Psalm 19/Notes/Grammar.V. 4.135128

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  • As Calvin notes, "This verse receives two almost contrary interpretations, each of which, however, has the appearance of probability."
  • Option 1 (preferred): v. 4b as relative clause "There is no utterance, there are no words, whose sound goes unheard" (JPS85, cf. LXX: ὧν; Symmachus: ὧν; Aquila: οὗ; Theodotion: ὧν; Jerome [iuxta Hebr]: quibus; Peshitta: ܕܠܐ; Targum: דלא). Most ancient translations take Option 1. According to this option, the verse is saying that the communication of the heavens is ubiquitous; every "word" that the heavens utter (cf. v. 3) is heard. This view works well with the next verse (v. 5), which talks about the universal extent to which their communication reaches ("in all the earth"[marked focus] // "to the end of the world"). In other words, v. 5 states positively what v. 4 states negatively. "The discourse of the heavens and the firmament, of the day (of the sky by day) and of the night (of the sky by night), is not a discourse uttered in a corner, it is a discourse in speech that is everywhere audible, and in words that are understood by all" (Keil and Delitzsch 1996, 177). Hupfeld (409) objects that (1) this option destroys the parallelism, and (2) the yiqtol [יִשָּׁמַע] would be more appropriate if this option were intended.
  • Option 2: v. 4b as independent clause "No sound is heard from them" (NIV, cf. NLT, NET, GNT, CEV, NET, LUT, HFA, NGÜ, ELB, EÜ, GNB, ZÜR). Most modern translations take Option 2. According to this option, the verse is saying that the communication of the heavens is non-verbal, i.e., "There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard" (NET). This option would create a nice synonymous parallelism (cf. Hengstenberg, Hupfeld). "But if this was David’s meaning, what need was there to repeat three times that they have not articulate speech? It would certainly be spiritless and superfluous to insist so much upon a thing so universally known" (Calvin).
  • The negative particle בְּלִי is "a rather rare synonym of לֹא" (JM §160m).