Psalm 15 Verse-by-Verse

Welcome to the DRAFT Verse-by-Verse Notes for Psalm 15!

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.).

Question (v. 1)

v. 1

Watch the Overview video on v. 1.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
ss	מִזְמ֗וֹר לְדָ֫וִ֥ד	A psalm by David.
1a	יְ֭הֹוָה מִי־יָג֣וּר בְּאָהֳלֶ֑ךָ	YHWH, who may dwell in your dwelling place?
1b	מִֽי־יִ֝שְׁכֹּ֗ן בְּהַ֣ר קָדְשֶֽׁךָ׃	Who may stay on your holy mountain?

Expanded Paraphrase

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?)

Grammatical Diagram

Answer (vv. 2-5b)

v. 2

Watch the Overview video on v. 2.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
2a	הוֹלֵ֣ךְ תָּ֭מִים	The one who walks with integrity,
2b	וּפֹעֵ֥ל צֶ֑דֶק	and the one who does what is right,
2c	וְדֹבֵ֥ר אֱ֝מֶ֗ת בִּלְבָבֽוֹ׃	and the one who speaks truth sincerely.

Expanded Paraphrase

(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 behaviour:)

• 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).

Grammatical Diagram

v. 3

Watch the Overview video on v. 3.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
3a	לֹֽא־רָגַ֨ל ׀ עַל־לְשֹׁנ֗וֹ	He has not slandered;
3b	לֹא־עָשָׂ֣ה לְרֵעֵ֣הוּ רָעָ֑ה	he has not done wrong to his neighbour,
3c	וְ֝חֶרְפָּ֗ה לֹא־נָשָׂ֥א עַל־קְרֹֽבוֹ׃	and has not uttered a taunt against his relative.

Expanded Paraphrase

(Such a person can be recognised in his interactions with his neighbour.) (He will have successfully resisted temptation, rejecting wrong behaviour)

• He has not slandered(, showing integrity).
• He has not done wrong to his neighbour (only doing what is right),
• and has not uttered a taunt against his relative (only speaking the truth sincerely).

Grammatical Diagram

v. 4

Watch the Overview video on v. 4.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
4a	נִבְזֶ֤ה ׀ בְּֽעֵ֘ינָ֤יו נִמְאָ֗ס	The rejected one is despised in his opinion,
4b	וְאֶת־יִרְאֵ֣י יְהוָ֣ה יְכַבֵּ֑ד	and he honours those who fear YHWH.
4c	נִשְׁבַּ֥ע לְ֝הָרַ֗ע	Having sworn so as to harm himself,
4d	וְלֹ֣א יָמִֽר׃	he will not change.

Expanded Paraphrase

(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).

Grammatical Diagram

v. 5a-b

Watch the Overview video on v. 5a-b.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
5a	כַּסְפּ֤וֹ ׀ לֹא־נָתַ֣ן בְּנֶשֶׁךְ֮	He has not given his money with interest,
5b	וְשֹׁ֥חַד עַל־נָקִ֗י לֹ֥א לָ֫קָ֥ח	and has not taken a bribe against an innocent person.

Expanded Paraphrase

(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).

Grammatical Diagram

Promise (v. 5c)

v. 5c

Watch the Overview video on v. 5c.

v.	Hebrew	Close-but-clear
5c	עֹֽשֵׂה־אֵ֑לֶּה לֹ֖א יִמּ֣וֹט לְעוֹלָֽם׃	The one who does these things will never be shaken.

Expanded Paraphrase

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).

Grammatical Diagram

Legends

Grammatical diagram

  Grammatical Diagram 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

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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