Property: Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
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P
The difference in the two refrains in the MT could suggest corruption in the MT. But the idea of the fleetingness of one's life in MT's first refrain could be seen as reflecting the focus of vv. 11-12, and 16 and so making sense contextually. The second refrain in v. 21, which uses יבין/"understand", could be seen as offering a summary to the Psalm's wisdom teaching, and so as justifiable, again, on contextual grounds. The different locations of the two refrains in the psalm could explain two slightly different formulations. +
In v. 13b, for the MT's נמשל "he is like", Syr. reads ܐܫܬܠܡ "he is delivered over" (cf. the LXX, παρασυνεβλήθη), which could be due to metathesis of the letter mem. Thus, for the MT's נמשל ("he is like") the LXX and Syr. understood נשלם "he was delivered over."'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000F-QINU`"' +
In v. 13b, the MT has נדמו/“they perish,” but the LXX has καὶ ὡμοιώθη αὐτοῖς/“and is/became like them” (also Syr., Vulg.). The rendering “to be like” is from דמה I, the meaning “perish, cease” is from דמה III (cf. HALOT, although HALOT prefers דמה II, "to be dumb/silent", for Ps 49:13). +
In v. 14b, for MT כסל למו/"folly/arrogance to them" (so, lit., “%5BThere is%5D arrogance/foolhardiness to them”), the LXX reads σκάνδαλον αὐτοῖς (αὕτη ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτῶν σκάνδαλον αὐτοῖς καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν εὐδοκήσουσιν διάψαλμα); "This way of theirs is a pitfall to them, and afterwards with their mouth they will express contentment. Interlude on strings"; NETS). Syr. has ܦܫܗܘܢ ܠܢܘܩܠܬܐ ܬa "stumbling block to their soul" ("This is their path, a stumbling block to them; finally they will pasture with their mouth").'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000F-QINU`"' This could be explained by the graphic confusion of ''simkath'' and ''shīn''; so the MT's כסל the LXX, and Syr. seem to have read כשׁל/"to stumble" (cf. Douay-Rheims Bible). +
Further, in v. 14c, the MT's ואחריהם/"after them", Targ. (ובסופהון) seems to presuppose אחריתם ("and at their end, with their own mouth they shall recount their sin to the world to come"; Stec 2004, 102; cf. Syr.; cf. "This (NRSV: Such) is the fate of those who have foolish confidence (NRSV: the foolhardy), the end of those who are pleased with their portion" %5BNRSV: lot%5D; RL; cf. TOB). BHS suggests emending the Hebrew ואחריהם to וארחותם/"and their ways" (cf. Job 8:13: כן ארחות כל־שכחי אל ותקות חנף תאבד׃) in parallel to דרכם in v. 14a. Barthélemy deems this unnecessary, assessing the MT as highly probable (2005, 295; MT, G, εβρ, α', σ', ε', Hebr // lic: S, T; "This is the fate of those who have full assurance in themselves and, after them, of those who delight in their words"). +
In v. 14c, the MT has ירצו/"they approve/are pleased". Some VSS seem to have read it as from רוץ/"to run" (α': δραμοῦνται). Syr. seems to have confused צ with ע, reading the MT's ירצו as ירעו ("they will pasture %5Bܢܪܥܘܢ%5D with their mouth"; Taylor 2020, 191). TgPs paraphrases 14c as "with their own mouth they shall recount their sin to the world to come."'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"' Barthélemy evaluates the MT as highly probable with a certain margin of doubt (2005, 295, 307; MT, G, σ', ε' // err-voc: εβρ, α'?, ς'? Hebr? / err-graph: S clav ירעו / paraphr: T / abst: Qc). +
Modern translations tend to follow the MT (preferred), e.g., "This is the way of them that are foolish, And of those who after them approve their sayings. Selah" (JPS 1917). +
The text in v. 15 is "irreparably corrupt" (Kraus 1988, 480) and the meaning of v. 15c-d is obscure, with BHS essentially suggesting emendations for every constituent. As a result, there are too many possible combinations to diagram here.
The issues in the MT include:
* In v. 15c, the MT has וירדו בם ישרים ׀ לבקר/"the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning" (cf. G, εβρ, α', σ', ε', Hebr, S; cf. LUTH1545; SG21; BULG; RUSV; UKR). TgPs offers a long, expanded midrash, not only for this phrase, but the entire verse ("They appointed the righteous like a flock for death, and the killed them; and they crushed? the righteous and subjugated them, and they smote the upright; therefore their bodies decay in Gehenna, because they stretched out their hand and ruined the house of the dwelling place of his Shekinah"; Stec 2004, 103-104). BHS's proposed emendations are reflected in NEB and REB as follows:
** NEB: "like sheep they run headlong into Sheol, the land of Death; he is their shepherd and urges them on; their flesh must rot away/וירדם בשרם לרקב and their Bodies be wasted By Sheol, stripped of all honour". Cf. Briggs and Briggs, who (with emendation) link וירדו to the preceding clause: “Death is their shepherd and their ruler.”'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000D-QINU`"' But if the emendation בשרם לרקב ("their flesh must rot away") is accepted in v. 15c, then v. 15d will be redundant ("their form will waste away in Sheol"; if, of course, v. 15d is read this way).
** As REB, NRSV seems to go with the suggested emendation במישרים (BHS) for בם ישרים and לקבר for לקבר: REB: "Like sheep they head for Sheol; with death as their shepherd, they go straight down to the grave/וירדו במישרים לקבר. Their Bodies, stripped of all honour, waste away in Sheol". Cf. NRSV: "Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Sheol shall be their home."
: On contextual grounds, these emendations seem plausible.
: By contrast, Barthélemy accepts the MT as is. Since in the MT, וירדו בם ישרים ׀ לבקר follows the expression “death will shepherd them/be their shepherd”, he connects וירדו to trampling down/רדה of enemies in ANE iconography, and evaluates this reading as highly probable.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000E-QINU`"' He explains, that once the people in question are in the power of death, the upright get to trample their corpses (as, for example, in the stele of Naram-Sin, the victorious kings are represented trampling the corpses of their enemies).'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000F-QINU`"' On the capture and subjugation of enemies in the morning, see Neo-Assyrian inscriptions, wherein warring kings often speak of the destruction of cities in the morning. E.g., RIMA 2 A. 0.101.1 ii 106, wherein Ashurnasirpal II captures and defeats the city Pituru “before the sunrise” (cf. RIMA 2 A.0.101.17 iv 71; RIMA 2 A.0.101.19 73); RIMA 2 A. 0.101.18 27’, where Ashurnasirpal II, at sunrise, fights and conquers “the cities Amlattu, Saburam, Ruzidak, Bugu, (and) Ustu, rebel cities of the land Dannuna”. Cf. RINAP 2 2 312, “I (Sargon II) surrounded (and) %5Bcon%5Dquered %5Bthat%5D city (Dur-Abi-hara) before the day had proceeded half a double-hour” (i.e., within an hour of sunrise; Frame, The Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II, 97). On help/deliverance coming in the morning in HB, see Exod 14:27; Isa 17:14; 29:7; 33:2; 37:36//2 Kgs 19:35; Zeph 3:5; 2 Chr 20:20–25.
* In v. 15d, the majority of mss follow the qere וצורם/"and their rock" against the ketiv וצירם/"and their form/figure" (from ציר IV; HALOT). The LXX, however, has "help": “and help (καὶ ἡ βοήθεια αὐτῶν) for them will grow old in Hades, away from their glory” (NETS; this is probably a metaphorical rendering of צור, since elsewhere the LXX represents צור similarly in reference to God as one’s “rock.”). Here, the ketiv (the outer, bodily form) is preferred. All of the body is destined to be consumed in Sheol.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000010-QINU`"'
* At the end of v. 15d, the MT has מזבל לו/"away from his/its lofty place/dwelling" (σ', Hebr, T), whereas the LXX, α', and Syr. assimilate this into the context (Syr.: "they will be removed from their glories"; Taylor 2020, 191; additionally, Pesh. takes לו %5B3ms%5D as למו %5B3mpl%5D). Some, however, suggest repointing it to render “Who is its prince?”'"`UNIQ--ref-00000011-QINU`"' Barthélemy accepts the MT as is, understanding it as highly probable.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000012-QINU`"'. Notably, the NRSV treats שאול מזבל לו as a separate clause (i.e., "Sheol shall be their home."). But the MT places a disjunctive mark over שאול, linking it to the previous constituent.
: Here, without accepting proposed emendations, v. 15 is rendered as "Like a flock, they set themselves for Sheol; death shepherds them; the upright dominate them when the morning approaches. Their form is for Sheol to consume, away from their lofty habitation."
* Cf. Stec's tentative translation of v. 15 in the MT is “like a flock they are appointed for Sheol; death shall shepherd them, and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their form shall be for Sheol to consume, without a dwelling place for it.”'"`UNIQ--ref-00000013-QINU`"' Cf. Ross' rendering: "As sheep they are appointed for the grave; death shall be their shepherd; and the upright shall rule over them in the morning; and their form shall be for the grave to consume, so that they have no habitation"). ( Ross explains: "Hebrew has מזבל לו, literally 'from its habitation.' It could be 'out of its dwelling' or 'without its dwelling,' meaning it has no more dwelling.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000014-QINU`"'
On v. 16, see Exegetical Issue %5B%5BThe Syntax and Meaning of Ps 49:16%5D%5D. +
In v. 18b, NJPS takes v. 18b as the rich person’s words, but the parallelism of content with the first colon suggests rather that they continue the psalmist’s observations. +
In v. 19a, the MT has, כי־נפשו בחייו יברך/“he blesses %5BPiel%5D himself". 2 MSS have “he is blessed” (Pual); cf. the LXX which has a passive form as well (εὐλογηθήσεται), which would correspond to “his soul will be blessed” ("because in his life his soul will be blessed; he will acknowledge you when you treat him well"; NETS; Syr. "For he blesses himself %5Blit. "his soul"%5D during his life; he will praise you when you do him good").'"`UNIQ--ref-00000011-QINU`"' TgPs,: "For the soul of Moses will bless you during his life; and the righteous will praise you, because you do good to those who worship before you."'"`UNIQ--ref-00000012-QINU`"' +
In v. 19b, the verbal form is plural, וְיוֹדֻךָ, “and they praise you” (cf. SG21; RUSV; BULG). Since there is no specific subject, "they"/"people" could be supplied. The LXX has a singular form of the verb (ἐξομολογήσεταί σοι; "he will acknowledge you when you treat him well"; NETS), continuing the subject from v. 17 (“he shall take nothing”) and v. 18a (“his soul shall be blessed”). The LXX also adjusts the prepositional phrase “for yourself” to “to him.” Notably, the 2sg in this verse could be read as impersonal, as the 3cp (e.g., Isa 7:24-25; Prov 19:25; 30:10, 28; and the בֹּאֲכָה construction in Gen 10:30 and 13:10). +
In v. 20a, the MT has תבוא/"you will go" or "it %5Bthe soul/"his soul" from v.19%5D will go". The use of the 2nd person in v. 20 seems to follow the use of the 2nd person in v. 19. BHS proposes to read יָבוֹא/"he will go” (cf. the LXX and to harmonize with the 3ms suff. on אבותיו) (preferred here; cf. SG21; HOF; RUSV). +
In v. 20b, the MT has the plural form לא יראו־אור (“they will %5Bnever%5D see”); but 2 MSS, the LXX, and Syr. have the sing. form. Understanding "his ancestors" as the subject of לא יראו, here, the MT's plural is preferred (cf. "Though while he lives he congratulates himself— and people praise you when you do well for yourself—he shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see the light."'"`UNIQ--ref-0000000F-QINU`"' +
In v. 21, which contains the second refrain and uses יבין/"understand" instead of ילין/"abide" (see note on v. 13 above), יבין/"understand" is preferred. As noted, the refrain here could be seen as offering a summary to the psalmist's overall teaching, which echoes wisdom discourses. Therefore, to have יבין/"understand" at this juncture is justifiable on contextual grounds. Again, the different locations of the two refrains in the psalm could explain two slightly different formulations. +
This function of the wayyiqtol may reflect an original expression of result being extended ""that of a general sequential form, its tense and aspect being specified by context... extended to express general connection to what precedes, not necessarily only connection of temporal sequence..."" (Khan forthcoming, vayyiqṭol, 1-2). See, e.g., the Syr. ܕܰܐܩܺܝܡ ""such that he established..."" The Peshitta's translation, completely plausible, would reflect an instance of co-subordination (i.e., semantically subordinate, though lacking a subordination conjunction). For a similar example of a wayyiqtol specifying the actions introduced in the previous clause (Hatav 1997, 69), see Gen 43:16-17: וַיַּ֨רְא יוֹסֵ֣ף אִתָּם֮ אֶת־בִּנְיָמִין֒ וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לַֽאֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־בֵּית֔וֹ הָבֵ֥א אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים הַבָּ֑יְתָה וּטְבֹ֤חַ טֶ֙בַח֙ וְהָכֵ֔ן כִּ֥י אִתִּ֛י יֹאכְל֥וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים בַּֽצָּהֳרָֽיִם׃ וַיַּ֣עַשׂ הָאִ֔ישׁ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֖ר אָמַ֣ר יוֹסֵ֑ף וַיָּבֵ֥א הָאִ֛ישׁ אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים בֵּ֥יתָה יוֹסֵֽף׃. See also Khan's discussion of ""unordered addition"" and elaborative specification (Vayyiqṭol, 58-60), for example, 1 Kgs 18:13. See also v. 44 below. +
On the perdurative hiphil and hence the gloss ""keep,"" see Garr, ""hifʿil"" (forthcoming). +
This function of the wayyiqtol may reflect an original expression of result being extended ""that of a general sequential form, its tense and aspect being specified by context... extended to express general connection to what precedes, not necessarily only connection of temporal sequence..."" (Khan forthcoming, vayyiqṭol, 1-2). See, e.g., the Syr. ܕܰܐܩܺܝܡ ""such that he established..."" The Peshitta's translation, completely plausible, would reflect an instance of co-subordination (i.e., semantically subordinate, though lacking a subordination conjunction). For a similar example of a wayyiqtol specifying the actions introduced in the previous clause (Hatav 1997, 69), see Gen 43:16-17: וַיַּ֨רְא יוֹסֵ֣ף אִתָּם֮ אֶת־בִּנְיָמִין֒ וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לַֽאֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־בֵּית֔וֹ הָבֵ֥א אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים הַבָּ֑יְתָה וּטְבֹ֤חַ טֶ֙בַח֙ וְהָכֵ֔ן כִּ֥י אִתִּ֛י יֹאכְל֥וּ הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים בַּֽצָּהֳרָֽיִם׃ וַיַּ֣עַשׂ הָאִ֔ישׁ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֖ר אָמַ֣ר יוֹסֵ֑ף וַיָּבֵ֥א הָאִ֛ישׁ אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים בֵּ֥יתָה יוֹסֵֽף׃. See also Khan's discussion of ""unordered addition"" and elaborative specification (Vayyiqṭol, 58-60), for example, 1 Kgs 18:13. See also v. 44 below. +
On the perdurative hiphil and hence the gloss ""keep,"" see Garr, ""hifʿil"" (forthcoming). +
On the participle נוֹשְׁקֵי, its aspect and collocation, see the grammar and lexical notes. +