Psalm 23 Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Psalm 23/Text
YHWH is My Shepherd
Psalm 23
Read and Listen to Psalm 23
Read along and listen to our audio recordings for Psalm 23. 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, a view overlaid with our summary At-a-Glance, or our Expanded Paraphrase.
| Simple Reading (Hebrew) |
Simple Reading (English) |
| Dramatic Reading (Hebrew) |
Dramatic Reading (English) |
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) The Close-but-clear translation (CBC) exists to provide a window into the Hebrew text according to how we understand its syntax and word-to-phrase-level semantics. It is not intended to be used as a stand-alone translation or base text, but as a supplement to Layer-by-Layer materials to help users make full use of these resources. |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד | 1 | A psalm by David. |
| יְהוָ֥ה רֹ֝עִ֗י לֹ֣א אֶחְסָֽר׃ | YHWH is my shepherd; I will never lack [anything]. | |
| בִּנְא֣וֹת דֶּ֭שֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵ֑נִי | 2 | He makes me lie down in green pastures. |
| עַל־מֵ֖י מְנֻח֣וֹת יְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃ | He leads me to water where I can rest. | |
| נַפְשִׁ֥י יְשׁוֹבֵ֑ב | 3 | He restores my life. |
| יַֽנְחֵ֥נִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶ֝֗דֶק | He leads me in paths of righteousness | |
| לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמֽוֹ׃ | for the sake of his name. | |
| גַּ֤ם כִּֽי־אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת | 4 | Even when I walk in a valley of darkness, |
| לֹא־אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע | I will not fear harm, | |
| כִּי־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּדִ֑י | because you are with me. | |
| שִׁבְטְךָ֥ וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ | Your rod and your staff, | |
| הֵ֣מָּה יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃ | they comfort me. | |
| תַּעֲרֹ֬ךְ לְפָנַ֨י ׀ שֻׁלְחָ֗ן | 5 | You arrange a table before me |
| נֶ֥גֶד צֹרְרָ֑י | in the presence of my adversaries. | |
| דִּשַּׁ֖נְתָּ בַשֶּׁ֥מֶן רֹ֝אשִׁ֗י | You have anointed my head with oil. | |
| כּוֹסִ֥י רְוָיָֽה׃ | My cup is overflowing. | |
| אַ֤ךְ ׀ ט֤וֹב וָחֶ֣סֶד יִ֭רְדְּפוּנִי | 6 | Surely goodness and loyalty will pursue me |
| כָּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֑י | all the days of my life, | |
| וְשִבְתִּי* בְּבֵית־יְ֝הוָ֗ה* | and I will dwell in YHWH’s house | |
| לְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמִֽים׃ | for as long as I live. |
- v. 6c: For the revocalization of *וְשִבְתִּי*, see exegetical issue The Text of Ps. 23:6b (MT: וְשַׁבְתִּ֥י).
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.
| Speaker | Structure At-a-Glance | Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) The Close-but-clear translation (CBC) exists to provide a window into the Hebrew text according to how we understand its syntax and word-to-phrase-level semantics. It is not intended to be used as a stand-alone translation or base text, but as a supplement to Layer-by-Layer materials to help users make full use of these resources. | These labels characterize the primary expressed emotion of the psalmist in each section. | Addressee | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד | 1 | A psalm by David. | ||||||
| David | My Shepherd  |
יְהוָ֥ה רֹ֝עִ֗י לֹ֣א אֶחְסָֽר׃ | YHWH is my shepherd; I will never lack [anything]. | confidence |
YHWH | |||
| בִּנְא֣וֹת דֶּ֭שֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵ֑נִי | 2 | He makes me lie down in green pastures. | ||||||
| עַל־מֵ֖י מְנֻח֣וֹת יְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃ | He leads me to water where I can rest. | |||||||
| נַפְשִׁ֥י יְשׁוֹבֵ֑ב | 3 | He restores my life. | ||||||
| יַֽנְחֵ֥נִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶ֝֗דֶק | He leads me in paths of righteousness | |||||||
| לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמֽוֹ׃ | for the sake of his name. | |||||||
| גַּ֤ם כִּֽי־אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת | 4 | Even when I walk in a valley of darkness, | ||||||
| לֹא־אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע | I will not fear harm, | |||||||
| כִּי־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּדִ֑י | because you are with me. | |||||||
| שִׁבְטְךָ֥ וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ | Your rod and your staff, | |||||||
| הֵ֣מָּה יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃ | they comfort me. | |||||||
My Host  |
תַּעֲרֹ֬ךְ לְפָנַ֨י ׀ שֻׁלְחָ֗ן | 5 | You arrange a table before me | |||||
| נֶ֥גֶד צֹרְרָ֑י | in the presence of my adversaries. | |||||||
| דִּשַּׁ֖נְתָּ בַשֶּׁ֥מֶן רֹ֝אשִׁ֗י | You have anointed my head with oil. | |||||||
| כּוֹסִ֥י רְוָיָֽה׃ | My cup is overflowing. | |||||||
| אַ֤ךְ ׀ ט֤וֹב וָחֶ֣סֶד יִ֭רְדְּפוּנִי | 6 | Surely goodness and loyalty will pursue me | ||||||
| כָּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֑י | all the days of my life, | |||||||
| *וְשִבְתִּי* בְּבֵית־יְ֝הוָ֗ה | and I will dwell in YHWH’s house | |||||||
| לְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמִֽים׃ | for as long as I live. |
Expanded Paraphrase The Expanded Paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today, providing the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences. It can be found as part of our Story Behind layer.
(For more information, click "Expanded Paraphrase Legend" below.)
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | 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. |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד יְהוָ֥ה רֹ֝עִ֗י לֹ֣א אֶחְסָֽר׃ | 1 | A psalm written by David expressing confidence in YHWH's providence and protection. Like a sheep, I need a shepherd who knows my needs intimately so that he can meet them. I depend upon my shepherd because I cannot meet my needs on my own. Yet, I do not need to worry because YHWH is my shepherd; who provides for all of my needs. Therefore, I will never lack [anything]. When I need food, water, and a place to rest, |
| בִּנְא֣וֹת דֶּ֭שֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵ֑נִי עַל־מֵ֖י מְנֻח֣וֹת יְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃ | 2 | He makes a way for me to lie down in green pastures where I can eat and rest, and He leads me to water where I can drink and rest. |
| נַפְשִׁ֥י יְשׁוֹבֵ֑ב יַֽנְחֵ֥נִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶ֝֗דֶק לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמֽוֹ׃ | 3 | He is a source of refreshment like no other; when I feel physically deprived of food, water, and rest, He restores my life by giving me nourishment. YHWH, my shepherd, is more than a provider, he is also a guide. I am not lost or aimless because He leads me securely where I should go. Life is fraught with conflict and trial, and the only safe path is following YHWH closely, pursuing righteousness. My security is that he leads me in paths of righteousness which enable me to live a righteous life. My confidence is in knowing that, ultimately, he does this not merely for my sake but, rather, for the sake of his name, because he receives honor when his servants pursue righteousness. His reputation, or name, benefits. He chooses paths that honor him and care for me, because he is a good shepherd. A "right path" does not necessarily mean a safe path. Sheep may need to go on dangerous paths on their way to pasture or water. The safety comes not from the path but from the shepherd’s presence, because he protects his sheep. |
| גַּ֤ם כִּֽי־אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת לֹא־אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע כִּי־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּדִ֑י שִׁבְטְךָ֥ וּ֝מִשְׁעַנְתֶּ֗ךָ הֵ֣מָּה יְנַֽחֲמֻֽנִי׃ | 4 | Therefore, Even when I walk in a valley of darkness under threat of predators and enemies, I will not fear harm, because you, YHWH, are with me. Your rod defends me against predators and your staff directs me, making it so I always know where to go: because they offer me both protection and guidance, they comfort me. |
| תַּעֲרֹ֬ךְ לְפָנַ֨י ׀ שֻׁלְחָ֗ן נֶ֥גֶד צֹרְרָ֑י דִּשַּׁ֖נְתָּ בַשֶּׁ֥מֶן רֹ֝אשִׁ֗י כּוֹסִ֥י רְוָיָֽה׃ | 5 | You care for me even more than a shepherd cares for his sheep, though. You treat me like an honored guest, whom you chosen to invite under your protection, to provide for all my needs. You act like a gracious host: You arrange a table before me, setting out abundant food and drink. Like the shepherd who ensures both that the sheep eat and drink and also that they are protected from predators, you not only provide food and drink, but you do so in the presence of my adversaries — my enemies get to see your abundant provision for me! Not only can they not harm me, as long as I am under your protection, but they see and know that I am under your care. They would like to attack and defeat me, but you do the opposite: you treat me as an honorable guest: You have anointed my head with fine, spiced oil the way gracious hosts do, and now you fill the table with food and drink. In fact, you provide so much that I cannot even drink it all before you pour more wine. You provide so much that My cup is overflowing. |
| אַ֤ךְ ׀ ט֤וֹב וָחֶ֣סֶד יִ֭רְדְּפוּנִי כָּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֑י וְשַׁבְתִּ֥י בְּבֵית־יְ֝הוָ֗ה לְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמִֽים׃ | 6 | With you as my shepherd and host, Surely your goodness and loyalty, instead of anything or anyone that could cause me harm, will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in YHWH's house, that is, I will continue to receive all the privileges and blessings of being your guest, in your presence, for as long as I live. |
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.
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