Psalm 20 Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Psalm 20/Text
Choose a PsalmNavigate Psalm 20
May YHWH answer you!
Psalm 20
Please note: Resources for Psalm 20 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.
Listen & Read: Psalm 20
Read along and listen to our audio recordings for Psalm 20. 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) |
|---|---|---|
| לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ | 1a | For the director. A psalm by David. |
| יַֽעַנְךָ֣ יְ֭הוָה בְּי֣וֹם צָרָ֑ה | 2a | May YHWH answer you on the day of trouble! |
| יְ֝שַׂגֶּבְךָ֗ שֵׁ֤ם ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֬י יַעֲקֹֽב׃ | 2b | May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! |
| יִשְׁלַֽח־עֶזְרְךָ֥ מִקֹּ֑דֶשׁ | 3a | May he send you help from the sanctuary |
| וּ֝מִצִּיּ֗וֹן יִסְעָדֶֽךָּ׃ | 3b | and sustain you from Zion! |
| יִזְכֹּ֥ר כָּל־מִנְחֹתֶ֑ךָ | 4a | May he remember every offering of yours |
| וְעוֹלָתְךָ֖ יְדַשְּׁנֶ֣ה סֶֽלָה׃ | 4b | and accept your burnt offering! Selah. |
| יִֽתֶּן־לְךָ֥ כִלְבָבֶ֑ךָ | 5a | May he give you that which is according to your heart’s desire, |
| וְֽכָל־עֲצָתְךָ֥ יְמַלֵּֽא׃ | 5b | and may he fulfil your whole plan! |
| נְרַנְּנָ֤ה ׀ בִּ֘ישׁ֤וּעָתֶ֗ךָ | 6a | May we shout for joy over your victory, |
| וּבְשֵֽׁם־אֱלֹהֵ֥ינוּ נִדְגֹּ֑ל | 6b | and in the name of our God, may we array ourselves with banners! |
| יְמַלֵּ֥א יְ֝הוָ֗ה כָּל־מִשְׁאֲלוֹתֶֽיךָ׃ | 6c | May YHWH fulfil all your requests! |
| עַתָּ֤ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּ֤י הֹושִׁ֥יעַ׀ יְהוָ֗ה מְשִׁ֫יחֹ֥ו | 7a | Now, I know that YHWH has granted victory to his anointed. |
| יַ֭עֲנֵהוּ מִשְּׁמֵ֣י קָדְשׁ֑וֹ | 7b | He will answer him from his holy heaven |
| בִּ֝גְבֻר֗וֹת יֵ֣שַׁע יְמִינֽוֹ׃ | 7c | with the saving mighty deeds of his right hand. |
| אֵ֣לֶּה בָ֭רֶכֶב וְאֵ֣לֶּה בַסּוּסִ֑ים | 8a | Some [boast] in chariotry and others [boast] in horses, |
| וַאֲנַ֓חְנוּ ׀ בְּשֵׁם־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣ינוּ נַזְכִּֽיר׃ | 8b | but we will boast in the name of YHWH our God. |
| הֵ֭מָּה כָּרְע֣וּ וְנָפָ֑לוּ | 9a | They have collapsed and fallen, |
| וַאֲנַ֥חְנוּ קַּ֝֗מְנוּ וַנִּתְעוֹדָֽד׃ | 9b | but we have risen and stood upright. |
| יְהוָ֥ה הוֹשִׁ֑יעָה הַ֝מֶּ֗לֶךְ | 10a | YHWH, grant victory to the king! |
| יַעֲנֵ֥נוּ בְיוֹם־קָרְאֵֽנוּ׃ | 10b | May he answer us on the day of our calling! |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ | 1a | For the director. A psalm by David. |
| יַֽעַנְךָ֣ יְ֭הוָה בְּי֣וֹם צָרָ֑ה | 2a | May YHWH answer you on the day of trouble! |
| יְ֝שַׂגֶּבְךָ֗ שֵׁ֤ם ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֬י יַעֲקֹֽב׃ | 2b | May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! |
| יִשְׁלַֽח־עֶזְרְךָ֥ מִקֹּ֑דֶשׁ | 3a | May he send you help from the sanctuary |
| וּ֝מִצִּיּ֗וֹן יִסְעָדֶֽךָּ׃ | 3b | and sustain you from Zion! |
| יִזְכֹּ֥ר כָּל־מִנְחֹתֶ֑ךָ | 4a | May he remember every offering of yours |
| וְעוֹלָתְךָ֖ יְדַשְּׁנֶ֣ה סֶֽלָה׃ | 4b | and accept your burnt offering! Selah. |
| יִֽתֶּן־לְךָ֥ כִלְבָבֶ֑ךָ | 5a | May he give you that which is according to your heart’s desire, |
| וְֽכָל־עֲצָתְךָ֥ יְמַלֵּֽא׃ | 5b | and may he fulfil your whole plan! |
| נְרַנְּנָ֤ה ׀ בִּ֘ישׁ֤וּעָתֶ֗ךָ | 6a | May we shout for joy over your victory, |
| וּבְשֵֽׁם־אֱלֹהֵ֥ינוּ נִדְגֹּ֑ל | 6b | and in the name of our God, may we array ourselves with banners! |
| יְמַלֵּ֥א יְ֝הוָ֗ה כָּל־מִשְׁאֲלוֹתֶֽיךָ׃ | 6c | May YHWH fulfil all your requests! |
| עַתָּ֤ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּ֤י הֹושִׁ֥יעַ׀ יְהוָ֗ה מְשִׁ֫יחֹ֥ו | 7a | Now, I know that YHWH has granted victory to his anointed. |
| יַ֭עֲנֵהוּ מִשְּׁמֵ֣י קָדְשׁ֑וֹ | 7b | He will answer him from his holy heaven |
| בִּ֝גְבֻר֗וֹת יֵ֣שַׁע יְמִינֽוֹ׃ | 7c | with the saving mighty deeds of his right hand. |
| אֵ֣לֶּה בָ֭רֶכֶב וְאֵ֣לֶּה בַסּוּסִ֑ים | 8a | Some [boast] in chariotry and others [boast] in horses, |
| וַאֲנַ֓חְנוּ ׀ בְּשֵׁם־יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣ינוּ נַזְכִּֽיר׃ | 8b | but we will boast in the name of YHWH our God. |
| הֵ֭מָּה כָּרְע֣וּ וְנָפָ֑לוּ | 9a | They have collapsed and fallen, |
| וַאֲנַ֥חְנוּ קַּ֝֗מְנוּ וַנִּתְעוֹדָֽד׃ | 9b | but we have risen and stood upright. |
| יְהוָ֥ה הוֹשִׁ֑יעָה הַ֝מֶּ֗לֶךְ | 10a | YHWH, grant victory to the king! |
| יַעֲנֵ֥נוּ בְיוֹם־קָרְאֵֽנוּ׃ | 10b | May he answer us on the day of our calling! |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ | 1 | For the director. A psalm by David. |
| יְ֝שַׂגֶּבְךָ֗ שֵׁ֤ם ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֬י יַעֲקֹֽב׃ | 2 | As a battle approaches, and the king prepares to lead his army in battle, the people address the king and pray on his behalf: May YHWH answer you, king, on the day of trouble! For YHWH is known to answer in times of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob protect you as YHWH protected our ancestor Jacob on the day of his trouble! YHWH has also promised to protect his people. |
| יִשְׁלַֽח־עֶזְרְךָ֥ מִקֹּ֑דֶשׁ וּ֝מִצִּיּ֗וֹן יִסְעָדֶֽךָּ׃ | 3 | May he send you help from his earthly dwelling place, the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion, where the sanctuary is located! |
| וְעוֹלָתְךָ֖ יְדַשְּׁנֶ֣ה סֶֽלָה׃ | 4 | You have offered sacrifices to YHWH before the battle as a way of seeking his favor, as it is appropriate for kings to do. May he remember every offering of yours and accept your burnt offering (i.e., may he show you favor in the troublesome time!) Selah. |
| יִֽתֶּן־לְךָ֥ כִלְבָבֶ֑ךָ וְֽכָל־עֲצָתְךָ֥ יְמַלֵּֽא׃ | 5 | May he give you that which is according to your heart’s desire, (i.e., victory), and may he fulfill your whole plan for the battle! In other words, may YHWH reward your dependence on him. |
| נְרַנְּנָ֤ה ׀ בִּ֘ישׁ֤וּעָתֶ֗ךָ וּבְשֵֽׁם־אֱלֹהֵ֥ינוּ נִדְגֹּ֑ל יְמַלֵּ֥א יְ֝הוָ֗ה כָּל־מִשְׁאֲלוֹתֶֽיךָ׃ | 6 | When you are victorious in battle, the whole kingdom will flourish, and so we, your people, want you to achieve victory. May we shout for joy over your victory against our enemies, and in the name of our God may we array ourselves with banners! The banners will symbolize our submission to YHWH as well as his leadership and protection of us. We will raise these banners in celebration of the victory YHWH will win for us. Then, everyone will see that we are YHWH's people and he is our God. May YHWH fulfill all your requests! |
| עַתָּ֤ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּ֤י הֹושִׁ֥יעַ׀ יְהוָ֗ה מְשִׁ֫יחֹ֥ו בִּ֝גְבֻר֗וֹת יֵ֣שַׁע יְמִינֽוֹ׃ | 7 | After the king and the people have both called to YHWH, the king has confidence to say: Now, I know that even though the battle has yet to start, YHWH will deliver his anointed because he promises to answer those who call on him. And so I will proclaim: YHWH has granted victory to his anointed king. This means I am confident that I will win in the upcoming battle. The help that YHWH provides is better than any earthly means of achieving victory. He himself is the source of all power and authority, and he dispenses his power from his holy heaven. He (YHWH) will answer him (the anointed king) from the seat of his power, his holy heavens. Indeed, he will answer with the saving mighty deeds of his right hand. YHWH's right hand symbolizes his power, and he saves those who seek refuge at his right hand. |
| אֵ֣לֶּה בָ֭רֶכֶב וְאֵ֣לֶּה בַסּוּסִ֑ים | 8 | YHWH has proven to his people that victory belongs to him (Prov. 21:31). Therefore, they say: Some [boast] in chariotry and others [boast] in horses, but we will boast in the name of YHWH our God. Horses and chariots are prestigious weapons of war. They demonstrate wealth and military might, and they are vastly superior to ordinary infantry. Nevertheless, YHWH's king is instructed to not be fooled by the visible might of horses and chariots, but is able to depend on YHWH alone for victory. |
| הֵ֭מָּה כָּרְע֣וּ וְנָפָ֑לוּ וַאֲנַ֥חְנוּ קַּ֝֗מְנוּ וַנִּתְעוֹדָֽד׃ | 9 | This is what we have seen as the pattern until now: They who trusted in horses and chariots have collapsed and fallen but we have risen and stood upright. We are confident this pattern will continue, now. |
| יְהוָ֥ה הוֹשִׁ֑יעָה הַ֝מֶּ֗לֶךְ יַעֲנֵ֥נוּ בְיוֹם־קָרְאֵֽנוּ׃ | 10 | YHWH, grant victory to the king in the coming battle! We call on the name of YHWH to bring us victory. May he YHWH answer us on the day of our calling! |
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.
