Psalm 18 Speech Act
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Psalm 18/Speech Act
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YHWH fights my battles
Psalm 18
Please note: Resources for Psalm 18 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.
Speech Act Analysis
The Speech Act layer presents the text in terms of what it does, following the findings of Speech Act Theory. It builds on the recognition that there is more to communication than the exchange of propositions. Speech act analysis is particularly important when communicating cross-culturally, and lack of understanding can lead to serious misunderstandings, since the ways languages and cultures perform speech acts varies widely.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Speech Act Analysis Creator Guidelines.
Summary Visual
| SPEAKER | VERSES | SPEECH ACT SECTIONS | ADDRESSEE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David | v. 1 For the director By YHWH's servant, David, who recited the words of this song to YHWH when YHWH had rescued him from the palm of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. | YHWH | ||||
| v. 2 And he said, “I shall keep loving you, YHWH, my strength. |
Profession of commitment and confidence |
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| v. 3 YHWH is my cleft and my fortress and my rescuer. My God is my rock, in him do I seek protection, my shield and horn of my deliverance, my fortified tower and my refuge, my deliverer, who delivers me from violence. | ||||||
| v. 4 I cry out to YHWH, since he is praiseworthy, and I am delivered from my enemies. | ||||||
| v. 5 The breaker waves of Death surrounded me. And the torrents of No Return began to overwhelm me. |
Recounting Past Distress |
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| v. 6 The cords of the World of the Dead entangled me. Death's traps rushed upon me. | ||||||
| v. 7 In my distress I cry out to YHWH. And to my God do I cry for help. He hears my cry from his temple. And my cry for help before him comes into his ears. |
Profession of confidence |
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| v. 8 And the earth quivered and quaked. And the mountains' foundations began to shake. And they trembled. For he had become angry. |
Recounting YHWH’s victory over his enemy |
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| v. 9 Smoke went up because of his snarl. And a fire from his mouth began to consume. Coals burned from him. | ||||||
| v. 10 And he bent down the heavens and descended. And a dark smog was beneath his feet. | ||||||
| v. 11 And he mounted a Cherub and began to fly. And he flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind. | ||||||
| v. 12 He made darkness his cover. [He made darkness] his canopy around him, the sieve of water, thick clouds of the skies. | ||||||
| v. 13 Because of the brightness before him, hail and coals of fire passed. | ||||||
| v. 14 And YHWH thundered in the heavens. And the Most High began to raise his voice. | ||||||
| v. 15 And he shot his arrows, and dispersed them. And [he shot his] glittering arrows, and routed them. | ||||||
| v. 16 And the ocean floor appeared. And the foundations of the world were revealed because of your rebuke, YHWH, because of the blast of the wind of your anger. | ||||||
| v. 17 He stretched forth his hand from on high and took me. He pulled me out from many waters. | ||||||
| v. 18 He rescued me from my strong enemy. And [he rescued me] from those who hate me. For they were too powerful for me. | ||||||
| v. 19 They rushed upon me at the time of my calamity. And YHWH was the one in whom I trusted. | ||||||
| v. 20 And he brought me out into relief. He delivered me. For he is pleased with me. | ||||||
| v. 21 YHWH deals well with me according to my righteousness. He repays me according to the cleanliness of my hands. |
Profession of confidence in David’s righteousness |
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| v. 22 For I have kept the ways of YHWH. And I have not turned from my God towards wicked ways. | ||||||
| v. 23 For all of his rules are before me. And I will not turn his decrees away from me. | ||||||
| v. 24 And I have become blameless before him. And I have kept myself from committing iniquity. | ||||||
| v. 25 And YHWH has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanliness of my hands before his eyes. | ||||||
| v. 26 You act faithfully with a faithful person. You act blamelessly with a blameless person. | ||||||
| v. 27 You act with purity with one who purifies himself. And with a twisted person you act wittily. | ||||||
| v. 28 For you save a humble people. And you bring down eyes that look down on others. | ||||||
| v. 29 For you light my lamp, YHWH. My God gives light to my darkness. | ||||||
| v. 30 For by you I can rout an army. And by my God I can scale a wall. | ||||||
| v. 31 God—His way is perfect. The sayings of YHWH are true. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him. |
Recounting YHWH’s provision of strength and victory |
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| v. 32 For who is God besides YHWH? And who is a rock besides our God, | ||||||
| v. 33 the God who arms me with strength and makes my endeavor secure? | ||||||
| v. 34 He makes my feet like those of deer. And he causes me to stand upon my heights. | ||||||
| v. 35 He trains my hands for war. And he strengthens my arms with a bow of bronze. | ||||||
| v. 36 And you give me the shield of your victory. And your right hand supports me. And your help makes me great. | ||||||
| v. 37 You enlarged my steps underneath me. And my ankles did not falter. | ||||||
| v. 38 I chased my enemies and I overtook them. And I would not relent until their destruction. | ||||||
| v. 39 I violently beat them, and they could not stand. They fell beneath my feet. | ||||||
| v. 40 And so you armed me with strength for war. You make those who rise up against me kneel underneath me. | ||||||
| v. 41 And you have made my enemies retreat from me. And as for those who hate me, I wipe them out. | ||||||
| v. 42 They cry out for help, and there is no rescuer. [They cry out for help] to YHWH, and he has not answered them. | ||||||
| v. 43 And I crush them like the dust on the road. I beat them like the mud of the streets. | ||||||
| v. 44 You will deliver me from people's indictments. You will make me head of nations. A people I do not know will serve me. |
Praise for future strength and victory |
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| v. 45 As soon as they hear rumors of me they will show obedience to me. Foreigners will submit to me. | ||||||
| v. 46 Foreigners will lose heart and tremble from their fortresses. | ||||||
| v. 47 YHWH lives! And my rock is blessed! And the God of my rescue is exalted! | ||||||
| v. 48 God—who gives me vengeance, and subdues peoples underneath me. | ||||||
| v. 49 You who deliver me from my enemies will indeed exalt me over those who rise up against me. You will rescue me from the violent man. | ||||||
| v. 50 Therefore I shall praise you among the nations, YHWH! And I shall sing praise to your name, | ||||||
| v. 51 you who makes the deliverance of his king spectacular, and performs acts of loyalty for his anointed one, for David, and for his seed, forever.” |
Speech Act Analysis Chart
The following chart is scrollable (left/right; up/down).
| Verse | Hebrew | CBC | Sentence type | Illocution (general) | Illocution with context | Macro speech act | Intended perlocution (Think) | Intended perlocution (Feel) | Intended perlocution (Do) |
| Verse number and poetic line | Hebrew text | English translation | Declarative, Imperative, or Interrogative Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
Assertive, Directive, Expressive, Commissive, or Declaratory Indirect Speech Act: Mismatch between sentence type and illocution type |
More specific illocution type with paraphrased context | Illocutionary intent (i.e. communicative purpose) of larger sections of discourse These align with the "Speech Act Summary" headings |
What the speaker intends for the address to think | What the speaker intends for the address to feel | What the speaker intends for the address to do |
If an emendation or revocalization is preferred, that emendation or revocalization will be marked in the Hebrew text of all the visuals.
| Emendations/Revocalizations legend | |
|---|---|
| *Emended text* | Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is indicated by blue asterisks on either side of the emendation. |
| *Revocalized text* | Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is indicated by purple asterisks on either side of the revocalization. |
