Psalm 15 Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Psalm 15/Text
Choose a PsalmNavigate Psalm 15
Who may dwell with YHWH?
Psalm 15
Please note: Resources for Psalm 15 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.
Listen & Read: Psalm 15
Read along and listen to our audio recordings for Psalm 15. Choose between simple, unaffected audio recordings (in Hebrew or English), or a dramatized reading that takes into account our emotional and discourse analyses. You can also choose between a text-only view, or a view overlaid with our summary At-a-Glance, Expanded Paraphrase, or Participant Analysis tracking.
| Simple Reading (Hebrew) Forthcoming. |
Simple Reading (English) Forthcoming. |
| Dramatic Reading (Hebrew) Forthcoming. |
Dramatic Reading (English) Forthcoming. |
Text Only (Hebrew and English) The text below is divided according to the psalm's poetic lines. For additional information, see our Poetic Structure layer.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֗וֹר לְדָ֫וִ֥ד | 1a | A psalm by David. |
| יְ֭הֹוָה מִי־יָג֣וּר בְּאָהֳלֶ֑ךָ | 1b | YHWH, who may dwell in your dwelling place? |
| מִֽי־יִ֝שְׁכֹּ֗ן בְּהַ֣ר קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃ | 1c | Who may stay on your holy mountain? |
| הוֹלֵ֣ךְ תָּ֭מִים וּפֹעֵ֥ל צֶ֑דֶק | 2a | The one who walks with integrity, and the one who does what is right, |
| וְדֹבֵ֥ר אֱ֝מֶ֗ת בִּלְבָבֽוֹ׃ | 2b | and the one who speaks truth sincerely. |
| לֹֽא־רָגַ֨ל ׀ עַל־לְשֹׁנ֗וֹ | 3a | He has not slandered; |
| לֹא־עָשָׂ֣ה לְרֵעֵ֣הוּ רָעָ֑ה | 3b | he has not done wrong to his neighbour, |
| וְ֝חֶרְפָּ֗ה לֹא־נָשָׂ֥א עַל־קְרֹֽבוֹ׃ | 3c | and has not uttered a taunt against his relative. |
| נִבְזֶ֤ה ׀ בְּֽעֵ֘ינָ֤יו נִמְאָ֗ס | 4a | The rejected one is despised in his opinion, |
| וְאֶת־יִרְאֵ֣י יְהוָ֣ה יְכַבֵּ֑ד | 4b | and he honours those who fear YHWH. |
| נִשְׁבַּ֥ע לְ֝הָרַ֗ע וְלֹ֣א יָמִֽר׃ | 4c | Having sworn so as to harm (himself), he will not change. |
| כַּסְפּ֤וֹ ׀ לֹא־נָתַ֣ן בְּנֶשֶׁךְ֮ | 5a | He has not given his money with interest, |
| וְשֹׁ֥חַד עַל־נָקִ֗י לֹ֥א לָ֫קָ֥ח | 5b | and has not taken a bribe against an innocent person. |
| עֹֽשֵׂה־אֵ֑לֶּה לֹ֖א יִמּ֣וֹט לְעוֹלָֽם׃ | 5c | The one who does these things will never be shaken. |
Structure Overlay Below, the text has been overlaid with our summary structural analysis. For details on the structure, see the Structure At-a-Glance here.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֗וֹר לְדָ֫וִ֥ד | 1a | A psalm by David. |
| יְ֭הֹוָה מִי־יָג֣וּר בְּאָהֳלֶ֑ךָ | 1b | YHWH, who may dwell in your dwelling place? |
| מִֽי־יִ֝שְׁכֹּ֗ן בְּהַ֣ר קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃ | 1c | Who may stay on your holy mountain? |
| הוֹלֵ֣ךְ תָּ֭מִים וּפֹעֵ֥ל צֶ֑דֶק | 2a | The one who walks with integrity, and the one who does what is right, |
| וְדֹבֵ֥ר אֱ֝מֶ֗ת בִּלְבָבֽוֹ׃ | 2b | and the one who speaks truth sincerely. |
| לֹֽא־רָגַ֨ל ׀ עַל־לְשֹׁנ֗וֹ | 3a | He has not slandered; |
| לֹא־עָשָׂ֣ה לְרֵעֵ֣הוּ רָעָ֑ה | 3b | he has not done wrong to his neighbour, |
| וְ֝חֶרְפָּ֗ה לֹא־נָשָׂ֥א עַל־קְרֹֽבוֹ׃ | 3c | and has not uttered a taunt against his relative. |
| נִבְזֶ֤ה ׀ בְּֽעֵ֘ינָ֤יו נִמְאָ֗ס | 4a | The rejected one is despised in his opinion, |
| וְאֶת־יִרְאֵ֣י יְהוָ֣ה יְכַבֵּ֑ד | 4b | and he honours those who fear YHWH. |
| נִשְׁבַּ֥ע לְ֝הָרַ֗ע וְלֹ֣א יָמִֽר׃ | 4c | Having sworn so as to harm (himself), he will not change. |
| כַּסְפּ֤וֹ ׀ לֹא־נָתַ֣ן בְּנֶשֶׁךְ֮ | 5a | He has not given his money with interest, |
| וְשֹׁ֥חַד עַל־נָקִ֗י לֹ֥א לָ֫קָ֥ח | 5b | and has not taken a bribe against an innocent person. |
| עֹֽשֵׂה־אֵ֑לֶּה לֹ֖א יִמּ֣וֹט לְעוֹלָֽם׃ | 5c | The one who does these things will never be shaken. |
Expanded paraphrase The expanded paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today. It is based on the CBC translation and uses italic text to provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Expanded Paraphrase |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֗וֹר לְדָ֫וִ֥ד יְ֭הֹוָה מִי־יָג֣וּר בְּאָהֳלֶ֑ךָ מִֽי־יִ֝שְׁכֹּ֗ן בְּהַ֣ר קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃ | 1 | A psalm of David. YHWH, who is the kind of person who may dwell in your dwelling place and experience the benefits of your favour and protection? Who may stay on your holy mountain, Mt. Zion, the place where you have chosen to be present with your people, but that is set apart from everything common or profane? Is it the person who meets cultic requirements, holds the correct religious doctrine, is physically impressive, or demonstrates military power or royal lineage? |
| הוֹלֵ֣ךְ תָּ֭מִים וּפֹעֵ֥ל צֶ֑דֶק וְדֹבֵ֥ר אֱ֝מֶ֗ת בִּלְבָבֽוֹ׃ | 2 | No, such are not the full requirements that God requires. The eligible one is the one who keeps YHWH's covenant instructions. In summary, he embraces right behavior: the one who walks throughout life with integrity, and the one who does what is right, and the one who speaks truth sincerely thereby keeping the instruction that says "You shall not deceive, and you shall not lie to one another" (Lev 19:11). |
| לֹֽא־רָגַ֨ל ׀ עַל־לְשֹׁנ֗וֹ לֹא־עָשָׂ֣ה לְרֵעֵ֣הוּ רָעָ֑ה וְ֝חֶרְפָּ֗ה לֹא־נָשָׂ֥א עַל־קְרֹֽבוֹ׃ | 3 | Such a person can be recognized in his interactions with his neighbor. He will have successfully resisted temptation, rejecting wrong behavior He has not slandered, showing integrity. He has not done wrong to his neighbor only doing what is right, and has not uttered a taunt against his relative only speaking the truth sincerely. |
| נִבְזֶ֤ה ׀ בְּֽעֵ֘ינָ֤יו נִמְאָ֗ס וְאֶת־יִרְאֵ֣י יְהוָ֣ה יְכַבֵּ֑ד נִשְׁבַּ֥ע לְ֝הָרַ֗ע וְלֹ֣א יָמִֽר׃ | 4 | Such a person will adhere to covenant instructions even when disadvantageous or painful, such that The rejected one is despised in his opinion regardless of any social cost for opposing the one YHWH has rejected: he maintains his integrity, and he honours those who fear YHWH, regardless of any social cost of aligning with the godly but unpopular: he does what is right. Having sworn so as to harm (himself), because he is willing to sacrifice on behalf of others he will not change: he speaks the truth sincerely, no matter how large the sacrifice. |
| וְשֹׁ֥חַד עַל־נָקִ֗י לֹ֥א לָ֫קָ֥ח | 5 | Financial matters are often where character is revealed, whether one will sacrifice self-interest for what is right. One stereotype of such a person is one who is wealthy enough to help the poor, and who chooses not to increase his wealth at the expense of the poor. He has not given his money with interest thereby keeping the instruction that prohibits charging interest to a fellow Israelite and profiting from their need [Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36–37; Deut 23:20] , but rather treats the poor and vulnerable with compassion, absorbing the cost of lending money himself. Another stereotype is a person in a position of power who does not abuse his power for financial gain, and has not taken a bribe against an innocent person thereby keeping the instruction that prohibits the taking of bribes [Exod 23:8; Deut 16:19] and imitating YHWH [Deut 10:17] (and has rather resisted the temptation both to pervert justice and to gain materially at the expense of someone who has done nothing wrong). The one who does these things who keeps YHWH's covenant, will dwell in the dwelling place of YHWH, living with others under his protection and blessing and he will remain there permanently: he will never be shaken and thus God's promises to his people, and David in particular, will be fulfilled. |
Participant Tracking Text Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? Our full analysis can be found in the Participant Analysis layer.
This resource is forthcoming.