings he has received to a rich, beautiful tract of land that one might receive by allotment or inheritance.

[16:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”

[16:7]  ⁵ tn Or “because.”

[16:7]  ⁶ tn Or “counsels, advises.”

[16:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct [or “correct”] me.” The “kidneys” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s moral character (see Ps 26:2). In the quiet darkness the Lord speaks to his inner being, as it were, and enables him to grow in moral understanding.

[16:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “I set the Lord before me continually.” This may mean that the psalmist is aware of the Lord’s presence and sensitive to his moral guidance (see v. 7), or that he trusts in the Lord’s protection (see the following line).