Psalm 12 Grammar

Psalm Overview

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Grammatical Diagram

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Grammatical Term	Definition	Diagram	Example
Clausal Additions
Subject	The subject performs the action of the active verb or receives the action of a passive verb. With intransitive verbs	Indicated at the beginning of the main clausal line, and followed by a vertical line that crosses over the main clause line (separating the subject from the predicate).
Direct Object	Object that receives the direct action of a (transitive) verb	Indicate with a vertical line up from main clausal line
Predicate adjective/ Subject complement	A word used with a linking verb (ex. "to be"), renaming or restating the subject. Can be a whole prepositional phrase.	Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line. It can be on a stand if it is an embedded clause.
Object Complement	Word following a direct object to state what it has become.	Indicate with a vertical slanted line up from the main clausal line.
Infinitives	Can be subject, adverbial, or an infinitive construct.	Indicate with double vertical lines that cross the main clausal line. If used adverbially (ie. an embedded clause), place on a stand.
Participles	A verbal noun/adjective that can be used in three positions: (1) substantival; (2) attributive; (3) predicative.	Indicate with a round vertical line. Substantival participles are placed on a stand (they are embedded). Attributive participles are placed with a rounded line underneath what is modified.
Modifiers
Adjectives	A word modifying a noun to indicate quality, quantity, extent, or differentiating something from something else.	Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified.
Adverbs	A word that modifies a verb, adverb, adjective, prepositional phrase, clause, or sentence to express a relation (ex. manner, quality, or time).	Indicate with a slanted line down from what is modified.
Construct relationships	Construction can express many different relationships between two (or more) nouns. English grammarians call this construction a ‘Construct’ (our term) or ‘Genitive’ phrase; Hebrew grammarians call it smīḵūt (סְמִיכוּת).	Indicate with a stair-step down from the modified word/clause/phrase.
Prepositional phrases	A phrase that consists of a preposition and its object and has adjectival or adverbial value	Indicate with a slanted vertical line connecting to a new clause.
Connectives	(1) Coordinating conjunctions join together words or word groups of equal grammatical rank (2) Subordinating conjunctions join a main clause and a clause which does not form a complete sentence by itself.	Indicate with a dashed line down from a vertical line marker.
Embedded clause	A clause inside another clause which can include substantival participles, adverbial infinitives, and prepositional phrases.	Indicate using stilts.
Particles
Subordinating particle	Indicates a dependent clause.	Indicate with a dashed line down from the antecedent to the pronoun.
Apposition	A word that is functioning as an explanatory equivalent as another in the sentence	Place on a line apart from the diagram but next to the word it is the equivalent of with an equal sign in between.
Vocative	Indicating a person being addressed (usually with a 2nd person verb)	Place on a line apart from the diagram next to the '()' indicating the gapped subject an equal sign in between.

Master Diagram

v. 1

v. 2

v. 3

v. 4-5

v. 6

• Who is doing the "puffing" in v. 6, and what/whom are they puffing for/against? There are three main options.

1. The wicked puff against the poor (e.g., KJV: "I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him"; cf. ELB, NGÜ, EÜ, ZÜR). According to this interpretation, יפיח לו is an asyndetic relative clause functioning as the object of the verb אשית, and the pronoun לו is a resumptive pronoun. This interpretation is preferred in our diagram, since (1) a pronoun at the end of a relative clause is frequently a resumptive pronoun, and since (2) the verb יפיח has a similar meaning in Ps. 10:5 (although, in that case, the verb is followed by a beth prepositional phrase): "[the wicked person] sneers at all of his enemies."
2. The poor puff for (=desire) salvation (ישע). Most English translations follow this view (e.g., NEB, NLT, ESV, NET, NRSV, GNT; cf. LUT, HFA, RVR95, DHH). "It is not to be explained: him whom he, i.e., the boaster, blows upon, which would be expressed by יפיח בּו , cf. Ps. 10:5; but, with Ewald, Hengstenberg, Olshausen, and Böttcher, according to Hab. 2:3, where הפיח ל occurs in the sense of panting after an object: him who longs for it." This interpretation, like the previous one, treats יפיח לו as an asyndetic relative clause functioning as the object of אשית. Unlike the previous interpretation, it does not interpret לו as a resumptive pronoun.
3. More recently, others have argued that יפיח is a substantive meaning "witness" (see Prov. 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9; cf. Ps. 27:12). Miller thus translates the verse, "I will place in protection the witness in his behalf."

v. 7

v. 8

• Virtually all translations and most commentators understand זו as a demonstrative modifying הדור ("this generation") (LXX, Jerome, Tg.; NIV, ESV, NLT, NET, NEB, REB, CEV, JPS85, NJB; LUT, HFA, NGU, ELB, EU, GNB, ZUR). Despite the rather strong consensus surrounding this interpretation, the following considerations support reading זו as a relative particle ("the generation which is forever" = "the everlasting generation").
  • זו functions as a relative particle in every other instance (Ex. 15:13, 16; Isa. 42:24; 43:21; Hab. 1:11[?]; Pss. 9:16; 10:2; 17:9; 32:8; 62:12; 68:29; 142:4; 143:8). By contrast, there is no clear example of זו functioning as a demonstrative pronoun.
  • הדור has the definite article. If זו were to modify הדור, then it would probably have the definite article (הדור הזו). It probably functions, therefore, according to its normal use as a relative particle.
  • According to the Masoretes (Masorah and accents) the זו in Ps. 12:6 is a relative particle.

v. 9

Full Diagram (vv. 1-9)