Psalm 37-39

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 37:1 sn Psalm 37. The psalmist urges his audience not to envy the wicked, but to trust in and obey the Lord, for he will destroy sinners and preserve the godly. When the smoke of judgment clears, the wicked will be gone, but the godly will remain and inherit God’s promised blessings. The psalm is an acrostic; every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
2. Psalm 37:1 tn The verb form is singular (see vv. 3-10 as well, where the second person verbs and pronouns are also singular). The psalmist’s exhortation has a wisdom flavor to it; it is personalized for each member of his audience.
3. Psalm 37:1 tn Heb “over sinners.” The context indicates that the psalmist has in mind the apparent power and success of sinners. See v. 7b.
4. Psalm 37:2 tn Heb “like green vegetation.”
5. Psalm 37:3 tn Heb “tend integrity.” The verb רָעָה (raʿah, “tend, shepherd”) is probably used here in the sense of “watch over, guard.” The noun אֱמוּנָה (ʾemunah, “faithfulness, honesty, integrity”) is understood as the direct object of the verb, though it could be taken as an adverbial accusative, “[feed] securely,” if the audience is likened to a flock of sheep.
6. Psalm 37:4 tn Following the imperatives of v. 3 the prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) in v. 4 indicate result. Faith and obedience (v. 3) will bring divine blessing (v. 4).
7. Psalm 37:4 tn Or “and he will give you what you desire most.” Heb “and he will grant to you the requests of your heart.”
8. Psalm 37:5 tn Heb “roll your way upon the Lord.” The noun “way” may refer here to one’s activities or course of life.
9. Psalm 37:5 tn Heb “he will act.” Verse 6 explains what is meant; the Lord will vindicate those who trust in him.
10. Psalm 37:6 tn Heb “and he will bring out like light your vindication, and your just cause like noonday.”
11. Psalm 37:7 tn Heb “Be quiet before the Lord!”
12. Psalm 37:7 tc The Hebrew text has וְהִתְחוֹלֵל (v^ehitkholel, Hitpolel of חִיל, khil, “writhe with fear, suffer”) but this idea fits awkwardly here. The text should be changed to וְתוֹחֵל (v^etokhel; Hiphil of יָחַל, yakhal, “wait”). It appears that the Hebrew text is the product of dittography: (1) the initial וה (vav-he) is accidentally repeated from the preceding word (יְהוָה, y^ehvah) and (2) the final ל (lamed) is accidentally repeated (note the preceding lamed and the initial lamed on the following form, לו).
13. Psalm 37:7 tn Heb “over one who causes his way to be successful.”
14. Psalm 37:8 tn Heb “Refrain from anger! Abandon rage!”
15. Psalm 37:9 tn Heb “for evil men.” The conjunction כִּי (ki, “for”) relates to the exhortations in v. 8; there is no reason to be frustrated, for the evildoers will be punished in due time.
16. Psalm 37:9 tn Or “cut off, removed.”
17. Psalm 37:9 tn Heb “and those who wait on the Lord, they will possess the land.”
18. Psalm 37:10 tn Heb “and yet, a little, there will be no wicked [one].”
19. Psalm 37:10 tn Heb “and you will carefully look upon his place, but he will not be [there].” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer is in view.
20. Psalm 37:11 tn Heb “and they will take delight in (see v. 4) abundance of peace.”
21. Psalm 37:12 tn Or “innocent.” The singular is used here in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and the typical godly individual are in view.
22. Psalm 37:12 tn Heb “and gnashes at him with his teeth” (see Ps 35:16). The language may picture the evil men as wild animals. The active participles in v. 12 are used for purposes of dramatic description.
23. Psalm 37:13 tn Heb “laughs.” As the next line indicates, this refers to derisive laughter (see 2:4). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form describes the action from the perspective of an eye-witness who is watching the divine response as it unfolds before his eyes.
24. Psalm 37:13 tn Heb “for he sees that his day is coming.” As the following context makes clear (vv. 15, 17, 19-20), “his day” refers to the time when God will destroy evildoers.
25. Psalm 37:14 tn Heb “to cause to fall.”
26. Psalm 37:14 tn Heb “the upright in way,” i.e., those who lead godly lives.
27. Psalm 37:15 tn Heb “enter into.”
28. Psalm 37:16 tn Heb “Better [is] a little to the godly one than the wealth of many evil ones.” The following verses explain why this is true. Though a godly individual may seem to have only meager possessions, he always has what he needs and will eventually possess the land. The wicked may prosper for a brief time, but will eventually be destroyed by divine judgment and lose everything.
29. Psalm 37:17 tn Heb “for the arms of the evil ones will be broken.”
30. Psalm 37:17 tn The active participle here indicates this is characteristically true.
31. Psalm 37:18 tn Heb “the Lord knows the days of the innocent ones.” He “knows” their days in the sense that he is intimately aware of and involved in their daily struggles. He meets their needs and sustains them.
32. Psalm 37:18 tn Heb “and their inheritance is forever.”
33. Psalm 37:19 tn Heb “in a time of trouble.”
34. Psalm 37:19 tn Heb “in days of famine they will be satisfied.”
35. Psalm 37:20 tn Or “for,” but Hebrew כִּי (ki) in this case would have to extend all the way back to v. 17a. Another option is to understand the particle as asseverative, “surely” (see v. 22).
36. Psalm 37:20 tc The meaning of the MT (כִּיקַר כָּרִים [kiqar karim], “like what is precious among the pastures/rams”) is uncertain. One possibility is to take the noun כָּרִים as “pastures” and interpret “what is precious” as referring to flowers that blossom but then quickly disappear (see v. 2 and BDB 430 s.v. יָקָר 3). If כָּרִים is taken as “rams,” then “what is precious” might refer to the choicest portions of rams. The present translation follows a reading in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpPs37), כיקוד כורם (“like the burning of an oven”). The next line, which pictures the Lord’s enemies being consumed in smoke, supports this reading, which assumes confusion of the Hebrew letters ר (resh) and ד (dalet) at the end of the first word in the sequence.
37. Psalm 37:20 tn Heb “they perish in smoke, they perish.” In addition to repeating the verb for emphasis, the psalmist uses the perfect form of the verb to picture the enemies’ demise as if it had already taken place. In this way he draws attention to the certitude of their judgment.
38. Psalm 37:21 tn Heb “an evil [man] borrows and does not repay, but a godly [man] is gracious and gives.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The three active participles and one imperfect (“repay”) draw attention to the characteristic behavior of the two types.
39. Psalm 37:22 tn The particle כִּי (ki) is best understood as asseverative or emphatic here.
40. Psalm 37:22 tn Heb “those blessed by him.” The pronoun “him” must refer to the Lord (see vv. 20, 23), so the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
41. Psalm 37:22 tn Heb “cursed.”
42. Psalm 37:22 tn Or “cut off”; or “removed” (see v. 9).
43. Psalm 37:23 tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”
44. Psalm 37:24 tn Other translation options for כִּי (ki) in this context are “when” (so NASB) or “though” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).
45. Psalm 37:24 tn Heb “be hurled down.”
46. Psalm 37:24 tn The active participle indicates this is characteristically true. See v. 17.
47. Psalm 37:25 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
48. Psalm 37:25 tn Heb “or his offspring searching for food.” The expression “search for food” also appears in Lam 1:11, where Jerusalem’s refugees are forced to search for food and to trade their valuable possessions for something to eat.
49. Psalm 37:26 tn The active participles describe characteristic behavior.
50. Psalm 37:26 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
51. Psalm 37:27 tn Or “Do good!” The imperatives are singular (see v. 1).
52. Psalm 37:27 tn Heb “and dwell permanently.” The imperative with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause after the preceding imperatives.
53. Psalm 37:28 tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the Lord’s commitment to principles of justice causes him to actively promote these principles as he governs the world. The active participle describes characteristic behavior.
54. Psalm 37:28 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.
55. Psalm 37:28 tn Or “protected forever.”
56. Psalm 37:28 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
57. Psalm 37:28 tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.
58. Psalm 37:30 tn Heb “The mouth of the godly [one] utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.” The singular form is used in a representative sense; the typical godly individual is in view. The imperfect verbal forms draw attention to the characteristic behavior of the godly.
59. Psalm 37:31 tn Heb “the law of his God [is] in his heart.” The “heart” is here the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.
60. Psalm 37:31 tn Heb “his.” The pronoun has been translated as plural to agree with the representative or typical “godly” in v. 30.
61. Psalm 37:32 tn Heb “an evil [one] watches the godly [one] and seeks to kill him.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The active participles describe characteristic behavior.
62. Psalm 37:33 tn Heb “the Lord does not abandon him into his hand or condemn him when he is judged.” The imperfects draw attention to the Lord’s characteristic behavior in this regard.
63. Psalm 37:34 tn Or “wait.”
64. Psalm 37:34 tn Heb “keep his way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.
65. Psalm 37:34 tn Heb “and he will lift you up.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) is best taken here as a result clause following the imperatives in the preceding lines.
66. Psalm 37:34 tn Heb “when evil men are cut off you will see.”
67. Psalm 37:35 tn The Hebrew uses the representative singular again here.
68. Psalm 37:35 tn Heb “being exposed [?] like a native, luxuriant.” The Hebrew form מִתְעָרֶה (mitʿareh) appears to be a Hitpael participle from עָרָה (ʿarah, “be exposed”), but this makes no sense in this context. Perhaps the form is a dialectal variant of מִתְעָלָה (“giving oneself an air of importance”; see Jer 51:3), from עָלָה (ʿalah, “go up”; see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 296). The noun אֶזְרָח (ʾezrakh, “native, full citizen”) refers elsewhere to people, but here, where it is collocated with “luxuriant, green,” it probably refers to a tree growing in native soil.
69. Psalm 37:36 tn Heb “and he passes by and, look, he is not [there].” The subject of the verb “passes by” is probably indefinite, referring to any passerby. Some prefer to change the form to first person, “and I passed by” (cf. NEB; note the first person verbal forms in preceding verse and in the following line).
70. Psalm 37:37 tn Heb “for [there is] an end for a man of peace.” Some interpret אַחֲרִית (ʾakharit, “end”) as referring to offspring (see the next verse and Ps 109:13; cf. NEB, NRSV).
71. Psalm 37:38 tn Or “destroyed together.” In this case the psalmist pictures judgment sweeping them away as a group.
72. Psalm 37:38 tn Heb “the end of evil men is cut off.” As in v. 37, some interpret אַחֲרִית (ʾakharit, “end”) as referring to offspring (see Ps 109:13). The perfect verbal forms in v. 38 probably express general truths. Another option is that they are used emphatically to state with certitude that the demise of the wicked is as good as done.
73. Psalm 37:39 tn Heb “and the deliverance of the godly [ones] [is] from the Lord.”
74. Psalm 37:39 tn Heb “[he is] their place of refuge in a time of trouble.”
75. Psalm 37:40 tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry on the generalizing tone of the preceding verse.
76. Psalm 38:1 sn Psalm 38. The author asks the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. He confesses his sin and recognizes that the crisis he faces is the result of divine discipline. Yet he begs the Lord not to reject him.
77. Psalm 38:1 tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “to cause to remember.” The same form, the Hiphil infinitive of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”), also appears in the heading of Ps 70. Some understand this in the sense of “for the memorial offering,” but it may carry the idea of bringing one’s plight to God’s attention (see P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 303).
78. Psalm 38:1 tn The words “continue to” are supplied in the translation of both lines. The following verses make it clear that the psalmist is already experiencing divine rebuke/punishment. He asks that it might cease.sn Cf. Ps 38:1 with Ps 6:1, which has similar wording.
79. Psalm 38:2 tn The verb Hebrew נָחַת (nakhat) apparently here means “penetrate, pierce” (note the use of the Qal in Prov 17:10). The psalmist pictures the Lord as a warrior who shoots arrows at him (see Ps 7:12-13).
80. Psalm 38:2 tn Heb “and your hand [?] upon me.” The meaning of the verb נָחַת (nakhat) is unclear in this context. It could mean “your hand comes down on me.” It may be preferable to emend the form to וַתָּנַח (vattanakh) from the verb נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”). In this case the text would read literally, “and your hand rests upon me” (see Isa 25:10, though the phrase is used in a positive sense there, unlike Ps 38:2).
81. Psalm 38:3 tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh from before your anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger at the psalmist’s sin.
82. Psalm 38:3 tn Heb “there is no health in my bones from before my sin.”
83. Psalm 38:4 tn Heb “pass over my head.”
84. Psalm 38:5 sn The reference to wounds may be an extension of the metaphorical language of v. 2. The psalmist pictures himself as one whose flesh is ripped and torn by arrows.
85. Psalm 38:5 tn Heb “my wounds stink, they are festering” (cf. NEB).
86. Psalm 38:5 tn Heb “from before my foolishness.”
87. Psalm 38:6 tn The verb’s precise shade of meaning in this context is not entirely clear. The verb, which literally means “to bend,” may refer to the psalmist’s posture. In Isa 21:3 it seems to mean “be confused, dazed.”
88. Psalm 38:6 tn Heb “I am bowed down to excess.”
89. Psalm 38:7 tn Heb “for my loins are filled with shame.” The “loins” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s emotions. The present translation assumes that נִקְלֶה (niqleh) is derived from קָלָה (qalah, “be dishonored”). Some derive it instead from a homonymic root קָלָה (qalah), meaning “to roast.” In this case one might translate “fever” (cf. NEB “my loins burn with fever”).
90. Psalm 38:7 tn Heb “there is no soundness in my flesh” (see v. 3).
91. Psalm 38:8 tn Heb “I am numb and crushed to excess.”
92. Psalm 38:8 tn Heb “I roar because of the moaning of my heart.”
93. Psalm 38:9 tn Heb “O Lord, before you [is] all my desire.”
94. Psalm 38:10 tn Heb “and the light of my eyes, even they, there is not with me.” The “light of the eyes” may refer to physical energy (see 1 Sam 14:27, 29), life itself (Ps 13:3), or the ability to see (Prov 29:23).
95. Psalm 38:11 tn Or “wound,” or “illness.”
96. Psalm 38:11 tn Heb “stand [aloof].”
97. Psalm 38:11 tn Heb “and the ones near me off at a distance stand.”
98. Psalm 38:12 tn Heb “lay snares.”
99. Psalm 38:13 sn I am like a deaf man…like a mute. The psalmist is like a deaf mute; he is incapable of defending himself and is vulnerable to his enemies’ deception (see v. 14).
100. Psalm 38:14 tn Heb “and there is not in his mouth arguments.”
101. Psalm 38:15 tn Or perhaps “surely.”
102. Psalm 38:16 tn Heb “For I said, ‘Lest they rejoice over me.’” The psalmist recalls the motivating argument of his petition. He probably prefaced this statement with a prayer for deliverance (see Pss 7:1-2; 13:3-4; 28:1).
103. Psalm 38:16 tn Heb “they will magnify against me.” See Pss 35:26; 55:13.
104. Psalm 38:17 tn Heb “and my pain [is] before me continually.”
105. Psalm 38:18 tn Or “for.” The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is asseverative here.
106. Psalm 38:19 tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinnam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (ʿatsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).
107. Psalm 38:19 tn Heb “are many.”
108. Psalm 38:20 tn Heb “the ones who repay evil instead of good accuse me, instead of my pursuing good.”
109. Psalm 38:22 tn Heb “hurry to my help.” See Ps 22:19.
110. Psalm 39:1 sn Psalm 39. The psalmist laments his frailty and mortality as he begs the Lord to take pity on him and remove his disciplinary hand.
111. Psalm 39:1 tn Heb “I said.”
112. Psalm 39:1 tn Heb “I will watch my ways, from sinning with my tongue.”
113. Psalm 39:1 sn The psalmist wanted to voice a lament to the Lord (see vv. 4-6), but he hesitated to do so in the presence of evil people, for such words might be sinful if they gave the wicked an occasion to insult God. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 1:345.
114. Psalm 39:2 tn Heb “I was mute [with] silence.”
115. Psalm 39:2 tn Heb “I was quiet from good.” He kept quiet, resisting the urge to find emotional release and satisfaction by voicing his lament.sn I held back the urge to speak. For a helpful discussion of the relationship (and tension) between silence and complaint in ancient Israelite lamentation, see E. S. Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part I (FOTL), 166-67.
116. Psalm 39:2 tn Heb “and my pain was stirred up.” Emotional pain is in view here.
117. Psalm 39:3 tn Heb “my heart was hot within me.”
118. Psalm 39:3 tn Heb “In my reflection fire burned.” The prefixed verbal form is either a preterite (past tense) or an imperfect being used in a past progressive or customary sense (“fire was burning”).
119. Psalm 39:3 tn Heb “I spoke with my tongue.” The phrase “these words” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
120. Psalm 39:4 tn Heb “Cause me to know, O Lord, my end; and the measure of my days, what it is!”
121. Psalm 39:4 tn Heb “Let me know how transient I am.”
122. Psalm 39:5 tn Heb “Look, handbreadths you make my days.” The “handbreadth” (equivalent to the width of four fingers) was one of the smallest measures used by ancient Israelites. See P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 309.
123. Psalm 39:5 tn Heb “is like nothing before you.”
124. Psalm 39:5 tn Heb “surely, all vapor [is] all mankind, standing firm.” Another option is to translate, “Surely, all mankind, though seemingly secure, is nothing but a vapor.”
125. Psalm 39:6 tn Heb “surely, as an image man walks about.” The preposition prefixed to “image” indicates identity here.sn People go through life (Heb “man walks about”). “Walking” is here used as a metaphor for living. The point is that human beings are here today, gone tomorrow. They have no lasting substance and are comparable to mere images or ghosts.
126. Psalm 39:6 tc Heb “Surely [in] vain they strive, he accumulates and does not know who gathers them.” The MT as it stands is syntactically awkward. The verb forms switch from singular (“walks about”) to plural (“they strive”) and then back to singular (“accumulates and does not know”), even though the subject (generic “man”) remains the same. Furthermore there is no object for the verb “accumulates” and no plural antecedent for the plural pronoun (“them”) attached to “gathers.” These problems can be removed if one emends the text from הֶבֶל יֶהֱמָיוּן (hevel yehemayun, “[in] vain they strive”) to הֶבְלֵי הָמוֹן (hevle hamon, “vain things of wealth”). The present translation follows this emendation.
127. Psalm 39:7 tn Heb “my hope, for you it [is].”
128. Psalm 39:9 tn Heb “because you acted.” The psalmist has in mind God’s disciplinary measures (see vv. 10-13).
129. Psalm 39:10 tn Heb “remove from upon me your wound.”
130. Psalm 39:10 tn Heb “from the hostility of your hand I have come to an end.”
131. Psalm 39:11 tn “with punishments on account of sin you discipline a man.”
132. Psalm 39:11 tc Heb “you cause to dissolve, like a moth, his desired [thing].” The translation assumes an emendation of חֲמוּדוֹ (khamudo, “his desirable [thing]”) to חֶמְדוֹ (khemdo, “his loveliness” [or “beauty”]), a reading that is supported by a few medieval Hebrew mss.
133. Psalm 39:12 tn Heb “do not be deaf to my tears.”
134. Psalm 39:12 tn The Hebrew terms גֵּר (ger, “resident foreigner”) and תּוֹשָׁב (toshav, “resident/dweller”) have similar meanings. They are not used here with the technical distinctions of most references in Mosaic Law. Ps 39:12 takes up this language from Lev 25:23 where the terms emphasize that Israel would be a guest on God’s land. They were attached to the Lord’s household; they did not own the land. The Psalmist identifies himself with this privileged yet dependent position. Abraham also refers to himself by these terms in Gen 23:4.
135. Psalm 39:13 tn Heb “Gaze away from me and I will smile before I go and am not.” The precise identification of the initial verb form (הָשַׁע, hashaʿ) is uncertain. It could be from the root שָׁעָע (shaʿaʿ, “smear over”), but “your eyes” would be the expected object in this case (see Isa 6:10). The verb may be an otherwise unattested Hiphil form of שָׁעָה (shaʿah, “to gaze”) meaning “cause your gaze to be.” Some prefer to emend the form to the Qal שְׁעֵה (sh^eʿeh, “gaze”; see Job 14:6). If one does read a form of the verb “to gaze,” the angry divine “gaze” of discipline would seem to be in view (see vv. 10-11). For a similar expression of this sentiment see Job 10:20-21.