Twenty-seven verses in four movements: a remembered victory (2 to 9), a present defeat (10 to 17), a protest of innocence (18 to 23), and a demand that God wake up (24 to 27). It is a communal lament, and an unusual one, because the speakers refuse to confess any sin. For a learner it is the cleanest drill in the book for one pattern: from verse 10 onward the verbs arrive in a wall of second person forms with the suffix -nu, us, attached. You rejected us, You shamed us, You sold us, You scattered us. Read the movements in order and watch the same grammar change sides.
1
לַמְנַצֵּחַ לִבְנֵי קֹרַח
מַשְׂכִּיל
לַמְנַצֵּחַ
lam-na-TZE-ach
for the leader
לִבְנֵי
liv-NEI
of the sons of
For the leader. Of the sons of Korah.
מַשְׂכִּיל
mas-KIL
a maskil
A maskil.
The heading is not part of the prayer: a director's note, a guild of Temple singers, and a genre label. Maskil marks a psalm meant to teach something, not only to be sung.
2
אֱלֹהִים בְּאׇזְנֵינוּ שָׁמַעְנוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ סִפְּרוּ לָנוּ
פֹּעַל פָּעַלְתָּ בִימֵיהֶם בִּימֵי קֶדֶם
בְּאׇזְנֵינוּ
be-oz-nei-NU
with our ears
שָׁמַעְנוּ
sha-ma-NU
we have heard
אֲבוֹתֵינוּ
a-vo-tei-NU
our fathers
O God, we have heard with our own ears, our fathers told us,
פָּעַלְתָּ
pa-al-TA
You did
בִימֵיהֶם
vi-MEI-hem
in their days
בִּימֵי
bi-MEI
in the days of
of the work You did in their days, in the days of old.
The psalm opens with hearing, not seeing. The whole case rests on testimony passed down a family line, which is exactly what the rest of the psalm will hold God to.
3
אַתָּה יָדְךָ גּוֹיִם הוֹרַשְׁתָּ וַתִּטָּעֵם
תָּרַע לְאֻמִּים וַתְּשַׁלְּחֵם
יָדְךָ
yad-CHA
with Your hand
הוֹרַשְׁתָּ
ho-rash-TA
You dispossessed
וַתִּטָּעֵם
va-ti-ta-EM
and You planted them
You with Your own hand dispossessed nations and planted them in;
וַתְּשַׁלְּחֵם
vat-shal-CHEM
and You sent them away
You broke peoples and drove them out.
Four verbs, all second person, all past. The conquest is told as the work of a hand rather than an army, and the same hand that uproots also plants.
4
כִּי לֹא בְחַרְבָּם יָרְשׁוּ אָרֶץ
וּזְרוֹעָם לֹא הוֹשִׁיעָה לָּמוֹ
כִּי יְמִינְךָ וּזְרוֹעֲךָ וְאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ
כִּי רְצִיתָם
בְחַרְבָּם
ve-char-BAM
by their sword
יָרְשׁוּ
yar-SHU
did they take possession of
For not by their own sword did they take the land,
וּזְרוֹעָם
uz-ro-AM
and their arm
and their own arm did not save them,
יְמִינְךָ
ye-min-CHA
Your right hand
וּזְרוֹעֲךָ
uz-ro-a-CHA
and Your arm
וְאוֹר
ve-OR
and the light of
פָּנֶיךָ
pa-nei-CHA
Your face
but Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face,
רְצִיתָם
re-tzi-TAM
You favoured them
because You favoured them.
The point of the history lesson: the ancestors won nothing themselves. Sword, arm and land are named only to be denied, so the argument can rest on the right hand and the face.
5
אַתָּה הוּא מַלְכִּי אֱלֹהִים
צַוֵּה יְשׁוּעוֹת יַעֲקֹב
יְשׁוּעוֹת
ye-shu-OT
the deliverances of
command the deliverance of Jacob.
Present tense at last. Having established what God once did, the speaker asks for the same thing now, and calls it by the old family name, Jacob.
6
בְּךָ צָרֵינוּ נְנַגֵּחַ
בְּשִׁמְךָ נָבוּס קָמֵינוּ
צָרֵינוּ
tza-rei-NU
our foes
נְנַגֵּחַ
ne-na-GE-ach
we gore
Through You we gore our foes;
בְּשִׁמְךָ
be-shim-CHA
in Your name
קָמֵינוּ
ka-mei-NU
those who rise against us
in Your name we trample those who rise against us.
The verb is borrowed from cattle: to gore with the horns. The strength is borrowed too, and the grammar says so twice, through You and in Your name.
7
כִּי לֹא בְקַשְׁתִּי אֶבְטָח
וְחַרְבִּי לֹא תוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
בְקַשְׁתִּי
ve-kash-TI
in my bow
For I do not trust in my bow,
וְחַרְבִּי
ve-char-BI
and my sword
תוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
to-shi-e-NI
will save me
and my sword will not save me.
The denial of verse 4 repeated in the first person singular. What was said about the fathers is now said by the one praying about himself.
8
כִּי הוֹשַׁעְתָּנוּ מִצָּרֵינוּ
וּמְשַׂנְאֵינוּ הֱבִישׁוֹתָ
הוֹשַׁעְתָּנוּ
ho-sha-ta-NU
You have saved us
מִצָּרֵינוּ
mi-tza-rei-NU
from our foes
For You have saved us from our foes,
וּמְשַׂנְאֵינוּ
um-san-ei-NU
and those who hate us
הֱבִישׁוֹתָ
he-vi-sho-TA
You have put to shame
and You have shamed those who hate us.
The last verse of the good part. Everything to here is past tense and true, and from verse 10 the same grammar will be used against God.
9
בֵּאלֹהִים הִלַּלְנוּ כׇל הַיּוֹם
וְשִׁמְךָ לְעוֹלָם נוֹדֶה סֶלָה
בֵּאלֹהִים
be-lo-HIM
in God
הִלַּלְנוּ
hi-lal-NU
we have boasted
In God we have boasted all day long,
וְשִׁמְךָ
ve-shim-CHA
and Your name
and we will thank Your name forever. Selah.
Boasting and thanks, all day and forever. Selah closes the movement, and the very next word in the psalm reverses everything said so far.
10
אַף זָנַחְתָּ וַתַּכְלִימֵנוּ
וְלֹא תֵצֵא בְּצִבְאוֹתֵינוּ
זָנַחְתָּ
za-nach-TA
You have rejected
וַתַּכְלִימֵנוּ
va-tach-li-me-NU
and You have humiliated us
Yet You have rejected us and put us to shame,
בְּצִבְאוֹתֵינוּ
be-tziv-o-tei-NU
with our armies
and You no longer go out with our armies.
One small word turns the psalm. From here to verse 17 every verb is second person with us attached to it: You rejected us, You shamed us, You sold us.
11
תְּשִׁיבֵנוּ אָחוֹר מִנִּי צָר
וּמְשַׂנְאֵינוּ שָׁסוּ לָמוֹ
תְּשִׁיבֵנוּ
tshi-ve-NU
You make us turn
You make us fall back before the foe,
וּמְשַׂנְאֵינוּ
um-san-ei-NU
and those who hate us
שָׁסוּ
sha-SU
have plundered
and those who hate us plunder us at will.
Retreat described as something done to the army rather than by it. The subject of the verb is God; the soldiers only move.
12
תִּתְּנֵנוּ כְּצֹאן מַאֲכָל
וּבַגּוֹיִם זֵרִיתָנוּ
תִּתְּנֵנוּ
tit-ne-NU
You give us
You hand us over like sheep to be eaten,
וּבַגּוֹיִם
u-va-go-YIM
and among the nations
זֵרִיתָנוּ
ze-ri-ta-NU
You have scattered us
and You have scattered us among the nations.
Sheep for eating, then a people spread thin across the map. The two pictures do not match, and the jolt between them is the point.
13
תִּמְכֹּר עַמְּךָ בְלֹא הוֹן
וְלֹא רִבִּיתָ בִּמְחִירֵיהֶם
You sell Your people for no money,
רִבִּיתָ
ri-bi-TA
did You increase
בִּמְחִירֵיהֶם
bim-chi-REI-hem
by their prices
and made no profit on the price.
The sale is an insult before it is a loss. The charge is not that God sold the people but that God sold them cheap and gained nothing by it.
14
תְּשִׂימֵנוּ חֶרְפָּה לִשְׁכֵנֵינוּ
לַעַג וָקֶלֶס לִסְבִיבוֹתֵינוּ
תְּשִׂימֵנוּ
te-si-me-NU
You make us
חֶרְפָּה
cher-PA
a reproach
לִשְׁכֵנֵינוּ
lish-che-nei-NU
to our neighbours
You make us a reproach to our neighbours,
וָקֶלֶס
va-KE-les
and derision
לִסְבִיבוֹתֵינוּ
lis-vi-vo-tei-NU
to those around us
mockery and derision to those around us.
The damage turns social. Neighbours first, then everyone in the circle: the audience widens with each word of the verse.
15
תְּשִׂימֵנוּ מָשָׁל בַּגּוֹיִם
מְנוֹד רֹאשׁ בַּלְאֻמִּים
תְּשִׂימֵנוּ
te-si-me-NU
You make us
בַּגּוֹיִם
ba-go-YIM
among the nations
You make us a byword among the nations,
בַּלְאֻמִּים
bal-u-MIM
among the peoples
a shaking of the head among the peoples.
A byword is a people whose name has become an example of something. The shake of the head is the gesture that goes with saying it.
16
כׇּל הַיּוֹם כְּלִמָּתִי נֶגְדִּי
וּבֹשֶׁת פָּנַי כִּסָּתְנִי
כְּלִמָּתִי
kli-ma-TI
my disgrace
נֶגְדִּי
neg-DI
is before me
All day long my disgrace is in front of me,
וּבֹשֶׁת
u-VO-shet
and the shame of
כִּסָּתְנִי
ki-sat-NI
has covered me
and the shame of my face has covered me,
The we of the lament breaks into a single I for two verses. One face is made to carry the shame of the whole people.
17
מִקּוֹל מְחָרֵף וּמְגַדֵּף
מִפְּנֵי אוֹיֵב וּמִתְנַקֵּם
מִקּוֹל
mi-KOL
at the voice of
מְחָרֵף
me-cha-REF
the one who taunts
וּמְגַדֵּף
um-ga-DEF
and the one who reviles
at the voice of the taunter and the reviler,
וּמִתְנַקֵּם
u-mit-na-KEM
and the avenger
in the face of the enemy and the avenger.
Two pairs of participles, four kinds of opponent, and not one of them is fought. What wounds in this verse is a voice.
18
כׇּל זֹאת בָּאַתְנוּ וְלֹא שְׁכַחֲנוּךָ
וְלֹא שִׁקַּרְנוּ בִּבְרִיתֶךָ
בָּאַתְנוּ
ba-at-NU
has come upon us
שְׁכַחֲנוּךָ
shcha-cha-nu-CHA
have we forgotten You
All this came upon us, and we did not forget You,
שִׁקַּרְנוּ
shi-kar-NU
have we been false
בִּבְרִיתֶךָ
biv-ri-te-CHA
to Your covenant
and we were not false to Your covenant.
The turn to protest. The covenant is invoked as a contract with two parties, and the speakers declare their own side of it kept.
19
לֹא נָסוֹג אָחוֹר לִבֵּנוּ
וַתֵּט אֲשֻׁרֵינוּ מִנִּי אׇרְחֶךָ
לִבֵּנוּ
li-be-NU
our heart
Our heart has not turned back,
וַתֵּט
va-TET
and nor has it swerved
אֲשֻׁרֵינוּ
a-shu-rei-NU
our steps
אׇרְחֶךָ
or-che-CHA
Your path
nor have our steps swerved from Your path,
The word used of the army in verse 11 is used here of the heart, and denied. The body was pushed backward; the loyalty was not.
20
כִּי דִכִּיתָנוּ בִּמְקוֹם תַּנִּים
וַתְּכַס עָלֵינוּ בְצַלְמָוֶת
דִכִּיתָנוּ
di-ki-ta-NU
You crushed us
בִּמְקוֹם
bim-KOM
in a place of
though You crushed us in a place of jackals,
וַתְּכַס
vat-CHAS
and You covered
בְצַלְמָוֶת
ve-tzal-MA-vet
with deep darkness
and covered us over with deep darkness.
The concession inside the protest: yes, this happened, and it happened at Your hand. A place of jackals is a ruin where a town used to stand.
21
אִם שָׁכַחְנוּ שֵׁם אֱלֹהֵינוּ
וַנִּפְרֹשׂ כַּפֵּינוּ לְאֵל זָר
שָׁכַחְנוּ
sha-chach-NU
we had forgotten
אֱלֹהֵינוּ
e-lo-hei-NU
our God
If we had forgotten the name of our God,
וַנִּפְרֹשׂ
va-nif-ROS
and had spread out
כַּפֵּינוּ
ka-pei-NU
our palms
or spread out our palms to a foreign god,
The protest hardens into a formal oath, the kind that names the offence and leaves the penalty deliberately unspoken.
22
הֲלֹא אֱלֹהִים יַחֲקׇר זֹאת
כִּי הוּא יֹדֵעַ תַּעֲלֻמוֹת לֵב
יַחֲקׇר
ya-cha-KOR
search out
would God not search this out?
תַּעֲלֻמוֹת
ta-a-lu-MOT
the hidden things of
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
The oath is submitted for inspection. Since God reads what is hidden, the claim of innocence cannot be theatre, and that is the whole argument.
23
כִּי עָלֶיךָ הֹרַגְנוּ כׇל הַיּוֹם
נֶחְשַׁבְנוּ כְּצֹאן טִבְחָה
עָלֶיךָ
a-lei-CHA
for Your sake
הֹרַגְנוּ
ho-rag-NU
we are killed
It is for Your sake that we are killed all day long,
נֶחְשַׁבְנוּ
nech-shav-NU
we are reckoned
reckoned as sheep for the slaughter.
The most quoted verse of the psalm, and the one that changes what the suffering means: not punishment, but service, and it happens daily.
24
עוּרָה לָמָּה תִישַׁן אֲדֹנָי
הָקִיצָה אַל תִּזְנַח לָנֶצַח
תִישַׁן
ti-SHAN
do You sleep
Wake up. Why do You sleep, my Lord?
הָקִיצָה
ha-ki-TZA
rouse Yourself
לָנֶצַח
la-ne-TZACH
forever
Rouse Yourself, do not reject us forever.
The boldest verse in the psalm. The verb is the ordinary one for waking a sleeper, addressed to God, and later tradition was uneasy about repeating it.
25
לָמָּה פָנֶיךָ תַסְתִּיר
תִּשְׁכַּח עׇנְיֵנוּ וְלַחֲצֵנוּ
פָנֶיךָ
fa-nei-CHA
Your face
תַסְתִּיר
tas-TIR
do You hide
Why do You hide Your face,
תִּשְׁכַּח
tish-KACH
do You forget
עׇנְיֵנוּ
on-ye-NU
our affliction
וְלַחֲצֵנוּ
ve-la-cha-tze-NU
and our oppression
and forget our affliction and our oppression?
Hiding the face is the standard biblical phrase for divine withdrawal. Here it is put as a question, which assumes there is an answer.
26
כִּי שָׁחָה לֶעָפָר נַפְשֵׁנוּ
דָּבְקָה לָאָרֶץ בִּטְנֵנוּ
לֶעָפָר
le-a-FAR
to the dust
נַפְשֵׁנוּ
naf-she-NU
our soul
For our soul has sunk down to the dust,
לָאָרֶץ
la-A-retz
to the ground
בִּטְנֵנוּ
bit-ne-NU
our belly
our belly clings to the ground.
The body again, lower than in verse 16: soul in the dust, belly on the ground. The posture is prostration, and it is also defeat.
27
קוּמָה עֶזְרָתָה לָּנוּ
וּפְדֵנוּ לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ
עֶזְרָתָה
ez-ra-TA
as a help
Arise, be our help,
וּפְדֵנוּ
uf-de-NU
and redeem us
לְמַעַן
le-ma-AN
for the sake of
חַסְדֶּךָ
chas-de-CHA
Your steadfast love
and redeem us for the sake of Your steadfast love.
No vow of praise, no promise, no confession. The psalm ends on a demand with a single reason attached, and the reason is God's own commitment.
♦ 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
The psalm is built as a legal argument. Verses 2 to 9 establish the precedent: God took the land, the ancestors' swords did not, and the people have said so publicly ever since. Verse 10 opens with one word, אַף (af, v.10), yet, and everything reverses. The same second person verbs now describe rejection, retreat, a cheap sale, scattering and mockery. Verses 18 to 23 supply the piece an accusation of this kind requires, which is that the defeat is not deserved. Then the last four verses drop the argument for imperatives: wake, rouse, arise, redeem. Nothing is resolved. The psalm ends on the demand.
רמז · Remez: allusion
Two words carry the seam. אָחוֹר (a-chor, v.11), backward, is what God makes the army do in verse 11; the same word returns in verse 19 as אָחוֹר (a-chor, v.19), where the heart is said not to have gone that way, so body and loyalty are deliberately separated. The second is בְצַלְמָוֶת (ve-tzal-ma-vet, v.20), deep darkness, the compound Psalm 23 uses for the valley walked through in safety. Here it is what God spreads over the people, which reads as a quotation turned inside out. Note also the root for saving three times in the first movement: denied of their arm in verse 4, denied of the speaker's sword in verse 7, then affirmed of God in verse 8. And the verb in verse 6, נְנַגֵּחַ (ne-na-ge-ach, v.6), is taken from an ox using its horns.
דרש · Drash: midrashic reading
Verse 24 became a liturgical problem. The Mishnah (Sotah 9:10, with a parallel at Ma'aser Sheni 5:15) records that Yohanan the High Priest put an end to the Awakeners, and the Talmud (Sotah 48a) explains that these were the Levites who said עוּרָה (u-ra, v.24) תִישַׁן (ti-shan, v.24), awake, why do You sleep, on the Temple platform each day. The objection preserved there is one line: does the Omnipresent sleep? A sentence a psalmist may shout in extremity was judged too much to fix as a daily rite. Verse 23 went the other way and became a text of martyrdom, read as the claim that a death suffered for the covenant is an act of service rather than a sentence, which is how the psalm's refusal to confess any sin is usually resolved.
סוד · Sod: mystical reading
The hiding of the face in verse 25, תַסְתִּיר (tas-tir, v.25), is read in the mystical literature not as absence but as a mode of presence: a concealment is still an act, and an act is still a relation. Sleep in verse 24 is read the same way, not as a lapse of attention but as a withdrawal of flow, a state that can be addressed and therefore ended, which is why the psalm can order it to stop. On this reading the refusal to confess is not defiance. If the concealment is not a response to sin, it belongs to the structure of the relationship itself, and asking why becomes the correct thing to say rather than an impertinence.