Fifty-one verses, the longest psalm in the first book of the Psalter, and a royal thanksgiving built like a report: I was drowning, God came down in a storm, God pulled me out, and here is what I did afterwards. A second copy of this poem stands in the Bible as 2 Samuel 22, and the two versions differ from each other in wording and spelling throughout. For a learner it is the best single training ground for the object suffix on a verb: the -ni ending, me, lands on more than twenty verbs here, and once you hear it you can read half the Psalter. The middle section, verses 8 to 16, is a storm theophany, so the vocabulary is weather and geology rather than prayer.
1
לַמְנַצֵּחַ לְעֶבֶד יְהֹוָה לְדָוִד
אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לַיהֹוָה אֶת דִּבְרֵי הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת
בְּיוֹם הִצִּיל יְהֹוָה אוֹתוֹ מִכַּף כׇּל אֹיְבָיו וּמִיַּד שָׁאוּל
לַמְנַצֵּחַ
lam-na-TZE-ach
for the choirmaster
לְעֶבֶד
le-E-ved
of the servant of
For the choirmaster. Of the servant of the LORD, of David,
לַיהֹוָה
lai-ho-VA
to the LORD
דִּבְרֵי
div-REI
the words of
הַשִּׁירָה
ha-shi-RA
the song
who spoke to the LORD the words of this song
מִכַּף
mi-KAF
from the palm of
אֹיְבָיו
oi-VAV
his enemies
וּמִיַּד
u-mi-YAD
and from the hand of
on the day the LORD rescued him from the grip of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
The heading dates the poem to a single day, after every enemy and Saul in particular. It also calls David a servant before it calls him a king, which is the psalm's own ranking.
2
וַיֹּאמַר
אֶרְחׇמְךָ יְהֹוָה חִזְקִי
וַיֹּאמַר
va-yo-MAR
and he said
And he said:
אֶרְחׇמְךָ
er-chom-CHA
I love You
חִזְקִי
chiz-KI
my strength
I love You, LORD, my strength.
The opening is a declaration rather than a request, and the verb chosen for it is not the ordinary verb for love. Everything after this is the reason.
3
יְהֹוָה סַלְעִי וּמְצוּדָתִי וּמְפַלְטִי
אֵלִי צוּרִי אֶחֱסֶה בּוֹ
מָגִנִּי וְקֶרֶן יִשְׁעִי מִשְׂגַּבִּי
וּמְצוּדָתִי
um-tzu-da-TI
and my stronghold
וּמְפַלְטִי
um-fal-TI
and my deliverer
The LORD is my crag, my stronghold and my deliverer,
אֶחֱסֶה
e-che-SE
I take refuge
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
מָגִנִּי
ma-gi-NI
my shield
וְקֶרֶן
ve-KE-ren
and the horn of
יִשְׁעִי
yish-I
my salvation
מִשְׂגַּבִּי
mis-ga-BI
my high tower
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
Eight titles in one verse, and seven of them carry the same possessive ending, -i, my. The images are all defensive terrain: rock, fort, tower, the places a hunted man goes.
4
מְהֻלָּל אֶקְרָא יְהֹוָה
וּמִן אֹיְבַי אִוָּשֵׁעַ
I call on the LORD, who is praised,
אִוָּשֵׁעַ
i-va-SHE-a
I am saved
and from my enemies I am saved.
The line compresses the whole psalm into six words: calling and being saved, with praise standing before both. The final verb is passive, which matters given what the speaker claims later.
5
אֲפָפוּנִי חֶבְלֵי מָוֶת
וְנַחֲלֵי בְלִיַּעַל יְבַעֲתוּנִי
אֲפָפוּנִי
a-fa-fu-NI
they encircled me
חֶבְלֵי
chev-LEI
the cords of
The cords of death encircled me,
וְנַחֲלֵי
ve-na-cha-LEI
and the torrents of
בְלִיַּעַל
vli-ya-AL
destruction
יְבַעֲתוּנִי
ye-va-a-tu-NI
they terrified me
and torrents of destruction terrified me.
The danger arrives as water and rope, not as an army. Both verbs end in -ni, me, and that suffix will now repeat for the next fifteen verses.
6
חֶבְלֵי שְׁאוֹל סְבָבוּנִי
קִדְּמוּנִי מוֹקְשֵׁי מָוֶת
חֶבְלֵי
chev-LEI
the cords of
סְבָבוּנִי
sva-vu-NI
they surrounded me
The cords of Sheol surrounded me,
קִדְּמוּנִי
kid-mu-NI
they confronted me
מוֹקְשֵׁי
mok-SHEI
the snares of
the snares of death confronted me.
The same picture again with the words crossed over, so that death opens one line and closes the other. The trap closes; there is no exit left in the grammar.
7
בַּצַּר לִי אֶקְרָא יְהֹוָה
וְאֶל אֱלֹהַי אֲשַׁוֵּעַ
יִשְׁמַע מֵהֵיכָלוֹ קוֹלִי
וְשַׁוְעָתִי לְפָנָיו תָּבוֹא בְאׇזְנָיו
בַּצַּר
ba-TZAR
in the distress
In my distress I call on the LORD,
אֲשַׁוֵּעַ
a-sha-VE-a
I cry out
and to my God I cry out.
מֵהֵיכָלוֹ
me-hei-cha-LO
from His palace
From His palace He hears my voice,
וְשַׁוְעָתִי
ve-shav-a-TI
and my cry
לְפָנָיו
le-fa-NAV
before Him
בְאׇזְנָיו
ve-oz-NAV
into His ears
and my cry before Him comes into His ears.
The hinge of the first half. Two verbs of shouting from below are answered by two organs of hearing above, and nothing else happens in the verse.
8
וַתִּגְעַשׁ וַתִּרְעַשׁ הָאָרֶץ
וּמוֹסְדֵי הָרִים יִרְגָּזוּ וַיִּתְגָּעֲשׁוּ
כִּי חָרָה לוֹ
וַתִּגְעַשׁ
va-tig-ASH
and it heaved
וַתִּרְעַשׁ
va-tir-ASH
and it quaked
הָאָרֶץ
ha-A-retz
the earth
Then the earth heaved and quaked,
וּמוֹסְדֵי
u-mos-DEI
and the foundations of
הָרִים
ha-RIM
the mountains
יִרְגָּזוּ
yir-ga-ZU
they shuddered
וַיִּתְגָּעֲשׁוּ
va-yit-ga-a-SHU
and they were shaken
the foundations of the mountains shuddered and were shaken,
because He was burning with anger.
The answer to the cry is not a word but an earthquake. Note that the cause is given last, so the reader feels the shaking before learning why.
9
עָלָה עָשָׁן בְּאַפּוֹ
וְאֵשׁ מִפִּיו תֹּאכֵל
גֶּחָלִים בָּעֲרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ
בְּאַפּוֹ
be-a-PO
in His nostrils
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
מִפִּיו
mi-PIV
from His mouth
and fire from His mouth devoured,
בָּעֲרוּ
ba-a-RU
they blazed
מִמֶּנּוּ
mi-me-NU
from Him
coals blazed out from Him.
Anger is described physically because the Hebrew idiom for anger is a burning nose. The verse simply takes the idiom literally and lets smoke come out.
10
וַיֵּט שָׁמַיִם וַיֵּרַד
וַעֲרָפֶל תַּחַת רַגְלָיו
שָׁמַיִם
sha-MA-yim
heavens
וַיֵּרַד
va-ye-RAD
and He came down
He bent the heavens and came down,
וַעֲרָפֶל
va-a-RA-fel
and thick darkness
and thick darkness was under His feet.
The sky is treated as a fabric that can be pushed down. The descent is the first movement toward the speaker, and it is made in the dark.
11
וַיִּרְכַּב עַל כְּרוּב וַיָּעֹף
וַיֵּדֶא עַל כַּנְפֵי רוּחַ
וַיִּרְכַּב
va-yir-KAV
and He rode
וַיָּעֹף
va-ya-OF
and He flew
He rode on a cherub and flew,
וַיֵּדֶא
va-ye-DE
and He swooped
כַּנְפֵי
kan-FEI
the wings of
He swooped on the wings of the wind.
The cherub is a mount here, not a decoration on the ark. The second line repeats the first with wind in place of the creature, which is how biblical poetry gives a thing two names.
12
יָשֶׁת חֹשֶׁךְ סִתְרוֹ
סְבִיבוֹתָיו סֻכָּתוֹ
חֶשְׁכַת מַיִם עָבֵי שְׁחָקִים
סִתְרוֹ
sit-RO
His hiding place
He makes darkness His hiding place,
סְבִיבוֹתָיו
svi-vo-TAV
around Him
סֻכָּתוֹ
su-ka-TO
His shelter
around Him His shelter,
חֶשְׁכַת
chesh-CHAT
the darkness of
עָבֵי
a-VEI
thick clouds of
שְׁחָקִים
shcha-KIM
the skies
darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
The rescuer arrives concealed. Darkness is not an obstacle to Him but a tent He puts up, which is the opposite of how darkness works for the speaker.
13
מִנֹּגַהּ נֶגְדּוֹ עָבָיו עָבְרוּ
בָּרָד וְגַחֲלֵי אֵשׁ
מִנֹּגַהּ
mi-no-GAH
from the brightness
From the brightness before Him His clouds passed through,
וְגַחֲלֵי
ve-ga-cha-LEI
and coals of
hail and coals of fire.
Light breaks the cloud cover from inside. Hail and fire arrive together, which is the standard biblical pairing for weather used as a weapon.
14
וַיַּרְעֵם בַּשָּׁמַיִם יְהֹוָה
וְעֶלְיוֹן יִתֵּן קֹלוֹ
בָּרָד וְגַחֲלֵי אֵשׁ
וַיַּרְעֵם
va-yar-EM
and He thundered
בַּשָּׁמַיִם
ba-sha-MA-yim
in the heavens
The LORD thundered in the heavens,
וְעֶלְיוֹן
ve-eli-ON
and the Most High
and the Most High gave forth His voice,
וְגַחֲלֵי
ve-ga-cha-LEI
and coals of
hail and coals of fire.
Thunder is named as a voice, which answers verse 7: the speaker's voice went up and this comes back down. The last three words repeat verse 13 exactly.
15
וַיִּשְׁלַח חִצָּיו וַיְפִיצֵם
וּבְרָקִים רָב וַיְהֻמֵּם
וַיִּשְׁלַח
va-yish-LACH
and He sent
חִצָּיו
chi-TZAV
His arrows
וַיְפִיצֵם
vai-fi-TZEM
and He scattered them
He sent out His arrows and scattered them,
וּבְרָקִים
uv-ra-KIM
and lightnings
וַיְהֻמֵּם
vai-hu-MEM
and He routed them
lightnings in abundance, and He routed them.
The storm becomes artillery, and for the first time the enemies reappear as a plural object, them. They are never described, only dispersed.
16
וַיֵּרָאוּ אֲפִיקֵי מַיִם
וַיִּגָּלוּ מוֹסְדוֹת תֵּבֵל
מִגַּעֲרָתְךָ יְהֹוָה
מִנִּשְׁמַת רוּחַ אַפֶּךָ
וַיֵּרָאוּ
va-ye-ra-U
and they were seen
אֲפִיקֵי
a-fi-KEI
the channels of
Then the channels of waters were seen,
וַיִּגָּלוּ
va-yi-ga-LU
and they were laid bare
מוֹסְדוֹת
mos-DOT
the foundations of
and the foundations of the world were laid bare,
מִגַּעֲרָתְךָ
mi-ga-a-rat-CHA
at Your rebuke
at Your rebuke, LORD,
מִנִּשְׁמַת
mi-nish-MAT
at the blast of
אַפֶּךָ
a-pe-CHA
Your nostrils
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
The sea bed is exposed, which in biblical language means the world has been taken apart to its floor. This is also the verse where the psalm switches to addressing God as You.
17
יִשְׁלַח מִמָּרוֹם יִקָּחֵנִי
יַמְשֵׁנִי מִמַּיִם רַבִּים
יִשְׁלַח
yish-LACH
He sends
מִמָּרוֹם
mi-ma-ROM
from on high
יִקָּחֵנִי
yi-ka-che-NI
He takes me
He reached from on high and took me,
יַמְשֵׁנִי
yam-she-NI
He draws me out
מִמַּיִם
mi-MA-yim
from waters
He drew me out of many waters.
After nine verses of cosmic machinery, the whole apparatus reduces to one hand and one person. The waters of verse 5 are still there; only the speaker has moved.
18
יַצִּילֵנִי מֵאֹיְבִי עָז וּמִשֹּׂנְאַי
כִּי אָמְצוּ מִמֶּנִּי
יַצִּילֵנִי
ya-tzi-le-NI
He rescues me
מֵאֹיְבִי
me-oi-VI
from my enemy
וּמִשֹּׂנְאַי
u-mi-son-AI
and from those who hate me
He rescues me from my strong enemy, and from those who hate me,
אָמְצוּ
am-TZU
they were stronger
for they were stronger than me.
The admission is the point: the enemy really was the stronger party. The psalm does not claim the fight was fair, only that it was won.
19
יְקַדְּמוּנִי בְיוֹם אֵידִי
וַיְהִי יְהֹוָה לְמִשְׁעָן לִי
יְקַדְּמוּנִי
ye-kad-mu-NI
they confronted me
They confronted me on the day of my disaster,
לְמִשְׁעָן
le-mish-AN
as a support
but the LORD was a support for me.
The verb that death used in verse 6 comes back with human enemies as its subject. The day of disaster is answered by the day of rescue named in the heading.
20
וַיּוֹצִיאֵנִי לַמֶּרְחָב יְחַלְּצֵנִי
כִּי חָפֵץ בִּי
וַיּוֹצִיאֵנִי
va-yo-tzi-e-NI
and He brought me out
לַמֶּרְחָב
la-mer-CHAV
to the open place
יְחַלְּצֵנִי
ye-chal-tze-NI
He rescues me
He brought me out into the open, He set me free,
חָפֵץ
cha-FETZ
He delighted
because He delighted in me.
Rescue is described as space. The word for the open place is built on the root for wide, the exact opposite of the distress in verse 7, which is built on the root for narrow.
21
יִגְמְלֵנִי יְהֹוָה כְּצִדְקִי
כְּבֹר יָדַי יָשִׁיב לִי
יִגְמְלֵנִי
yig-mle-NI
He repays me
כְּצִדְקִי
ktzid-KI
according to my righteousness
The LORD repaid me according to my righteousness,
כְּבֹר
ke-VOR
according to the cleanness of
according to the cleanness of my hands He returned to me.
A second explanation begins, and it sits awkwardly next to the first. Verse 20 said He delighted in me; this says I had earned it.
22
כִּי שָׁמַרְתִּי דַּרְכֵי יְהֹוָה
וְלֹא רָשַׁעְתִּי מֵאֱלֹהָי
שָׁמַרְתִּי
sha-mar-TI
I kept
דַּרְכֵי
dar-CHEI
the ways of
For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
רָשַׁעְתִּי
ra-sha-TI
I did wickedly
מֵאֱלֹהָי
me-e-lo-HAI
away from my God
and have not turned away wickedly from my God.
The claim is stated positively then negatively, which is how biblical Hebrew makes a legal defence. The speaker is arguing a case, not confessing.
23
כִּי כׇל מִשְׁפָּטָיו לְנֶגְדִּי
וְחֻקֹּתָיו לֹא אָסִיר מֶנִּי
מִשְׁפָּטָיו
mish-pa-TAV
His judgments
לְנֶגְדִּי
le-neg-DI
before me
For all His judgments were before me,
וְחֻקֹּתָיו
ve-chu-ko-TAV
and His statutes
אָסִיר
a-SIR
I will turn away
and His statutes I did not put away from me.
Two legal words, judgments and statutes, enter a poem that so far has used only weather and terrain. The register changes with the argument.
24
וָאֱהִי תָמִים עִמּוֹ
וָאֶשְׁתַּמֵּר מֵעֲוֺנִי
I was blameless with Him,
וָאֶשְׁתַּמֵּר
va-esh-ta-MER
and I kept myself
מֵעֲוֺנִי
me-a-o-NI
from my guilt
and I kept myself from my guilt.
Blameless here means whole or undivided rather than sinless, and the second verb is reflexive: the guarding was work the speaker did on himself.
25
וַיָּשֶׁב יְהֹוָה לִי כְצִדְקִי
כְּבֹר יָדַי לְנֶגֶד עֵינָיו
וַיָּשֶׁב
va-YA-shev
and He returned
כְצִדְקִי
che-tzid-KI
according to my righteousness
So the LORD returned to me according to my righteousness,
כְּבֹר
ke-VOR
according to the cleanness of
לְנֶגֶד
le-NE-ged
in front of
according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.
Verse 21 comes back almost word for word, closing the argument as a frame. The only addition is in His eyes, which quietly moves the verdict off the speaker.
26
עִם חָסִיד תִּתְחַסָּד
עִם גְּבַר תָּמִים תִּתַּמָּם
חָסִיד
cha-SID
one who is faithful
תִּתְחַסָּד
tit-cha-SAD
You show Yourself faithful
With the faithful You show Yourself faithful,
תִּתַּמָּם
ti-ta-MAM
You show Yourself blameless
with a blameless man You show Yourself blameless.
The grammar carries the theology: each verb is built from the adjective standing next to it, in the stem that means acting a quality out. God is described as reflecting the person.
27
עִם נָבָר תִּתְבָּרָר
וְעִם עִקֵּשׁ תִּתְפַּתָּל
נָבָר
na-VAR
one who is pure
תִּתְבָּרָר
tit-ba-RAR
You show Yourself pure
With the pure You show Yourself pure,
עִקֵּשׁ
i-KESH
one who is crooked
תִּתְפַּתָּל
tit-pa-TAL
You show Yourself twisted
and with the crooked You show Yourself twisted.
The pattern is pushed to its uncomfortable end. The last pair is deliberately harsh, and translators have argued about it for centuries because it makes God take the shape of a crooked man.
28
כִּי אַתָּה עַם עָנִי תוֹשִׁיעַ
וְעֵינַיִם רָמוֹת תַּשְׁפִּיל
תוֹשִׁיעַ
to-SHI-a
You save
For You save an afflicted people,
וְעֵינַיִם
ve-ei-NA-yim
but eyes
תַּשְׁפִּיל
tash-PIL
You bring low
but haughty eyes You bring low.
The mirror principle is applied to social position rather than character. Height is the thing being measured, and the psalm will spend its second half raising the speaker.
29
כִּי אַתָּה תָּאִיר נֵרִי
יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהַי יַגִּיהַּ חׇשְׁכִּי
יַגִּיהַּ
ya-gi-HA
He makes bright
חׇשְׁכִּי
chosh-KI
my darkness
the LORD my God makes my darkness bright.
The darkness that was God's shelter in verse 12 is now the speaker's, and it gets lit. This is the last quiet verse before the psalm turns military.
30
כִּי בְךָ אָרֻץ גְּדוּד
וּבֵאלֹהַי אֲדַלֶּג שׁוּר
גְּדוּד
gdud
a raiding band
For by You I charge a raiding band,
וּבֵאלֹהַי
u-ve-lo-HAI
and by my God
אֲדַלֶּג
a-DA-leg
I leap over
and by my God I leap a wall.
The verbs turn active for the first time since verse 7. Both are physical and specific, one for open field and one for a siege, and both are prefixed with by You.
31
הָאֵל תָּמִים דַּרְכּוֹ
אִמְרַת יְהֹוָה צְרוּפָה
מָגֵן הוּא לְכֹל הַחֹסִים בּוֹ
As for God, His way is blameless,
the word of the LORD is refined,
הַחֹסִים
ha-cho-SIM
those who take refuge
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
The word for refined is a metalworker's term, used of silver purified in a crucible. The verse turns from David's own case to a general rule, and widens the audience to anyone.
32
כִּי מִי אֱלוֹהַּ מִבַּלְעֲדֵי יְהֹוָה
וּמִי צוּר זוּלָתִי אֱלֹהֵינוּ
מִבַּלְעֲדֵי
mi-bal-a-DEI
apart from
For who is a god apart from the LORD?
אֱלֹהֵינוּ
e-lo-hei-NU
our God
And who is a rock besides our God?
Two rhetorical questions, and the pronoun goes plural: our God. The rock of verse 3 comes back, now as the thing nobody else can be.
33
הָאֵל הַמְאַזְּרֵנִי חָיִל
וַיִּתֵּן תָּמִים דַּרְכִּי
הַמְאַזְּרֵנִי
ham-az-re-NI
who girds me
חָיִל
cha-YIL
with strength
The God who girds me with strength,
וַיִּתֵּן
va-yi-TEN
and He made
and made my way blameless.
Girding is what you do with a belt before work or battle. The word blameless has now been said of the speaker, of God's way, and of the speaker's way, in that order.
34
מְשַׁוֶּה רַגְלַי כָּאַיָּלוֹת
וְעַל בָּמֹתַי יַעֲמִידֵנִי
כָּאַיָּלוֹת
ka-a-ya-LOT
like the deer
Making my feet like the deer's,
בָּמֹתַי
ba-mo-TAI
my heights
יַעֲמִידֵנִי
ya-a-mi-de-NI
He stands me
and standing me on my heights.
The image is a hind on rock, sure footed where a man would slip. Height returns from verse 28, but here it is granted rather than punished.
35
מְלַמֵּד יָדַי לַמִּלְחָמָה
וְנִחֲתָה קֶשֶׁת נְחוּשָׁה זְרוֹעֹתָי
לַמִּלְחָמָה
la-mil-cha-MA
for the battle
Training my hands for battle,
וְנִחֲתָה
ve-ni-cha-TA
and it bends
נְחוּשָׁה
ne-chu-SHA
bronze
זְרוֹעֹתָי
ze-ro-o-TAI
my arms
so my arms bend a bow of bronze.
The hands that were clean in verse 21 are being taught to fight. A bronze bow is beyond ordinary strength, which is the whole claim of the line.
36
וַתִּתֶּן לִי מָגֵן יִשְׁעֶךָ
וִימִינְךָ תִסְעָדֵנִי
וְעַנְוַתְךָ תַרְבֵּנִי
וַתִּתֶּן
va-TI-ten
and You gave
יִשְׁעֶךָ
yish-e-CHA
Your salvation
You gave me the shield of Your salvation,
וִימִינְךָ
vi-min-CHA
and Your right hand
תִסְעָדֵנִי
tis-a-de-NI
it supports me
and Your right hand supports me,
וְעַנְוַתְךָ
ve-an-vat-CHA
and Your gentleness
תַרְבֵּנִי
tar-be-NI
it makes me great
and Your gentleness makes me great.
Three gifts, ending on the strangest word in the psalm. Greatness is credited not to the shield or the hand but to God stooping, which reverses everything the war language implies.
37
תַּרְחִיב צַעֲדִי תַחְתָּי
וְלֹא מָעֲדוּ קַרְסֻלָּי
תַּרְחִיב
tar-CHIV
You widen
תַחְתָּי
tach-TAI
beneath me
You widen my stride beneath me,
מָעֲדוּ
ma-a-DU
they slipped
קַרְסֻלָּי
kar-su-LAI
my ankles
and my ankles have not slipped.
The open space of verse 20 becomes room to walk in. Ankles are an oddly precise body part, and that precision is what makes the boast sound like a soldier talking.
38
אֶרְדּוֹף אוֹיְבַי וְאַשִּׂיגֵם
וְלֹא אָשׁוּב עַד כַּלּוֹתָם
וְאַשִּׂיגֵם
ve-a-si-GEM
and I overtake them
I pursue my enemies and overtake them,
כַּלּוֹתָם
ka-lo-TAM
I finish them
and I do not turn back until they are finished.
The reversal is complete: the man who was surrounded in verse 6 is now the one chasing. The verb for pursue is the same one used of hunted prey earlier in the book.
39
אֶמְחָצֵם וְלֹא יֻכְלוּ קוּם
יִפְּלוּ תַּחַת רַגְלָי
אֶמְחָצֵם
em-cha-TZEM
I crush them
יֻכְלוּ
yuch-LU
they are able
I crush them so they cannot rise,
Under my feet answers under His feet in verse 10, and the parallel is not accidental. This is the most violent verse in the psalm and it is stated flatly.
40
וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי חַיִל לַמִּלְחָמָה
תַּכְרִיעַ קָמַי תַּחְתָּי
וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי
vat-az-re-NI
and You girded me
חַיִל
CHA-yil
with strength
לַמִּלְחָמָה
la-mil-cha-MA
for the battle
You girded me with strength for the battle,
תַּכְרִיעַ
tach-RI-a
You made kneel
קָמַי
ka-MAI
those who rise against me
תַּחְתָּי
tach-TAI
beneath me
You made those who rose against me kneel beneath me.
The credit is handed back mid boast. Every active verb of the last three verses is now retold with You as the subject.
41
וְאֹיְבַי נָתַתָּה לִּי עֹרֶף
וּמְשַׂנְאַי אַצְמִיתֵם
וְאֹיְבַי
ve-oi-VAI
and my enemies
עֹרֶף
O-ref
the back of the neck
You gave me my enemies' backs,
וּמְשַׂנְאַי
um-san-AI
and those who hate me
אַצְמִיתֵם
atz-mi-TEM
I silence them
and those who hate me, I silenced them.
Giving someone the neck is the Hebrew way of saying they turned and ran. The idiom is physical and the translation loses it if you write retreat.
42
יְשַׁוְּעוּ וְאֵין מוֹשִׁיעַ
עַל יְהֹוָה וְלֹא עָנָם
יְשַׁוְּעוּ
ye-shav-U
they cry out
וְאֵין
ve-EIN
and there is no
They cry out, and there is no saviour,
עָנָם
a-NAM
He answered them
to the LORD, but He did not answer them.
The enemies use the same verb the speaker used in verse 7, and get silence. The psalm shows its symmetry at its harshest here, and does not soften it.
43
וְאֶשְׁחָקֵם כְּעָפָר עַל פְּנֵי רוּחַ
כְּטִיט חוּצוֹת אֲרִיקֵם
וְאֶשְׁחָקֵם
ve-esh-cha-KEM
and I grind them
כְּעָפָר
ke-a-FAR
like dust
I grind them like dust on the face of the wind,
כְּטִיט
ktit
like the mud of
חוּצוֹת
chu-TZOT
the streets
אֲרִיקֵם
a-ri-KEM
I pour them out
like the mud of the streets I pour them out.
Two images of something reduced until it can no longer be gathered. The wind that carried God in verse 11 now carries the enemy away as powder.
44
תְּפַלְּטֵנִי מֵרִיבֵי עָם
תְּשִׂימֵנִי לְרֹאשׁ גּוֹיִם
עַם לֹא יָדַעְתִּי יַעַבְדוּנִי
תְּפַלְּטֵנִי
tfal-te-NI
You deliver me
מֵרִיבֵי
me-ri-VEI
from the strife of
You deliver me from the strife of a people,
תְּשִׂימֵנִי
te-si-me-NI
You set me
You set me as head of nations;
יָדַעְתִּי
ya-da-TI
I have known
יַעַבְדוּנִי
ya-av-du-NI
they serve me
a people I have not known serve me.
The subject widens from one man's enemies to foreign nations, which is where a royal psalm has to end up. Delivered from his own people first, then given others.
45
לְשֵׁמַע אֹזֶן יִשָּׁמְעוּ לִי
בְּנֵי נֵכָר יְכַחֲשׁוּ לִי
לְשֵׁמַע
le-SHE-ma
at the hearing of
יִשָּׁמְעוּ
yi-sham-U
they obey
At the hearing of an ear they obey me,
נֵכָר
ne-CHAR
a foreign land
יְכַחֲשׁוּ
ye-cha-cha-SHU
they cringe
foreigners cringe before me.
Obedience arrives by rumour, before any army does. The Hebrew for obey is literally they hear to me, the same verb as God hearing in verse 7.
46
בְּנֵי נֵכָר יִבֹּלוּ
וְיַחְרְגוּ מִמִּסְגְּרוֹתֵיהֶם
נֵכָר
ne-CHAR
a foreign land
יִבֹּלוּ
yi-bo-LU
they wither
Foreigners wither,
וְיַחְרְגוּ
ve-yach-re-GU
and they come trembling
מִמִּסְגְּרוֹתֵיהֶם
mi-mis-gro-TEI-hem
out of their strongholds
and come trembling out of their strongholds.
The verb for wither is used of leaves and of clothes wearing out. Their strongholds are the same kind of place the LORD was for the speaker in verse 3, which is the point of the contrast.
47
חַי יְהֹוָה
וּבָרוּךְ צוּרִי
וְיָרוּם אֱלוֹהֵי יִשְׁעִי
וּבָרוּךְ
u-va-RUCH
and blessed is
And blessed is my rock,
וְיָרוּם
ve-ya-RUM
and let Him be exalted
אֱלוֹהֵי
e-lo-HEI
the God of
יִשְׁעִי
yish-I
my salvation
and exalted be the God of my salvation,
The closing doxology opens with a two word shout. Rock and salvation both come back from verse 3, so the psalm is deliberately returning to its own beginning.
48
הָאֵל הַנּוֹתֵן נְקָמוֹת לִי
וַיַּדְבֵּר עַמִּים תַּחְתָּי
הַנּוֹתֵן
ha-no-TEN
who gives
נְקָמוֹת
ne-ka-MOT
vengeance
The God who gives me vengeance,
וַיַּדְבֵּר
va-yad-BER
and He subdues
תַּחְתָּי
tach-TAI
beneath me
and subdues peoples beneath me,
Vengeance is given rather than taken, which is the psalm's consistent grammar for anything the speaker does. Beneath me repeats for the third time.
49
מְפַלְּטִי מֵאֹיְבָי
אַף מִן קָמַי תְּרוֹמְמֵנִי
מֵאִישׁ חָמָס תַּצִּילֵנִי
מְפַלְּטִי
me-fal-TI
my deliverer
מֵאֹיְבָי
me-oi-VAI
from my enemies
my deliverer from my enemies;
קָמַי
ka-MAI
those who rise against me
תְּרוֹמְמֵנִי
te-rom-me-NI
You lift me
indeed You lift me above those who rise against me,
מֵאִישׁ
me-ISH
from the man of
תַּצִּילֵנִי
ta-tzi-le-NI
You rescue me
You rescue me from the man of violence.
The last enemy is a single man of violence, not an army, which brings the psalm back down to the scale of verse 18. The title deliverer repeats from verse 3.
50
עַל כֵּן אוֹדְךָ בַגּוֹיִם יְהֹוָה
וּלְשִׁמְךָ אֲזַמֵּרָה
בַגּוֹיִם
va-go-YIM
among the nations
Therefore I thank You among the nations, LORD,
וּלְשִׁמְךָ
ul-shim-CHA
and to Your name
אֲזַמֵּרָה
a-za-me-RA
I will sing
and to Your name I will sing.
The thanks are given in public and abroad, in front of the nations just subdued. Praise is treated as the last act of the campaign, not as a private matter.
51
מַגְדִּל יְשׁוּעוֹת מַלְכּוֹ
וְעֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד לִמְשִׁיחוֹ
לְדָוִד וּלְזַרְעוֹ עַד עוֹלָם
מַגְדִּל
mag-DIL
magnifying
יְשׁוּעוֹת
ye-shu-OT
the victories of
He magnifies the victories of His king,
לִמְשִׁיחוֹ
lim-shi-CHO
to His anointed
and does kindness to His anointed,
וּלְזַרְעוֹ
ul-zar-O
and to his seed
to David and to his seed forever.
The last verse leaves the first person entirely and speaks of David in the third, extending the promise past his lifetime. This line is said daily in the Grace after Meals.
♦ PARDES analysis: פרדס
The four levels of Jewish reading of the sacred text: פשט Peshat (literal meaning), רמז Remez (symbolic allusion), דרש Drash (midrashic interpretation), סוד Sod (mystical meaning). The word פרדס means "orchard", each level is a fruit.
פשט · Peshat: literal meaning
A campaign report in five movements. The heading dates it (verse 1); a burst of titles declares who was called on (2 to 4); the speaker sinks under water and rope until he shouts (5 to 7); God comes down in a storm that dismantles the landscape (8 to 16); and one hand pulls one man out of the water (17 to 20). The rest is aftermath: a legal claim that the rescue was deserved (21 to 25), a general rule about how God meets people (26 to 31), then training, battle, pursuit and dominion (32 to 46), closing in praise (47 to 51). Two structural facts do the work. First, the distress of verse 7 is built on the root meaning narrow and the rescue of verse 20 on the root meaning wide, so the whole first half is a movement from a tight place to an open one. Second, verse 39 puts the enemies under my feet, and verse 10 had put thick darkness under His feet; the psalm arranges its own echo and does not comment on it.
רמז · Remez: allusion
This poem exists twice in the Bible, here and as 2 Samuel 22, and the two copies differ from each other in wording and spelling from beginning to end. The most visible consequence is liturgical: Grace after Meals ends with this psalm's last verse on ordinary days, using the participle מַגְדִּל (mag-dil, v.51), and switches to the noun form of the parallel verse in Samuel on Shabbat and festivals, so a diner meets both versions of the same line in one week. Four cruxes are worth marking. The verb אֶרְחׇמְךָ (er-chom-cha, v.2) is the ordinary root for compassion, but in a stem it almost never takes elsewhere in the Bible, which is why translations range from I love You to I am moved toward You. The word בְלִיַּעַל (vli-ya-al, v.5) is usually explained as worthlessness or as something like without escape, and it later hardens into a proper name for a demonic figure; the derivation is disputed. In verse 15 the single word רָב (rav, v.15) can be read as an adjective, lightnings in abundance, or as a verb, He shot, and both readings are in print. Hardest is וְעַנְוַתְךָ (ve-an-vat-cha, v.36) in verse 36: it is derived either from the root for answering or from the root for lowliness, giving either Your response or Your stooping made me great, and no reading has won.
דרש · Drash: midrashic reading
Verses 26 and 27 are the passage everything else in the psalm gets read through. Four times the same construction appears: an adjective describing a person, then a verb built from that adjective in the stem that means to act a quality out, with God as its subject. With the faithful You act faithfully, with the pure You act purely, and then, without warning, with the crooked You act twisted. Read plainly it says God takes the moral shape of whoever approaches Him. The traditional handling of the last clause is to make it a description of consequence rather than of God's nature: a crooked person meets a world that keeps turning out crooked, and the crookedness he meets is his own returned. The same logic organises the two halves of the psalm. In verse 7 the speaker cries out and is heard; in verse 42 his enemies cry out with the same verb and are not answered. Read against verse 21, where the speaker claims the rescue was earned, the psalm is arguing that deliverance is not arbitrary favour but a mirror. Note also that the lamp of נֵרִי (ne-ri, v.29) is not a stray image: elsewhere in the historical books God promises David a lamp in Jerusalem, meaning a surviving descendant on the throne, which is where verse 51 ends up.
סוד · Sod: mystical reading
The theophany hides more than it reveals, and it says so. In verse 12 God makes חֹשֶׁךְ (cho-shech, v.12), darkness, into a hiding place and pitches it as a shelter, so the closer He comes the less can be seen; the light of verse 13 arrives only as a brightness breaking out of cloud from the inside. Mystical reading takes this as the standing rule for divine approach: concealment is not the absence of presence but its working condition, and the storm is a garment. The cherub of כְּרוּב (kruv, v.11) places the psalm in the same image family as the chariot vision of Ezekiel, the text that later becomes the seed of merkavah mysticism, and here that chariot is in motion for the sake of one drowning man. The pivot at verse 16 belongs to the same reading: the moment the world is stripped to its foundations is also the moment the psalm stops saying He and starts saying You, so the undoing of the created order and the arrival of direct address are described as one event. Verse 51 then extends the whole thing past the speaker, from the anointed king to his seed forever, which is how the poem stops being one man's rescue.