Property: Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
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The future destruction of YHWH's enemies is so certain that the psalmist can speak of it as though it is already complete: "they are finished!" (cf. LXX: ἐξέλιπον). Most English translations use a future-tense verb: "shall/will be consumed" (NJPS, NIV), "will disappear" (NLT, GNT) (cf. Jerome: consumentur). "In some cases qatal appears indeed to be used to refer to an event that has not yet occurred.... The use of qatal in these cases appears to be exxagerated rhetoric by which a future event is described 'as good as done'" (Rogland 2003, 113). This use of qatal is especially common with verbs that belong to the semantic domain of 'perishing' (cf. JM §112g), which is exactly what we find in Ps 37 (vv. 20, 28, 38). E.g., “We will die! (גָּוַ֛עְנוּ) We are lost (אָבַ֖דְנוּ), we are all lost (כֻּלָּ֥נוּ אָבַֽדְנוּ)! Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD will die (יָמ֑וּת). Are we all going to die (תַּ֖מְנוּ לִגְוֺֽעַ)?” (Num. 17:27 NIV; cf. Gen. 17:20; 30:13; examples cited in IBHS §30.5.1e as 'accidental perfectives', where "a speaker vividly and dramatically represents a future situation both as complete and as independent;" see also Isa 6:5; Lam 3:54). +
The wicked is currently borrowing (in the present), and he will not repay (in the future). I.e., he is borrowing without the intention of repaying. +
See note on Lexical Semantics on כּוֹנָ֗נוּ. The ''yiqtol'' is future relative to the situation expressed by כננו (i.e., YHWH establishes and then he delights). Thus, the ''qatal'' here has conditional modality: "(When) a person's steps are established by YHWH, (then) he will delight in his way." Cf. BHRG §19.2.1.3; IBHS §30.5.4 (although in this case there is no particle making the modality explicit). +
The adverbial "always" (lit.: "all day long") implies habitual aspect for the participle. "All day long he is gracious and lends" (NASB, cf. NET) >> "They are always generous and lend freely" (NIV, cf. NLT, GNT). +
"The perfective form may represent a past situation which the speaker is either unwilling or unable to specify precisely ("indefinite perfective")... Comrie refers to the 'experiential perfect,' which indicates 'that a given situation has held at least once during some time in the past leading up to the present'; Aspect, 58" (IBHS §30.5.1). Waltke and O'Connor suggest translating this particular verb (ראיתי) as a present perfect ("I have seen...", so NIV, NLT, ESV, CEV, NET, REB), but the following wayyiqtol verbs indicate that the psalmist is telling a story (with reference point movement) and that the qatal verb in v. 35a (ראיתי) is setting up the story, better translated as a simple past: "I once knew someone wicked... but later I passed by, and he wasn't there; I looked for him, but he could not be found" (GNT). +
The 3ms independent personal pronoun הוּא is sometimes omitted before ms active predicative participles (cf. GKC §116s; JM §154c). +
The ''wayyiqtol'' verbs continue the gnomic semantics of the verbless clause in v. 39. "The LORD helps them and rescues them" (NJPS, cf. NIV, NLT, ESV, GNT, NET). +
The ''yiqtol'' verbs in v. 40b might continue the habitual semantics of the previous clauses (so NIV, NLT, ESV, GNT, NET, NJPS). However, the use of a different form (''yiqtol'' instead of ''wayyiqtol'') probably implies a different meaning. The imminent and certain destruction of the wicked has featured so much in this psalm it seems fitting to take these last ''yiqtol''s as expressing certainty about a future event. +
The waw in וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם does not have distinctive semantics. It has a structural function, grouping וְיוֹשִׁיעֵם with the preceding words to form a line. +
:We learn from the superscription that this is one of David’s psalms. This psalm is to be understood as by the king of Israel, the anointed representative of the people before God, and the representative of God before the people. The name “David” highlights the special relationship between king and God, with God’s promise to always care for the king, and the king’s obligation to be faithful to God.
:This psalm is indicated as ''for the director'' and with stringed instruments. The psalms specifically for the director are those intended for temple worship with some regularity; they may have arisen from a single moment in history, but they become psalms appropriate for many moments thereafter.
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:The psalm opens, already assuming a previous time of distress. “When I called out, the God who makes things right for me answered me!” The nature of the distress is nowhere explicit, but that is common for possibly all psalms and at times especially those specified as for the director, because it makes the psalm readily applicable to many kinds of distress. When we look closely at Psalm 4, it seems that the initial distress that prompted the psalm was most likely a lack of rain, because the joy mentioned comes after the harvest, the time when the grain and new wine abound.
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:After reflecting on the goodness of his own relationship with God, David turns to the rest of humanity, those who do not have such a relationship with YHWH, and he identifies them as heavy-hearted (translated here as ''stubborn'') and actively choosing to worship gods other than YHWH. The language of being “heavy-hearted” is a common figure of speech meaning stubborn, closely associated with the Exodus event and the plagues. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was the prototypical example of what it meant to be “heavy of heart,” or “hard-hearted,” refusing to acknowledge YHWH as God. David rebukes all those who continue to be stubborn, refusing to acknowledge YHWH and instead pursuing, or “loving” what is worthless and false, that is, pursuing and loving false idols.
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:David points to recent history as grounds for worshipping YHWH instead of other gods: “Know that YHWH has set apart,” or treated in an excellent way, “one who is loyal to him; YHWH hears when I call out to him.” When David called out, YHWH was not stingy in response; he set David apart in the sense of singling him out for excellent treatment. In this recent time of drought and famine, God singled out Israel, in the form of their king, David, and protected them from famine: he brought rain that led to abundant harvests.
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:For those who are attracted and want to respond to the invitation, David provides the next steps: “Tremble and do not sin” — tremble in fear, acknowledging God for who he is, as the all-powerful king of the earth, and stop sinning: stop living in rebellion to his rule.
:“Think to yourselves on your beds and be silent!” The psalmist corrects the common pagan practice of wailing to attract their gods’ attention, as the prophets of Baal did on Mt Carmel, and instead he instructs people on how to get YHWH’s attention. They are not to engage in a purely public display of their devotion but, on their bed, meaning in private, they are to come before YHWH and engage with him directly.
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'''מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד''' can alternatively be diagrammed as a single fragment, but I have here treated them separately since they often function separately in other contexts. +
Some Hebrew manuscripts read the intensifying plural '''חֲסָדֶיךָ''', which is possibly reflected in the Greek translation κατὰ τὸ μέγα ἔλεός σου. The י was more likely to be added than omitted.
* '''פְשָׁעָי "my sins"''' could alternatively be read as singular with the Greek; cf. v. 5. +
The ''ketiv'' '''הַרְבֵּה''' appears to have been an infinitive absolute (or possibly imperative) that has fossilized and functions as an adverb.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000003-QINU`"' The ''qere'' הֶרֶב is an imperative that functions as hendiadys with the following verb. +
'''פְשָׁעַי "my sins"''' could alternatively be read as singular with the Greek; cf. v. 3. +
Some translations (e.g., ESV) apparently understand '''לְךָ לְבַדְּךָ''' as modifying a compound predicate, but this seems rather redundant with בְּעֵינֶיךָ. +
The phrase '''בדבר(י)ך''' can be read four different ways: בְּדָבְרֶךָ (an unusual ''qal'' infinitive temporal clause), בְּדַבֵּרְךָ (a more typical ''piel'' infinitive temporal clause), בִּדְבָרְךָ (singular noun in a prepositional phrase), or בִּדְבָרֶיךָ (plural noun in a prepositional phrase with many Hebrew manuscripts and the Greek). The Masoretic text's ''qal'' infinitive creates the best assonance in the verse, which could support its originality. This vocalization, however, is more likely due to attraction to the sound pattern of the parallel בְשָׁפְטֶךָ. The ''qal'' form is unlikely, since probable examples of the ''qal'' of דבר are rare and are almost always limited to active participles.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' The noun forms seem to be simpler syntactically and are likely secondary developments. Thus, the preferred reading here is a ''piel'' infinitive, which is grammatically expected. +