Psalm 67 Verse-by-Verse

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Welcome to the DRAFT Verse-by-Verse Notes for Psalm 67!

The Verse-by-Verse Notes present scholarly, exegetical materials (from all layers of analysis) in a verse-by-verse format. They often present alternative interpretive options and justification for a preferred interpretation. The Verse-by-Verse Notes are aimed at consultant-level users.

The discussion of each verse of this psalm includes the following items.

1. A link to the part of the overview video where the verse in question is discussed.
2. The verse in Hebrew and English.
3. An expanded paraphrase of the verse.
4. A grammatical diagram of the verse, which includes glosses for each word and phrase.
5. A series of notes on the verse, which contain information pertaining to the interpretation of the psalm (e.g., meaning of words and phrases, poetic features, difficult grammatical constructions, etc.).

Note: This page is under construction! Search for [NEED LINK] for links that need to be added after other pieces of the psalm are posted.

v. 1

Watch the Overview video on v. 1.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
1	לַמְנַצֵּ֥ח בִּנְגִינֹ֗ת מִזְמ֥וֹר שִֽׁיר׃	For the music director. With stringed instruments. A psalm, a song.

Grammatical Diagram

vv. 2-3

Watch the Overview video on vv. 2-3.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
2a	אֱלֹהִ֗ים יְחָנֵּ֥נוּ וִֽיבָרְכֵ֑נוּ	May God be gracious to us and may he bless us.
2b	יָ֤אֵ֥ר פָּנָ֖יו אִתָּ֣נוּ סֶֽלָה׃	May he shine his face toward us -- Selah
3a	לָדַ֣עַת בָּאָ֣רֶץ דַּרְכֶּ֑ךָ	-- in order to understand your way on earth,
3b	בְּכָל־גּ֝וֹיִ֗ם יְשׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃	your salvation among all nations.

Grammatical Diagram

Notes on Verse 2

• This opening verse of the psalm draws closely on the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6), with some slight differences. See the [NEED LINK] Surprise! Poetic Feature for more details. This combination of verbs and expressions would likely have called up priestly settings for the original hearers.
• The Covenant God of Israel (YHWH) is intended by "God" (Elohim) in this psalm.
• Although not all the verbs in this verse are morphologically jussive, we take our cue from "shine" and the connections with the Aaronic prayer to consider them all with jussive force. The result is the language of request. The verbs of Psalm 67 are discussed more fully under the Verbal Semantics of Psalm 67 exegetical discussion.
• "Bless" serves as a very broad term that encompasses every aspect of life. Deuteronomy 28 outlines many of the blessings available to Israel in the covenant; Tate (1998) gives an overview of different categories that may have been included.
• The term "be gracious to" (חנן) can also mean to show favor, to be "kindly disposed" or "generous."
• To "shine" is "associated with well-being and wisdom." God's face shining is associated throughout Scripture with his favor.
• The use of "toward" for the preposition אִתָּ֣נוּ helpfully brings out the component of relationship, the sense of affection brought out by SDBH. Another option could be "upon." In any case, the construction used here in Psalm 67 seems to match the meaning of the preposition אל used in Numbers 6:25-26.

Notes on Verse 3

• Verse 3 shifts from language of the Aaronic blessing, as found in verse 2, to language of the Abrahamic blessing, not only in semantic content, but also in the use of the 2nd-person pronominal suffix. See the [NEED LINK] Surprise! Poetic Feature for more details.
• The prefix ל opening the verse is one of purpose, "in order.” The subject may be understood as “those on earth.” See The Grammar and Meaning of Ps. 67:3 for a more extensive discussion of the intricacies of this verse. Note that the infinitive לָדַ֣עַת ‘to understand’ has been elided in the second clause of verse 3, but applies to both clauses. (https://psalms.cdbr.org/w/The_Grammar_and_Meaning_of_Ps._67:3)
• Earth here refers to the whole world. It is possible the word also suggests a double entendre with the land of Israel. In fact, it's likely that the author has encoded some intentional ambiguity here, since the blessing on "our land" will be turned into blessing for the whole earth. See [NEED LINK] the What on Earth? Poetic Feature for more insights into the word ‘earth’ as used throughout Psalm 67.
• Note the unconventional word order in both 3a and 3b, where the prepositional phrase appears before the object. A similar word order appears in 5c, where the prepositional phrase appears before the verb.
• God’s way may be understood as his characteristic activity (e.g., Psalm 103:7) and his mighty acts. God often “makes known” his way to Israel (e.g., Exodus 18:20, when he gives the Torah; Exodus 33:13, where Moses asks God to teach him his way; Jeremiah 5:4, where Israel is accused of not knowing God’s way). Here he makes it known not only to Israel but also to the nations! It was known that foreigners would be drawn to him when they heard about his deeds (e.g., 1 Kings 8:41-43).
• God’s salvation represents security, including protection, success, and deliverance, suggesting that those under his care will not come into harm, ruin, or loss.
• Applied to a plural and indefinite noun, all (כֹּל) here might also be phrased ‘each and every one.’ The choice of the indefinite seems to suggest that the Hebrews felt they did not know who all the nations were and wanted to use a term that would encompass every possibility, no exceptions.
• See the notes on verse 4 for a discussion of nations (גּ֝וֹיִ֗ם) and other “people group” words.

v. 4

Watch the Overview video on v. 4.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
4a	יוֹד֖וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים ׀ אֱלֹהִ֑ים	Let the peoples praise you, God,
4b	י֝וֹד֗וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים כֻּלָּֽם׃	let the peoples praise you, all of them.

Grammatical Diagram

v. 5

Watch the Overview video on v. 5.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
5a	יִֽשְׂמְח֥וּ וִֽירַנְּנ֗וּ לְאֻ֫מִּ֥ים	Let the nations shout joyfully,
5b	כִּֽי־תִשְׁפֹּ֣ט עַמִּ֣ים מִישׁ֑וֹר	because you rule the peoples fairly,
5c	וּלְאֻמִּ֓ים ׀ בָּאָ֖רֶץ תַּנְחֵ֣ם סֶֽלָה׃	and the nations you guide on the earth. Selah.

Grammatical Diagram

v. 6

Watch the Overview video on v. 6.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
6a	יוֹד֖וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים ׀ אֱלֹהִ֑ים	Let the peoples praise you, God,
6b	י֝וֹד֗וּךָ עַמִּ֥ים כֻּלָּֽם׃	let the peoples praise you, all of them.

Grammatical Diagram

vv. 7-8

Watch the Overview video on vv. 7-8.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
7a	אֶ֭רֶץ נָתְנָ֣ה יְבוּלָ֑הּ	The earth has yielded its produce.
7b	יְ֝בָרְכֵ֗נוּ אֱלֹהִ֥ים אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃	May God, our God, bless us.
8a	יְבָרְכֵ֥נוּ אֱלֹהִ֑ים	May God bless us
8b	וְיִֽירְא֥וּ אֹ֝ת֗וֹ כָּל־אַפְסֵי־אָֽרֶץ׃	so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Grammatical Diagram

Legends

Grammatical diagram

The grammar layer visually represents the grammar and syntax of each clause. It also displays alternative interpretations of the grammar. (For more information, click "Grammar Legend" below.)

Grammar Legend

Visualization	Description
	The clause is represented by a horizontal line with a vertical line crossing through it, separating the subject and the verb.
	The object is indicated by a vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the clause. Infinitives and participles may also have objects. If the direct object marker (d.o.m.) is present in the text, it appears in the diagram immediately before the object. If the grammar includes a secondary object, the secondary object will appear after the object, separated by another vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the clause.
	The subject complement follows the verb (often omitted in Hebrew) separated with a line leaning toward the right. It can be a noun, a whole prepositional phrase or an adjective. The later two appear modifying the complement slot.
	When a noun further describes or renames the object, it is an object complement. The object complement follows the object separated by a line leaning toward the right.
	In a construct chain, the noun in the absolute form modifies the noun in the construct form.
	Participles are indicated in whatever position in the clause they are in with a curved line before the participle. Participles can occur as nominal, where they take the place of a noun, predicate, where they take the place of a verb, or attributive, where they modify a noun or a verb similar to adjectives or adverbs.
	Infinitives are indicated by two parallel lines before the infinitive that cross the horizontal line. Infinitive constructs can appear as the verb in an embedded clause. Infinitive absolutes typically appear as an adverbial.
	The subject of the infinitive often appears in construct to it. In this situation, the infinitive and subject are diagrammed as a construct chain.
	The object of the infinitive is indicated by a vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the infinitival clause.
	Modifiers are represented by a solid diagonal line from the word they modify. They can attach to verbs, adjectives, or nouns. If modifying a verb or adjective, it is an adverb, but if modifying a noun, it is an adjective, a quantifier, or a definite article. If an adverb is modifying a modifier, it is connected to the modifier by a small dashed horizontal line.
	Adverbials are indicated by a dashed diagonal line extending to a horizontal line. These are nouns or infinitives that function adverbially (modifying either a verb or a participle), but are not connected by a preposition.
	Prepositional phrases are indicated by a solid diagonal line extending to a horizontal line. The preposition is to the left of the diagonal line and the dependent of the preposition is on the horizontal line. They can modify verbs (adverbial) or nouns (adjectival).
	Embedded clauses are indicated by a "stand" that looks like an upside-down Y. The stand rests in the grammatical position that the clause fulfills. Extending from the top of the stand is a horizontal line for the clause. If introduced by a complementizer, for example כִּי, the complementizer appears before the stand. Embedded clauses can stand in the place of any noun.
	When clauses are joined by a conjunction, they are compound clauses. These clauses are connected by a vertical dotted line. The conjunction is placed next to the dotted line.
	Within a clause, if two or more parts of speech are compound, these are represented by angled lines reaching to the two compound elements connected by a solid vertical line. If a conjunction is used, the conjunction appears to the left of the vertical line. Almost all parts of speech can be compound.
	Subordinate clauses are indicated by a dashed line coming from the line dividing the subject from the predicate in the independent clause and leading to the horizontal line of the subordinate clause. The subordinating conjunction appears next to the dashed line.
	Relative clauses also have a dashed line, but the line connects the antecedent to the horizontal line of the relative clause. The relative particle appears next to the dashed line.
	Sentence fragments are represented by a horizontal line with no vertical lines. They are most frequently used in superscriptions to psalms. They are visually similar to discourse particles and vocatives, but most often consist of a noun phrase (that does not refer to a person or people group) or a prepositional phrase.
	In the body of the psalm, a horizontal line by itself (with no modifiers or vertical lines) can indicate either a discourse particle or a vocative (if the word is a noun referring to a person or people group). A discourse particle is a conjunction or particle that functions at the discourse level, not at the grammatical level. Vocatives can appear either before or after the clause addressed to them, depending on the word order of the Hebrew.
	Apposition is indicated by an equal sign equating the two noun phrases. This can occur with a noun in any function in a sentence.

Hebrew text colors
Default preferred text	The default preferred reading is represented by a black line. The text of the MT is represented in bold black text.
Dispreferred reading	The dispreferred reading is an alternative interpretation of the grammar, represented by a pink line. The text of the MT is represented in bold pink text, while emendations and revocalizations retain their corresponding colors (see below).
Emended text	Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is represented by bold blue text, whether that reading is preferred or dispreferred.
Revocalized text	Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is represented by bold purple text, whether that reading is preferred or dispreferred.
(Supplied elided element)	Any element that is elided in the Hebrew text is represented by bold gray text in parentheses.
( )	The position of a non-supplied elided element is represented by empty black parentheses. For example, this would be used in the place of the noun when an adjective functions substantivally or in the place of the antecedent when a relative clause has an implied antecedent.

Gloss text colors
Gloss used in the CBC	The gloss used in the Close-but-Clear translation is represented by bold blue text.
Literal gloss >> derived meaning	A gloss that shows the more literal meaning as well as the derived figurative meaning is represented in blue text with arrows pointing towards the more figurative meaning. The gloss used in the CBC will be bolded.
Supplied elided element	The gloss for a supplied elided element is represented in bold gray text.

Shapes and colours on grammatical diagram

(For more information, click "Phrase-level Legend" below.)

Phrase-level Legend

Visualization	Description
	The prepositional phrase is indicated by a solid green oval.
	The construct chain is indicated by a solid yellow oval.
	When the conjunction ו appears at the phrase-level (not clause-level), it is indicated by a solid light purple oval.
	The article is indicated by a solid blue oval.

Expanded paraphrase

(For more information, click "Expanded Paraphrase Legend" below.)

Expanded Paraphrase Legend

Expanded paraphrase legend
Close but Clear (CBC) translation	The CBC, our close but clear translation of the Hebrew, is represented in bold text.
Assumptions	Assumptions which provide background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences are represented in italics.

References

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