Thirty seven verses: thirty of drowning, seven of singing. It opens with water at the throat and mud with no floor under it, spends twenty verses on shame inflicted by other people rather than by an army, curses those people for seven verses, and ends with Zion rebuilt and lived in. This is a lament of the individual, the kind of psalm said when the trouble is other people. For a learner it is a workshop of the object suffix: save me, answer me, rescue me, sweep me away, swallow me, ransom me, redeem it, all one syllable hung on the end of a verb.
1
לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל שׁוֹשַׁנִּים
לְדָוִד
לַמְנַצֵּחַ
lam-na-TZE-ach
for the leader
שׁוֹשַׁנִּים
sho-sha-NIM
lilies
For the leader; upon shoshannim.
The heading gives a tune and an author and says nothing about the contents. Shoshannim, lilies, is a musical direction whose tune is lost.
2
הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי אֱלֹהִים
כִּי בָאוּ מַיִם עַד נָפֶשׁ
הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
ho-shi-e-NI
save me
Save me, God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.
The psalm starts at the end of the crisis, not the beginning of it. The water is already at the throat, and everything that follows is the argument for the imperative in the first word.
3
טָבַעְתִּי בִּיוֵן מְצוּלָה וְאֵין מׇעֳמָד
בָּאתִי בְמַעֲמַקֵּי מַיִם וְשִׁבֹּלֶת שְׁטָפָתְנִי
טָבַעְתִּי
ta-va-TI
I have sunk
בִּיוֵן
bi-VEN
in the mire of
מְצוּלָה
me-tzu-LA
the deep
וְאֵין
ve-EIN
and there is no
I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold;
בְמַעֲמַקֵּי
ve-ma-a-ma-KEI
into the depths of
וְשִׁבֹּלֶת
ve-shi-BO-let
and a current
שְׁטָפָתְנִי
shta-fat-NI
has swept me away
I have come into deep waters, and the current has swept me away.
Two pairs, mud then water, and each pair carries a clause saying there is nothing to stand on. The verbs are perfect: this has already happened to him.
4
יָגַעְתִּי בְקׇרְאִי נִחַר גְּרוֹנִי
כָּלוּ עֵינַי מְיַחֵל לֵאלֹהָי
יָגַעְתִּי
ya-ga-TI
I am worn out
בְקׇרְאִי
ve-kor-I
by my calling
I am worn out by my calling; my throat is parched.
לֵאלֹהָי
le-lo-HAI
for my God
My eyes have failed, waiting for my God.
The exhaustion comes from praying, not from fighting. The throat that has been shouting is the same throat the water reached in the verse before.
5
רַבּוּ מִשַּׂעֲרוֹת רֹאשִׁי שֹׂנְאַי חִנָּם
עָצְמוּ מַצְמִיתַי אֹיְבַי שֶׁקֶר
אֲשֶׁר לֹא גָזַלְתִּי אָז אָשִׁיב
רַבּוּ
ra-BU
are more numerous
מִשַּׂעֲרוֹת
mi-sa-a-ROT
than the hairs of
שֹׂנְאַי
son-AI
those who hate me
חִנָּם
chi-NAM
without cause
More than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause;
מַצְמִיתַי
matz-mi-TAI
those who would destroy me
many are those who would destroy me, my enemies with lies.
גָזַלְתִּי
ga-zal-TI
I stole
אָשִׁיב
a-SHIV
I must give back
What I never stole, I am made to give back.
The count moves off the water and onto people. Hairs of the head is the standard image for a number past counting, and the last clause is a courtroom formula: he is made to repay what he never took.
6
אֱלֹהִים אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ לְאִוַּלְתִּי
וְאַשְׁמוֹתַי מִמְּךָ לֹא נִכְחָדוּ
לְאִוַּלְתִּי
le-i-val-TI
of my folly
God, You Yourself know my folly,
וְאַשְׁמוֹתַי
ve-ash-mo-TAI
and my guilty acts
נִכְחָדוּ
nich-cha-DU
are hidden
and my guilty acts are not hidden from You.
A break in the protest. He does not claim to be innocent in general, only that whatever the guilt is, God already holds the full account of it.
7
אַל יֵבֹשׁוּ בִי קֹוֶיךָ אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה צְבָאוֹת
אַל יִכָּלְמוּ בִי מְבַקְשֶׁיךָ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
יֵבֹשׁוּ
ye-vo-SHU
be ashamed
קֹוֶיךָ
ko-vei-CHA
those who hope in You
צְבָאוֹת
tze-va-OT
of hosts
Let those who hope in You not be shamed through me, my Lord GOD of hosts;
יִכָּלְמוּ
yi-kal-MU
be humiliated
מְבַקְשֶׁיךָ
me-vak-shei-CHA
those who seek You
יִשְׂרָאֵל
yis-ra-EL
Israel
let those who seek You not be disgraced through me, God of Israel.
The stakes widen past one man. If he is shamed, everyone who hopes in the same God is shamed with him, which makes his rescue their business too.
8
כִּי עָלֶיךָ נָשָׂאתִי חֶרְפָּה
כִּסְּתָה כְלִמָּה פָנָי
עָלֶיךָ
a-lei-CHA
for Your sake
נָשָׂאתִי
na-sa-TI
I have borne
For it is for Your sake that I have borne reproach,
כִּסְּתָה
kis-TA
has covered
that disgrace has covered my face.
Here is the reason for the reproach: it was incurred on God's account. This is the hinge that turns a private complaint into a claim with a case behind it.
9
מוּזָר הָיִיתִי לְאֶחָי
וְנׇכְרִי לִבְנֵי אִמִּי
הָיִיתִי
ha-yi-TI
I have become
לְאֶחָי
le-e-CHAI
to my brothers
I have become a stranger to my brothers,
וְנׇכְרִי
ve-noch-RI
and a foreigner
לִבְנֵי
liv-NEI
to the sons of
a foreigner to my mother's sons.
The isolation reaches the family. My mother's sons is the tighter of the two idioms in a household with more than one wife, so the estrangement here is complete.
10
כִּי קִנְאַת בֵּיתְךָ אֲכָלָתְנִי
וְחֶרְפּוֹת חוֹרְפֶיךָ נָפְלוּ עָלָי
בֵּיתְךָ
beit-CHA
Your house
אֲכָלָתְנִי
a-cha-lat-NI
has consumed me
For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
וְחֶרְפּוֹת
ve-cher-POT
and the reproaches of
חוֹרְפֶיךָ
chor-fei-CHA
those who reproach You
and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.
The most quoted line in the psalm. Zeal for the house eats the one who has it, and insults aimed at God land on whoever is standing nearest to it.
11
וָאֶבְכֶּה בַצּוֹם נַפְשִׁי
וַתְּהִי לַחֲרָפוֹת לִי
וָאֶבְכֶּה
va-ev-KE
and I wept
בַצּוֹם
va-TZOM
with the fasting of
I wept, my soul in fasting,
וַתְּהִי
vat-HI
and it became
לַחֲרָפוֹת
la-cha-ra-FOT
as reproaches
and that became a reproach against me.
Public mourning gets read by the onlookers as one more thing to mock. The fast was meant as an appeal and turns into evidence against him.
12
וָאֶתְּנָה לְבוּשִׁי שָׂק
וָאֱהִי לָהֶם לְמָשָׁל
וָאֶתְּנָה
va-et-NA
and I made
לְבוּשִׁי
le-vu-SHI
my garment
I made sackcloth my clothing,
וָאֱהִי
va-e-HI
and I became
לְמָשָׁל
le-ma-SHAL
a byword
and I became a byword to them.
Sackcloth is the visible half of the fast in the previous verse. A byword is a person turned into a proverb: quoted rather than heard.
13
יָשִׂיחוּ בִי יֹשְׁבֵי שָׁעַר
וּנְגִינוֹת שׁוֹתֵי שֵׁכָר
יָשִׂיחוּ
ya-si-CHU
they talk
יֹשְׁבֵי
yosh-VEI
those who sit at
Those who sit at the gate talk about me,
וּנְגִינוֹת
un-gi-NOT
and the songs of
שׁוֹתֵי
sho-TEI
the drinkers of
שֵׁכָר
she-CHAR
strong drink
and I am the song of the drinkers.
Two audiences, top and bottom: the elders at the gate where cases are judged, and the men drinking. Both have him for material.
14
וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לְךָ יְהֹוָה עֵת רָצוֹן
אֱלֹהִים בְּרׇב חַסְדֶּךָ עֲנֵנִי בֶּאֱמֶת יִשְׁעֶךָ
וַאֲנִי
va-a-NI
but as for me
תְפִלָּתִי
tfi-la-TI
my prayer
But as for me, my prayer is to You, LORD, at a time of favour.
בְּרׇב
brov
in the abundance of
חַסְדֶּךָ
chas-de-CHA
Your kindness
בֶּאֱמֶת
be-E-met
with the truth of
יִשְׁעֶךָ
yish-e-CHA
Your salvation
God, in Your abundant kindness, answer me with the truth of Your deliverance.
The turn. After twelve verses of description comes the first request since verse 2, and it is framed by timing: a moment of favour, when the appeal will be received.
15
הַצִּילֵנִי מִטִּיט וְאַל אֶטְבָּעָה
אִנָּצְלָה מִשֹּׂנְאַי וּמִמַּעֲמַקֵּי מָיִם
הַצִּילֵנִי
ha-tzi-le-NI
rescue me
מִטִּיט
mi-TIT
from the mud
Rescue me from the mud, and let me not sink;
אִנָּצְלָה
i-natz-LA
let me be rescued
מִשֹּׂנְאַי
mi-son-AI
from those who hate me
וּמִמַּעֲמַקֵּי
u-mi-ma-a-ma-KEI
and from the depths of
let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of deep water.
The water and mud of verses 2 and 3 come back, now as petitions. What was reported as accomplished fact is what he asks not to be finished.
16
אַל תִּשְׁטְפֵנִי שִׁבֹּלֶת מַיִם
וְאַל תִּבְלָעֵנִי מְצוּלָה
וְאַל תֶּאְטַר עָלַי בְּאֵר פִּיהָ
תִּשְׁטְפֵנִי
tish-tfe-NI
sweep me away
שִׁבֹּלֶת
shi-BO-let
a flood of
Let no flood of water sweep me away,
תִּבְלָעֵנִי
tiv-la-e-NI
swallow me
מְצוּלָה
me-tzu-LA
the deep
let the deep not swallow me,
and let the pit not shut its mouth over me.
Three prohibitions, each with a different mouth: the flood, the deep that swallows, and the pit that closes. The pit shutting is burial.
17
עֲנֵנִי יְהֹוָה כִּי טוֹב חַסְדֶּךָ
כְּרֹב רַחֲמֶיךָ פְּנֵה אֵלָי
חַסְדֶּךָ
chas-de-CHA
Your kindness
Answer me, LORD, for Your kindness is good;
כְּרֹב
krov
as the abundance of
רַחֲמֶיךָ
ra-cha-mei-CHA
Your mercies
in Your abundant mercy, turn to me.
The ground of the request is not his own merit but the quality of the kindness he is asking from. Answer me, the same imperative, returns from verse 14.
18
וְאַל תַּסְתֵּר פָּנֶיךָ מֵעַבְדֶּךָ
כִּי צַר לִי מַהֵר עֲנֵנִי
פָּנֶיךָ
pa-nei-CHA
Your face
מֵעַבְדֶּךָ
me-av-de-CHA
from Your servant
Do not hide Your face from Your servant,
for I am in distress; answer me quickly.
A hidden face is the standard image for attention withheld. The new element in the request is speed, which is what distress does to prayer.
19
קׇרְבָה אֶל נַפְשִׁי גְאָלָהּ
לְמַעַן אֹיְבַי פְּדֵנִי
גְאָלָהּ
ge-a-LAH
redeem it
Draw near to my soul, redeem it;
לְמַעַן
le-ma-AN
because of
פְּדֵנִי
pe-de-NI
ransom me
because of my enemies, ransom me.
Two commercial verbs, redeem and ransom, both about paying to get a person back out of someone else's hands. What is being bought out is the soul.
20
אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ חֶרְפָּתִי וּבׇשְׁתִּי וּכְלִמָּתִי
נֶגְדְּךָ כׇּל צוֹרְרָי
חֶרְפָּתִי
cher-pa-TI
my reproach
וּבׇשְׁתִּי
u-vosh-TI
and my shame
וּכְלִמָּתִי
uch-li-ma-TI
and my disgrace
You know my reproach, my shame and my disgrace;
נֶגְדְּךָ
neg-de-CHA
before You
צוֹרְרָי
tzor-RAI
my adversaries
all my adversaries are before You.
He goes back to what God knows, as in verse 6, but the object has changed. There it was his own folly; here it is the shame other people put on him.
21
חֶרְפָּה שָׁבְרָה לִבִּי וָאָנוּשָׁה
וָאֲקַוֶּה לָנוּד וָאַיִן
וְלַמְנַחֲמִים וְלֹא מָצָאתִי
שָׁבְרָה
shav-RA
has broken
וָאָנוּשָׁה
va-a-nu-SHA
and I am sick
Reproach has broken my heart and I am sick;
וָאֲקַוֶּה
va-a-ka-VE
and I hoped
וָאַיִן
va-A-yin
and there was none
I hoped for sympathy, and there was none,
וְלַמְנַחֲמִים
ve-lam-na-cha-MIM
and for comforters
for comforters, and I found none.
The lowest point of the psalm, and it is not the enemies. It is the absence of anyone kind: he looked for a comforter and the looking itself came back empty.
22
וַיִּתְּנוּ בְּבָרוּתִי רֹאשׁ
וְלִצְמָאִי יַשְׁקוּנִי חֹמֶץ
וַיִּתְּנוּ
va-yit-NU
and they put
בְּבָרוּתִי
be-va-ru-TI
in my food
They put poison in my food,
וְלִצְמָאִי
ve-litz-ma-I
and for my thirst
יַשְׁקוּנִי
yash-ku-NI
they gave me to drink
and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Hospitality turned into a weapon. Poison in the food and vinegar for the thirst are both handed over at exactly the moment of need.
23
יְהִי שֻׁלְחָנָם לִפְנֵיהֶם לְפָח
וְלִשְׁלוֹמִים לְמוֹקֵשׁ
שֻׁלְחָנָם
shul-cha-NAM
their table
לִפְנֵיהֶם
lif-NEI-hem
before them
Let their table before them become a snare,
וְלִשְׁלוֹמִים
ve-lish-lo-MIM
and for those at ease
לְמוֹקֵשׁ
le-mo-KESH
as a trap
and for those at ease, a trap.
The curses begin, and the first one sends the meal of verse 22 back to the sender. Their own table is what closes on them.
24
תֶּחְשַׁכְנָה עֵינֵיהֶם מֵרְאוֹת
וּמׇתְנֵיהֶם תָּמִיד הַמְעַד
תֶּחְשַׁכְנָה
tech-shach-NA
let them grow dark
עֵינֵיהֶם
ei-NEI-hem
their eyes
מֵרְאוֹת
mer-OT
from seeing
Let their eyes grow dark so they cannot see,
וּמׇתְנֵיהֶם
u-mot-NEI-hem
and their loins
הַמְעַד
ham-AD
make to totter
and make their loins tremble continually.
Darkened eyes and shaking hips: the two standard images for a body that can neither see what is coming nor run from it.
25
שְׁפׇךְ עֲלֵיהֶם זַעְמֶךָ
וַחֲרוֹן אַפְּךָ יַשִּׂיגֵם
עֲלֵיהֶם
a-LEI-hem
upon them
זַעְמֶךָ
za-me-CHA
Your fury
Pour out Your fury on them,
וַחֲרוֹן
va-cha-RON
and the burning of
יַשִּׂיגֵם
ya-si-GEM
let it overtake them
and let Your burning anger overtake them.
The one curse that asks God to act directly. The others ask for a state of affairs; this one asks for the pouring, with an imperative.
26
תְּהִי טִירָתָם נְשַׁמָּה
בְּאׇהֳלֵיהֶם אַל יְהִי יֹשֵׁב
טִירָתָם
ti-ra-TAM
their encampment
נְשַׁמָּה
ne-sha-MA
desolate
Let their camp be desolate,
בְּאׇהֳלֵיהֶם
be-o-ho-LEI-hem
in their tents
יֹשֵׁב
yo-SHEV
one dwelling
let no one dwell in their tents.
Encampment and tents are the vocabulary of a household living in the open. The curse is that the line stops and the site stays empty.
27
כִּי אַתָּה אֲשֶׁר הִכִּיתָ רָדָפוּ
וְאֶל מַכְאוֹב חֲלָלֶיךָ יְסַפֵּרוּ
הִכִּיתָ
hi-ki-TA
You have struck
רָדָפוּ
ra-da-FU
they pursue
For they pursue the one You have struck,
מַכְאוֹב
mach-OV
the pain of
חֲלָלֶיךָ
cha-la-lei-CHA
Your wounded ones
יְסַפֵּרוּ
ye-sa-pe-RU
they recount
and they tell of the pain of those You have wounded.
The justification offered for the curses, and the hardest verse in the psalm to construe word by word. The charge is that they pile onto someone already struck down.
28
תְּנָה עָוֺן עַל עֲוֺנָם
וְאַל יָבֹאוּ בְּצִדְקָתֶךָ
עֲוֺנָם
a-o-NAM
their iniquity
Add guilt to their guilt,
וְאַל
ve-AL
and let them not
בְּצִדְקָתֶךָ
be-tzid-ka-te-CHA
into Your righteousness
and let them not enter into Your righteousness.
Not a request for punishment but for the guilt itself to keep accumulating, since that is the one thing that would keep them outside.
29
יִמָּחוּ מִסֵּפֶר חַיִּים
וְעִם צַדִּיקִים אַל יִכָּתֵבוּ
יִמָּחוּ
yi-ma-CHU
let them be erased
מִסֵּפֶר
mi-SE-fer
from the book of
Let them be erased from the book of the living,
צַדִּיקִים
tza-di-KIM
the righteous
יִכָּתֵבוּ
yi-ka-te-VU
be written
and not be written down with the righteous.
The book of the living is a register of who is alive now. To be erased from it is to die, which is a smaller and harsher thing than being damned.
30
וַאֲנִי עָנִי וְכוֹאֵב
יְשׁוּעָתְךָ אֱלֹהִים תְּשַׂגְּבֵנִי
וַאֲנִי
va-a-NI
but as for me
וְכוֹאֵב
ve-cho-EV
and in pain
But I am afflicted and in pain;
יְשׁוּעָתְךָ
ye-shu-at-CHA
Your salvation
תְּשַׂגְּבֵנִי
te-sag-ve-NI
let it set me on high
let Your salvation, God, set me on high.
The curses stop as abruptly as they started and the speaker goes back to his own state. Still poor, still in pain, and the verb asks to be lifted out of reach.
31
אֲהַלְלָה שֵׁם אֱלֹהִים בְּשִׁיר
וַאֲגַדְּלֶנּוּ בְתוֹדָה
אֲהַלְלָה
a-hal-LA
I will praise
בְּשִׁיר
be-SHIR
with a song
I will praise the name of God with a song,
וַאֲגַדְּלֶנּוּ
va-a-gad-le-NU
and I will magnify Him
בְתוֹדָה
ve-to-DA
with thanksgiving
and magnify Him with thanksgiving.
The vow of praise, which is where laments in this book normally land. Both nouns here, song and thanksgiving, also name things brought to the Temple.
32
וְתִיטַב לַיהֹוָה מִשּׁוֹר
פָּר מַקְרִן מַפְרִיס
וְתִיטַב
ve-ti-TAV
and it will please
לַיהֹוָה
lai-ho-VA
to the LORD
מִשּׁוֹר
mi-SHOR
more than an ox
And it will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with horns and hooves.
A ranking, stated flatly: the song is worth more than the animal. Horns and hooves are how you certify that the bull is fully grown and fit to bring.
33
רָאוּ עֲנָוִים יִשְׂמָחוּ
דֹּרְשֵׁי אֱלֹהִים וִיחִי לְבַבְכֶם
עֲנָוִים
a-na-VIM
the humble
יִשְׂמָחוּ
yis-ma-CHU
they rejoice
The humble have seen it and rejoice;
דֹּרְשֵׁי
dor-SHEI
you who seek
וִיחִי
vi-CHI
and let it live
לְבַבְכֶם
le-VAV-chem
your heart
you who seek God, let your heart revive.
The private rescue becomes public evidence. The humble who watch it are the audience the vow of verse 31 was made for.
34
כִּי שֹׁמֵעַ אֶל אֶבְיוֹנִים יְהֹוָה
וְאֶת אֲסִירָיו לֹא בָזָה
אֶבְיוֹנִים
evi-o-NIM
the needy
For the LORD listens to the needy,
וְאֶת
VE-et
and, marking the object,
אֲסִירָיו
a-si-RAV
His prisoners
בָזָה
va-ZA
has He despised
and He has not despised His prisoners.
The reason the humble can be glad, put as a rule about God rather than as a report about one rescued man.
35
יְהַלְלוּהוּ שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ
יַמִּים וְכׇל רֹמֵשׂ בָּם
יְהַלְלוּהוּ
ye-hal-lu-HU
let them praise Him
וָאָרֶץ
va-A-retz
and earth
Let heaven and earth praise Him,
וְכׇל
ve-CHOL
and everything
the seas and everything that moves in them.
The audience widens to everything that exists, which is the standard closing move of a psalm of praise once the vow has been made.
36
כִּי אֱלֹהִים יוֹשִׁיעַ צִיּוֹן וְיִבְנֶה עָרֵי יְהוּדָה
וְיָשְׁבוּ שָׁם וִירֵשׁוּהָ
יוֹשִׁיעַ
yo-SHI-a
will save
וְיִבְנֶה
ve-yiv-NE
and He will build
For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,
וְיָשְׁבוּ
ve-yash-VU
and they will dwell
וִירֵשׁוּהָ
vi-re-shu-A
and they will possess it
and they will settle there and take possession of it.
The ending turns national. What opened with one man in the mud closes with cities rebuilt and a territory held, and the rescue asked for is now collective.
37
וְזֶרַע עֲבָדָיו יִנְחָלוּהָ
וְאֹהֲבֵי שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁכְּנוּ בָהּ
וְזֶרַע
ve-ZE-ra
and the seed of
עֲבָדָיו
a-va-DAV
His servants
יִנְחָלוּהָ
yin-cha-lu-A
will inherit it
The offspring of His servants will inherit it,
וְאֹהֲבֵי
ve-o-ha-VEI
and those who love
יִשְׁכְּנוּ
yish-KNU
will dwell
and those who love His name will dwell in it.
The possession passes to a generation the speaker will not live to see. The last word of the psalm is a place, and the last verb is living in it.
♦ 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
Three movements. Verses 2 to 14 set out the trouble and give its cause: the speaker is drowning, and the reason people despise him is that he is identified with God's house. Verses 15 to 29 are the petition, first for rescue in the same water images that opened the psalm, then seven verses of curse against the people who did this. Verses 30 to 37 are the vow of praise and its widening, from the singer to the humble who watch, then heaven and earth, then Zion and the cities of Judah. Read as one argument it holds together: the rescue is asked for on the ground stated in עָלֶיךָ (a-lei-cha, v.8), that the reproach was incurred for God's sake, and the curses are justified in verse 27 on the ground that the enemies are attacking a man God has already wounded.
רמז · Remez: allusion
Three cruxes worth knowing. נָפֶשׁ (na-fesh, v.2) is usually rendered soul, but the concrete sense of the word is throat, and with the water rising it is hard to read it any other way here. שׁוֹשַׁנִּים (sho-sha-nim, v.1), lilies, is a direction in the heading whose meaning is lost: it is taken as the name of a melody, as an instrument, or as a musical term nobody can now recover. And וְלִשְׁלוֹמִים (ve-lish-lo-mim, v.23), given above as those at ease, is genuinely disputed, read as their well being, as their allies, or as a state of security, with some editors changing the consonants to get a smoother sense. Outside the synagogue this psalm carries unusual weight: verses 10, 22 and 26 all reappear in the Christian scriptures, which is why it turns up in polemical literature far more than its neighbours in the book.
דרש · Drash: midrashic reading
The curse section is why this psalm is hard to say out loud. Seven verses asking for blindness, desolation and erasure, and the tradition has never smoothed them over. One line of reading takes them as description rather than wish: this is what happens to people who kick a man who is already down, and the speaker is stating the consequence rather than calling it in. Another takes the whole psalm as spoken by the community in exile rather than by one man, which is the natural reading of the last two verses, where what is finally asked for is the rebuilding of the cities of Judah. On מַקְרִן (mak-rin, v.32), one classical reading notices that the word for horned is singular in form and identifies the animal with the ox that Adam offered, a single horn on its forehead, an animal older than the sacrificial system and therefore outside it. Either way the point is the ranking: what this psalm ends up offering is a song, not a bull.
סוד · Sod: mystical reading
The descent here is measured rather than chaotic: water closing over the head, then mud with no floor under it, then a body emptied by fasting, then a throat that can do nothing but sing. In the mystical reading that shape is the whole teaching. The return is not a reversal, because nothing that happened gets undone: the enemies of verse 5 are never removed, the cities of verse 36 are built anyway. The image the tradition works hardest is מִסֵּפֶר (mi-se-fer, v.29), the book of the living, a register in which names are written and out of which they can be struck. The same phrase, a book of life, comes back in the insertions said during the Ten Days of Repentance. In this verse it is not about the world to come. It is about being counted among those who are still here.