Psalm 3 Text
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Victory is YHWH's!
Psalm 3
Listen & Read: Psalm 3
Read along and listen to our audio recordings for Psalm 3. 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) |
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.
| Hebrew | Line | English |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀ אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃ | 1 | A psalm. By David. When he was fleeing from Absalom, his son. |
| יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י | 2a | YHWH, how my adversaries have become many! |
| רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃ | 2b | Many are those rising against me. |
| רַבִּים֮ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | 3a | Many are those saying about me, |
| אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃ | 3b | "There is no victory for him in God!" Selah. |
| וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י | 4a | But you, YHWH, are a shield for me, |
| כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃ | 4b | my honor, and the one who lifts my head. |
| ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א | 5a | I call aloud to YHWH, |
| וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃ | 5b | and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah. |
| אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה | 6a | I lay down and fell asleep. |
| הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃ | 6b | I woke up, because YHWH supports me. |
| לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם | 7a | I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֝בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃ | 7b | who have taken position against me all around. |
| ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י | 8a | Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God! |
| כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי | 8b | For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw. |
| שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃ | 8c | You have broken wicked people's teeth. |
| לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה | 9a | Victory is YHWH's! |
| עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ | 9b | Your blessing is on your people. Selah. |
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 | Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) | Addressee | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Superscription |
מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀ אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃ | 1 | A psalm. By David. When he was fleeing from Absalom, his son. | |||||||
David | Attack |
יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י | 2a | YHWH, how my adversaries have become many! | dismay | YHWH | ||||
| רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃ | 2b | Many are those rising against me. | ||||||||
| רַבִּים֮ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | 3a | Many are those saying about me, | ||||||||
"Enemies" |
אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃ | 3b | "There is no victory for him in God!" Selah. | Enemies | ||||||
David | Defense |
וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י | 4a | But you, YHWH, are a shield for me, | confidence | YHWH | ||||
| כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃ | 4b | my honor, and the one who lifts my head. | ||||||||
| ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א | 5a | I call aloud to YHWH, | ||||||||
| וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃ | 5b | and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah. | ||||||||
| אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה | 6a | I lay down and fell asleep. | courage | |||||||
| הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃ | 6b | I woke up, because YHWH supports me. | ||||||||
| לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם | 7a | I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people | ||||||||
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֝בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃ | 7b | who have taken position against me all around. | ||||||||
Victory |
ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י | 8a | Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God! | triumph | ||||||
| כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי | 8b | For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw. | ||||||||
| שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃ | 8c | You have broken wicked people's teeth. | ||||||||
| לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה | 9a | Victory is YHWH's! | ||||||||
| עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ | 9b | Your blessing is on your people. Selah. |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀ אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃ | 1 | A psalm. By David, the anointed king of Israel. After David sinned against YHWH (2 Sam 11), YHWH said that he would bring trouble upon David from David's own house (2 Sam. 12:11). One of the members of David's house is Absalom, his third-born son. Absalom plotted a rebellion, gained a large following, and was proclaimed king in place of David. If David had stayed in Jerusalem, he and his men would have been captured by Absalom and the city would have been destroyed. So David told his men, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword" (2 Sam 15:14, NIV). So David and his men left Jerusalem. He prayed this psalm during the time when he was fleeing from Absalom, his son. |
| יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃ | 2 | YHWH, how my adversaries, led by my son Absalom, have become many!"The conspiracy has gained strength, and Absalom's following has continually increased" (cf. 2 Sam 15:12). Many are those rising against me. |
| רַבִּים֮ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃ | 3 | Many are those who think that you no longer delight in me and that you have rejected me (cf. 2 Sam. 15:26; 16:8). For this reason, they are hope of saying about me, " God won't save him! There is no victory for him in God!" Selah. |
| וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃ | 4 | But they are wrong. You have not rejected me. You have promised that your covenant loyalty would never leave me. So I trust in you. Despite what they say, I know that you will give me victory, for you, YHWH, are a shield for me, to protect me from their attacks and give me victory in the battle. You will restore my honor, which has been turned to shame ever since my own son usurped my throne, and you are the one who lifts my head, who will confer honor upon me and restore me to my former position. |
| ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃ | 5 | I trust in YHWH, because he has shown himself to be faithful time and time again. This is how it always happens: I call aloud to YHWH during times of trouble like what I am facing now, and he answers me from Zion, his holy mountain, and rescues me from my enemies. Selah. |
| אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃ | 6 | Even last night, YHWH proved himself to be a faithful protector! Last night, even though my enemies are trying to kill me, I lay down in peace and fell asleep. I was able to fall asleep because I was confident in YHWH's protection. And, sure enough, I woke up without being harmed, because YHWH supports me. |
| לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֝בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃ | 7 | With YHWH as my protector, I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of armed people who have taken position against me all around to harm me. |
| ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃ | 8 | Instead, I will call on my God to save me: Rise up, YHWH, against those who are rising up against me! Save me, my God, and give me the victory that they say you won't give! I know you will rise up and save me, for this is what you have always done! In the past, you have struck all my enemies on the jaw, resulting in their public humiliation. You have broken wicked people's teeth, rendering them harmless, unable to devour me. |
| לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ | 9 | Victory is YHWH's! And YHWH is my God. And so, despite what my enemies are saying, I will have victory in God. For not only does YHWH determine who is victorious, but YHWH also shows favor to his people. Your blessing, YHWH, is not on your enemies, but on your people, your true people, those who have aligned themselves with your will and have supported me as your chosen king. Selah. |
Prominence Heatmap
In our Prominence Analysis, we aim to determine and visualize the relative prominence of each word, line, and section in the psalm. An element in the text is “prominent” insofar as it “stands out” from the rest of the text. Features that contribute to prominence will vary from psalm to psalm, but typically include things like word/root repetition, rare words, imagery, lines of unusual length, and marked word order. The more these (and other) features converge at a given point in the text, the more “prominent” that point of the text will be. Focusing our attention on the most prominent parts of the text (the parts of the text that the poet himself has linguistically highlighted) should help us better understand the poem’s main message.
The features below have been highlighted according to their relative levels of prominence:
| Low prominence |
High prominence |
|---|
To see our full Prominence Analysis, see the Poetry page.
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.
There are 5 participants/characters in Psalm 3:
Profile List
| David |
| YHWH's people |
| YHWH |
| "YHWH" (vv. 2a, 4a, 6b, 8a, 9a) |
| "[my] God" (vv. 3b, 8a) |
| Enemies |
| "my adversaries" (v. 2a) |
| "those rising against me" (v. 2b) |
| "those saying about me..." (v. 3a) |
| "tens of thousands of people" (v. 7a) |
| "my enemies" (v. 8b) |
| "wicked people" (v. 8c) |
| Absalom |
Profile Notes
- The speaker in this psalm is David, the king of Israel and the representative of YHWH's people.
- YHWH is David's God. YHWH made a covenant with David, promising to give him an eternal dynasty and kingdom and to rescue him from all of his enemies (see 2 Sam 7; Ps 89).
- The enemies in this psalm are the many people who joined in rebellion against David under the leadership of Absalom, David's own son (see 2 Sam 15ff). Absalom is David's third-born son, the first by his wife Ma'acha, daughter of Talmi, king of Geshur (a "small Aramaic state between Bashan and Hermon" [HALOT, 205]) (2 Sam 3:3).
| Hebrew | Line | English |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀ אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃ | 1 | A psalm. By David. When he was fleeing from Absalom, his son. |
| יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י | 2a | YHWH, how my adversaries have become many! |
| רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃ | 2b | Many are those rising against me. |
| רַבִּים֮ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | 3a | Many are those saying about me, |
| אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃ | 3b | "There is no victory for him in God!" Selah. |
| וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י | 4a | But you, YHWH, are a shield for me, |
| כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃ | 4b | my honor, and the one who lifts my head. |
| ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א | 5a | I call aloud to YHWH, |
| וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃ | 5b | and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah. |
| אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה | 6a | I lay down and fell asleep. |
| הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃ | 6b | I woke up, because YHWH supports me. |
| לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם | 7a | I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֝בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃ | 7b | who have taken position against me all around. |
| ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י | 8a | Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God! |
| כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי | 8b | For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw. |
| שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃ | 8c | You have broken wicked people's teeth. |
| לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה | 9a | Victory is YHWH's! |
| עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ | 9b | Your blessing is on your people. Selah. |