Psalm 30 Verse-by-Verse

Welcome to the DRAFT Verse-by-Verse Notes for Psalm 30!

The Verse-by-Verse Notes present scholarly, exegetical materials (from all layers of analysis) in a verse-by-verse format. They often present alternative interpretive options and justification for a preferred interpretation. The Verse-by-Verse Notes are aimed at consultant-level users.

The discussion of each verse of this psalm includes the following items.

1. A link to the part of the overview video where the verse in question is discussed.
2. The verse in Hebrew and English.
3. An expanded paraphrase of the verse.
4. A grammatical diagram of the verse, which includes glosses for each word and phrase.
5. A series of notes on the verse, which contain information pertaining to the interpretation of the psalm (e.g., meaning of words and phrases, poetic features, difficult grammatical constructions, etc.).

Introduction

Psalm 30 is perhaps best known for its unique superscription, "A psalm. The song for the dedication of the house. By David." The relationship between the superscription and the body of the psalm has been widely debated, with many concluding there is no relationship whatsoever. Another issue is the relationship between David and the dedication of the "house," since, if understood only as the temple, the books of 2 Samuel and 1 Kings clearly teach that David was not to build the temple, but his son, Solomon, would. Nevertheless, the clue to understanding this relationship seems to be in the double use of the term "house," just as is found in 2 Samuel 7 (one of the key texts to understanding the historical background to many of the psalms). Soon after David communicates his desire to build a temple for YHWH, Nathan the prophet returns with a message:

"“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? ... “ ‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” (2 Sam 7:5, 11b–16, NIV).

As made quite clear by the near-synonymous use of "house" and "kingdom" in the final verse of this passage, YHWH promised to create and establish David's house, that is, his kingdom and offspring after him. The two uses of the term "house" in this passage, then, speak of the physical house of YHWH's temple and the metaphorical "house" of David's royal line. Both senses are present in Psalm 30, too.

The mention of "enemies" in v. 2 supports the interpretation of "house" as the Davidic line and David as the first king thereof, since "the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him" (2 Sam 7:1, NIV). Further, "my mountain" (v. 8a), a word commonly associated with the idea of "wavering" in the previous verse (cf. Isa 54:10; Pss 46:3; 125:1), is similar to "my high places" (Ps 18:34) and supports the strength of David's reign. Nevertheless, the mention of crying out "Glory" in the last verse alludes to the previous Psalm, which says, "in his temple everyone is saying, 'Glory!'" (Ps 29:9). Such a declaration unmistakably makes reference to the preparation of the temple (cf. Exod 40:34–35; Ezek 43:4–5; 44:4, among others). Thus, in Psalm 30 we have the sustained tension of the two senses of the word "house," such that the psalm as a whole provides a strong intertextual allusion to 2 Samuel 7 and should be read through the lens of the Davidic covenant, which ultimately included Solomon's construction of the First Temple.

Background

The speech time of Psalm 30 is preceded by almost the entirety of the psalm's content. After YHWH established David's "house" as king (v. 1), he proceeded to rule with an arrogant presumption that he (and his rule) would never waver (v. 7). In response to this arrogance, YHWH hid his face from David (v. 8b) and David became ill (vv. 2–4, 8c). Finally, after realizing that the stability of his "house" was a result of YHWH's favor (v. 8a) and not of his own skill or self-sufficiency, David called out to YHWH for help (v. 9) and YHWH listened to David (v. 11), healed him (vv. 2–4), and caused him to rejoice (v. 12). The text of the psalm both begins and ends (vv. 2a, 13b) with the present commitment to praise YHWH forever and the exhortation to YHWH's faithful ones also to join him in praise (v. 5) as a result of his sovereign acts in transforming David's fortunes (v. 13a).

The background events could be visualized as follows:

Other important ideas for interpreting the psalm include the following:

• "[YHWH] mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed" (Prov 3:34, NIV).
• Years before the establishing of the Israelite monarchy, YHWH warned the Israelites against the king's pride and exhorted them to appoint a king who will fear YHWH "and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel" (Deut 17:20, NIV). The census of David's army recounted in 2 Samuel 24:1–17 and 2 Chronicles 21:1–17, as an expression of "trusting in chariots and horses" (Ps 20:8), provides an example of this presumption/arrogance in David's life, followed by a plague and humble repentance in sackcloth.
• After an experience of deliverance, the rescued person would hold a thanksgiving meal, which would result in others praising YHWH for his acts of deliverance (Pss 22:26–27; 26:12; 35:18; 40:10; 69:31–34; 107:31–32; 109:30; 116:17–18). In the present psalm, we see the invitation to participate in such a meal in vv. 5, 13a.

Poetic Structure

As mentioned above, the poetic structure of Psalm 30 contains an inclusio of first-person cohortative verbs, "I shall exalt you" (v. 2a) and "I shall praise you forever" (v. 13b). Other elements of the inclusio include the root שׂמח in "[you] did not let my enemies rejoice (שִׂמַּחְתָּ) over me" (v. 2b) and "[you] dressed me with joy (שִׂמְחָה)" (v. 12b) and "YHWH, my God" (see vv. 3a, 13b). Verse 7 also contains structural prominence, being framed by the staccato-like asyndetic clauses of vv. 6b and 8b (see further discussion of the poetic feature, Momentary anger; forever praise in v. 6 below).

Superscription (v. 1)

v. 1

Hebrew	Verse	English
מִזְמ֡וֹר שִׁיר־חֲנֻכַּ֖ת הַבַּ֣יִת לְדָוִֽד׃	1	A psalm. The song for the dedication of the house. By David.

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

A psalm. The song for the dedication of the house of David's royal lineage, which ruled on Mount Zion. By David, the first king of this dynasty, who was to walk faithfully and in full dependence upon YHWH, not relying on human strength and military might. He was to shepherd his people as YHWH's undershepherd and one acting according to God's heart (1 Sam 13:14).

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 1, the superscription, introduces the occasion of the psalm's composition.

• On the contribution of the dedication of the house to the interpretation of the psalm, mentioned in the introduction above, a common interpretation is that "when the festival for the re-consecration of the Temple ... was instituted ... no new festival psalm was composed for that day, but the most suitable psalm from the Psalter was chosen and given a new meaning, namely Ps. 30." Just as in our treatment of the superscription in Psalm 92, we find it highly implausible that the content of the psalm would be totally irrelevant to the title given to it, despite comments such as the following: "the contents of the psalm prove beyond doubt that it had not been composed for such use." Recent scholarship discusses the three possible connections of the superscription to the body of the psalm as (1) David's own house (though not in the 2 Sam 7 sense, which we have preferred—see the introduction above and the poetic feature, Two Houses); (2) David speaking for Solomon, who would build the temple in his place; or (3) a later editor added it to make sense of the dedication of the Second Temple. In the latter case, the "personal 'I'" of the psalm is nationalized as the people lament their arrogance and praise YHWH for his restoration after the exile. If related to Hezekiah's restoration, by David should be understood more widely to refer to the "Davidic king." While this is possible, Davidic authorship is also just as plausible, as discussed in Ledavid.
• For the imagery of house, see the following table:

• The relationship between the first two constituents of the construct chain שִׁיר־חֲנֻכַּת הַבַּיִת have been interpreted as purpose, i.e., song for the dedication (cf. CJB, DHH, NABRE, NIV, REB, RJPS, the major French, German, and modern Hebrew translations). Our preferred purpose interpretation is the most neutral and also most inclusive view, since, if a song is composed for the dedication of the house, it would be performed at that dedication (location). At the same time, the purpose interpretation does not commit to the necessity that the psalm's content concern the dedication of the house (i.e., specification), which does not seem to be the case.
• For discussion of by David see Ledavid. We prefer to read this phrase as an independent fragment. On the other hand, the Masoretic accents treat שִׁיר־חֲנֻכַּ֖ת הַבַּ֣יִת לְדָוִֽד as one prosodic unit, indicating the final modification, "of David," as modifying what precedes. The intended results seems to be something like "the song for the dedication of the house [which was] to David." Such syntax is also a possible interpretation of Jerome, Aquila and Symmachus, though is explicitly not followed by the LXX or Targum Psalms. The definiteness of the construct chain followed by a lamed constituent is awkward grammatically; prototypically we would not expect a lamed for the ownership of the house, but the final element of the construct chain. Furthermore, since לְדָוִד is such a common element of superscriptions, we have preferred not to follow the suggestion of the Masoretic accents.

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Saved from Sheol (vv. 2–6)

The content of the first poetic section of Psalm 30 could be summarized as follows: "I shall exalt you, YHWH, because you drew me up from going down to the pit and healed me. Praise YHWH's holy name! Weeping is temporary, but there is life in his favor." It consists of two global speech acts: a vow (vv. 2–4) and an exhortation (vv. 5–6), with dominant emotions of relief, joy, and confidence.

v. 2

Hebrew	Verse	English
אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֣ יְ֭הוָה כִּ֣י דִלִּיתָ֑נִי	2a	I shall exalt you, YHWH, because you drew me up
וְלֹא־שִׂמַּ֖חְתָּ אֹיְבַ֣י לִֽי׃	2b	and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

I shall exalt you, YHWH, because, when I was in the slimy dark pits nearing death, I could not rescue myself, but you drew me up and did not let my enemies, who would have loved to see my downfall, rejoice over me.

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 2 opens the body of the psalm with the psalmist's commitment to exalt YHWH, followed by the explanation of his past experience of deliverance (vv. 2–4).

• The content of this verse introduces the section of vv. 2–4, being dominated by images of being drawn up and lifted out of Sheol, the pit, a place of both forgetfulness and silence.

Ironically, David later exhorts the faithful ones to praise YHWH's holy name (v. 5b), but instead of using the more common term, שֵׁם, the poet employs זֵכֶר, literally "memory," to speak of YHWH's "renown" or "reputation." When appealing to YHWH to listen to him and heal him, David mentions "the grave" once again (v. 10; though this time with the noun שַׁחַת) and refers to his own death as simply his "blood" (דָּם). This noun, dam, sounds very similar to the verb "be silent" (יִדֹּם) in the psalm's penultimate line: yiddom. Note, however, that there are other homophonous verbs with this same root (√דמם): "wail, lament" (cf. Isa 23:2) and "perish" (cf. Jer 8:14). Thus, "the pit" and "Sheol," known as the land of forgetfulness, provide a prominent contrast to YHWH's holy "memory." (Indeed, "there is no memory of you in death," Ps 6:6.) In YHWH's favor, though, he did not leave David in the forgotten place, but remembered him and healed him. "The pit," known as the place of silence, provides a prominent contrast with those who will sing of YHWH's glory and not be silent (v. 13a). The psalmist had been at risk of his "blood" going down to the pit (v. 10a). In contrast, however, the faithful ones would neither lament nor perish, along with "those who perish in/go silently to Sheol" (Ps 31:18; יִדְּמוּ לִשְׁאוֹל)!

• For the yiqtol I shall exalt you (אֲרוֹמִמְךָ), a present habitual interpretation is possible, as found, for example, in the RPJS: "I extol you" (cf. CEB, CHB, GNT, NABRE). Nevertheless, the ancient versions are consistent in their rendering as a future verb. Moreover, having a commissive verb as the first and last words of the psalm provides a clean inclusio (see the introduction to the psalm's poetic structure above).
• The verb you drew me up (דִלִּיתָנִי) is the only place in the Bible the verbal root דלה is found in the piel binyan. It may be that not much semantic distinction is intended between the stable qal and slightly controversial piel, though the latter fits the profile of a piel of causative motion that "describes an action which takes place over a greater extent" than that of the corresponding qal. Since pluractional "being drawn up multiple times" does not seem to fit the context and message of the psalm, it may be that the distance the psalmist was drawn up from the depths is construed as greater than would be expected with qal דלה. On the imagery of "drawing up," see the following table:

• David's enemies are only mentioned in passing in this verse, as those who would rejoice in his succumbing to illness and death (cf. Ps 22:8–9; 18–19). Specifically in the circumstances of his "wavering," which he claimed he would never do (v. 7), would adversaries rejoice. In the phrase וְלֹא־שִׂמַּחְתָּ אֹיְבַי לִי the lamed preposition is malefactive "against," "in the sense of mocking." Jenni considers the function akin to social contact of the experiencer of a process of "taking pleasure in someone's misfortune." Alternatively, Rashi claims that לִי should be understood "like עָלַי." Although this may provide a more natural gloss following "rejoice" (see all the major modern translations), there may be intentionality in the frequency of לִי in the psalm (see vv. 11–12), whereas עַל does not occur. These latter two instances are benefactive (see below), so a malefactive interpretation here contributes to the pattern.

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v. 3

Hebrew	Verse	English
יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָ֑י	3a	YHWH, my God,
שִׁוַּ֥עְתִּי אֵ֝לֶ֗יךָ וַתִּרְפָּאֵֽנִי׃	3b	I cried to you for help and you healed me.

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

YHWH, my God, I cried to you for help and you healed me.

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 3 continues the series of verses describing YHWH's past deliverance (vv. 2–4).

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v. 4

Hebrew	Verse	English
יְֽהוָ֗ה הֶֽעֱלִ֣יתָ מִן־שְׁא֣וֹל נַפְשִׁ֑י	4a	YHWH, you brought up my life from Sheol;
חִ֝יִּיתַ֗נִי מִיָּֽרְדִי־בֽוֹר׃	4b	you restored me to life, so that I did not go down to the pit.

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

YHWH, you brought up my life from where it would have ended up if you had not healed me: Sheol; you restored me to life, so that I did not go down to the pit.

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 4 specifies the nature of the psalmist's deliverance—namely, from death.

•  The mention of Sheol does not mean the psalmist had already died. Rather, he was ill to such an extent that he felt like he was dying and, thus, would arrive to Sheol soon. On this gradual approach to Sheol, presumably experienced in terms of illness in our psalm, see the phrase "he approaches ... to the edge of Sheol (lqṣh š[ʾl])" in the Deir ʿAlla plaster inscriptions. In other words, he was "standing on the threshold of death."
• The word "from my going down" (מִיָּרְדִי) is the qere (that is, "what is read" according to the Masoretic tradition), while the ketiv (that is, "what is written") is מיורדי "from those going down." The latter makes less sense, unless a partitive interpretation is supplied—"from among those going down to the pit." Nevertheless, it is supported by the LXX, Quinta and the Peshitta, while the qere (our preference) is supported by Jerome (Hebr.), Targum Psalms, Aquila and Symmachus. Since the plural participle referring to those who go down to the pit is such a frequent expression (see, e.g., Isa 38:18; Ezek 26:20; 31:14, 16; 32:18, 24, 25, 29, 30; Pss 28:1; 88:5; 143:7; Prov 1:12), it appears more likely that a scribe would mistakenly copy this easier reading, as well as add the letter waw, rather than delete a waw to create a unique form of the infinitive with a first-person suffix (the expected form is רִדְתִּי, which also only appears in our psalm, verse 10).
• In similar manner to the מִן in the first clause of the verse, from Sheol, the preposition in the phrase חִיִּיתַנִי *מִיָּרְדִי*־בֽוֹר is privative without. The sense "you have restored me to life without my going down to the pit" with a privative מִן essentially communicates "so that I did not go down to the pit."

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v. 5

Hebrew	Verse	English
זַמְּר֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה חֲסִידָ֑יו	5a	Sing praise to YHWH, his faithful ones!
וְ֝הוֹד֗וּ לְזֵ֣כֶר קָדְשֽׁוֹ׃	5b	And praise his holy name!

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Sing praise to YHWH and celebrate with me, his faithful ones! And praise his holy name, by which we remember him, just as he remembered me in the pit!

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

In verse 5, the psalmist turns to "YHWH's faithful ones" and exhorts them to praise YHWH's name.

• In this macro speech act of exhortation (see the introduction to vv. 2–6 above), we have a new addressee, the faithful ones, whereas the rest of the psalm is addressed to YHWH.

• This vocative is placed in line-/clause-final position to provide a final constituent to the shorter line of the verse. Thus, it balances the two lines of v. 5 without disrupting the repetition of the imperative followed by the initial lamed constituent. It also provides its own repetition of a third-person suffixed form (cf. קָדְשֽוֹ at the end of the following line).

• In events of giving or communicating, the verb phrase typically involve the speaker, what is communicated, and the recipient. Nevertheless, "often the content of the communication is implied by the content of the verb," such as in the construction of לְ following ידה, such that we can interpret the verb phrase as "sing [praise] to the name" ➞ "praise the name."
• For the contribution of the word name to the poetry of the psalm, see the discussion of the poetic feature, The Pit of Forgetfulness and Silence, in v. 2 above. The word זֵכֶר is literally "remembrance" or "memory," though used here, as in other psalms (see, e.g., Ps 97:12), as an "appellation through which one can be remembered -- name," in other words, his "renown" or "reputation." See, especially the parallelism between the two terms in Psalm 135:13: "Your name (שִׁמְךָ), Lord, endures forever,  your renown (זִכְרְךָ), Lord, through all generations" (NIV; cf. לְשִׁמְךָ וּֽלְזִכְרְךָ in Isa 26:8).

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v. 6

Hebrew	Verse	English
כִּ֤י רֶ֨גַע ׀ בְּאַפּוֹ֮ חַיִּ֪ים בִּרְצ֫וֹנ֥וֹ	6a	For there is a moment in his anger; there is life in his favor.
בָּ֭עֶרֶב יָלִ֥ין בֶּ֗כִי וְלַבֹּ֥קֶר רִנָּֽה׃	6b	Weeping might remain during the evening, but by the morning there is a shout of joy.

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

For, while he is just to discipline his people, there is only a moment in his anger; on the other hand, there is restoration to fullness of life in his favor. Weeping might be necessary and it might remain during the evening, but by the morning, which comes soon, there is a shout of joy in the appearance of God's favor shining upon us.

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 6 provides the explanation of why YHWH's faithful ones should praise his name (v. 5). Alhough the absence of suffering brought about by YHWH's discipline is not promised, it is like a short night; in the morning joy arrives as and YHWH's favor brings life.

• For the syntactic interpretations of the first line of this verse, see the exegetical issue The Syntax and Meaning of Psalm 30:6a. As suggested by our CBC's "there is a moment in his anger; there is life in his favor," we prefer the interpretation of these clauses as existentials, just as found in the fourth clause of this verse ("there is a shout of joy").
• Despite the seemingly unnecessary ambiguity in the first two clauses of this verse, syntactically they are not alone in this psalm: vv. 8b and 10b also consist of short, two-word clauses lacking any conjunction.

Although the sentence fragments of v. 6a have been described as "an unusual sentence," "it must ... be said that every word is in its right place here; the poet's thought could not have been expressed more aptly." This is primarily because the short, snappy, asyndetic syntax is iconic of the momentary movement into YHWH's anger (v. 6a) and out of it again, into his favor. Likewise, the anguish caused by YHWH hiding his face was short and temporary (v. 8a). The urgency of David's appeal to YHWH to hear him and heal him is also reflected in the syntactic style of v. 10b. In contrast to the brevity expressed in these lines, the second half of the psalm is framed by the adverbials "forever." The psalmist claimed his reign would remain stable forever in his presumptuous arrogance (v. 7b) and was swiftly disciplined as a consequence. What does remain forever, however, is the praise of YHWH after passing through his discipline and into his favor.

• The Hebrew word life (חַיִּים) refers to the "the state of being alive and well; ◄ because of the presence of air to breathe and food to eat; ≈ life is regarded as more than a mere physical condition; in many cases it includes health, strength, and some degree of prosperity." It "does not have a temporal connotation like our English word 'lifetime' or our legal expression 'a life sentence,'" so the parallelism with the preceding moment (רֶגַע) does not contain a temporal contrast, nor does it require one.
• The constituent during the evening (בָּעֶרֶב) provides a frame-setter within which to process the rest of the clause, in contrast to the phrase "by morning" (לַבֹּקֶר) in the next clause.

Thus, in the phrase "During the evening, weeping might remain" (בָּעֶרֶב יָלִין בֶּכִי) the beth on בָּעֶרֶב is evidently temporal as a general aphorism concerning the time of evening in general (or, perhaps "each evening"). The choice of lamed in the following line (לַבֹּקֶר רִנָּה) is intentional, however, as it accompanies the presentational there is a shout of joy or joy arrives. These prepositions should be differentiated, as the LXX is careful to do, providing an accusative adverb for בָּעֶרֶב, and a prepositional phrase for לַבֹּקֶר. Thus, with the presentational there is x or x arrives, such as that found in the final line of this verse, we recommend the gloss by morning.

• A number of modern translations (rightly, in our view) interpret the yiqtol might remain (יָלִין) with modality of possibility.

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Pride to Sackcloth (vv. 7–11)

The poetic section of vv. 7–11 could be summarized as "YHWH, in your favor you established me—without it, I was in anguish. I would beg for mercy: What good is it if I go down to the grave? Can dust praise you?" It consists of two global speech acts, description (vv. 7–8) and report (vv. 9–11), and is dominated by emotions of shame and longing. The emotion of anguish characterizes the embedded call for mercy of vv. 10–11.

David is speaking throughout these verses—as throughout the entire psalm—though quotes himself on two occasions (vv. 7b, 10–11).

v. 7

Hebrew	Verse	English
וַ֭אֲנִי אָמַ֣רְתִּי בְשַׁלְוִ֑י	7a	But I had said when I was at ease,
בַּל־אֶמּ֥וֹט לְעוֹלָֽם׃	7b	"I will never waver."

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

But when I was reigning with peace and stability all around, I had said when I was at ease, "I will never waver," since I had defeated his enemies all around and was living in a house of cedar (2 Sam 7:1–2).

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 7 reveals that it was David's arrogance that brought about YHWH's discipline.

• Some scholars consider v. 7 a hinge verse standing independently between the first and second halves. Some reasons for this view are structural (see the discussion of the psalm's poetic structure in the introduction of this page), while others have noted that this verse is the only verse in which YHWH is absent. Nevertheless, the topic shift, indicated by "But I" (וַאֲנִי) at the beginning of the verse, and the continuity of discourse topic with v. 8 (a false sense of independent security ➞ security provided by YHWH) indicate a strong continuity between vv. 7–8, which we understand as a poetic section.
• The addressee of this verse could be either the "faithful ones" addressed in the previous two verses, or YHWH. In light of the continuity with verse 8 (see the previous point), the interpretation of YHWH as the addressee seems preferable.
• The fronting of But I (וַאֲנִי) provides a topic shift from the concerns of "his faithful ones" throughout vv. 5–6. Nevertheless, in determining what the waw conjoins syntactically, it seems preferable to return to the pair of imperatival clauses in v. 5, which contain the vocative "his faithful ones" now contrasted with "But I..."

• The reference time "when I was at ease" licenses the past perfect interpretation of I had said (אָמַרְתִּי), which precedes YHWH hiding his face (v. 8bα), David's anguish (v. 8bβ) and subsequent deliverance, recounted already in vv. 2–4.
• The word "my ease" (שַׁלְוִי) is a masculine by-form of the more common שַׁלְוָה, both of which share the verbal root שָׁלֵו "be quiet, at ease." It has been claimed that this form is an Aramaism, since the noun שָׁלוּ is found in Daniel 6:5; Ezra 4:22; 6:9. Nevertheless, the intended sense in these passages of Biblical Aramaic is distinct from that found here, despite belonging to the same root. In any case, one could compare *קָ֫צוּ as a by-form of קָצֶה in the expression קַצְוֵי־אֶרֶץ (Isa 26:15; Pss 48:11; 65:6).
• The only other place in the Bible this expression I will never waver is used without direct reference to God bringing about the "stability" is Psalm 10:7: "[In his arrogance the wicked man] ... says to himself, 'Nothing will ever shake me' (בַּל־אֶמּוֹט לְדֹר וָדֹר)" (NIV). This highlights the heinousness of David's arrogance through such a declaration.

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v. 8

Hebrew	Verse	English
יְֽהוָ֗ה בִּרְצוֹנְךָ֮ הֶעֱמַ֪דְתָּה לְֽהַרְרִ֫י עֹ֥ז	8a	YHWH, in your favor you had established strength for my mountain.
הִסְתַּ֥רְתָּ פָנֶ֗יךָ הָיִ֥יתִי נִבְהָֽל׃	8b	You hid your face; I was in anguish.

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

But I had forgotten, YHWH, that it was only in your favor that you had established strength for my mountain where I ruled over your people. Indeed, you are the one who had given me rest from my enemies all around (2 Sam 7:1). As a consequence of my sinful arrogance, you took away your favor and hid your face; then I was in anguish and did not know where to turn. I did, in fact, end up wavering.

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 8 corrects the mistaken notion of David's own self-assurance. It was only because of YHWH's favor that his place of reign (the "mountain" of the city of David) found strength.

• On the syntax of the first clause of this verse, see the exegetical issue, The Text and Meaning of Psalm 30:8a. The alternative is to supply the expected object "me," such as the RJPS: "for You, O ETERNAL One, when You were pleased, made [me] firm as a mighty mountain." This view also requires various solutions for the MT's לְהַרְרִי. Nevertheless, the pursuit of such solutions is unnecessary, since the MT text, as reflected in most of the ancient versions, is not problematic. The issue seems to be with the intended sense of the line, rather than its syntax. The psalmist as a possessor of a mountain may sound strange. Nevertheless, in a psalm dedicated to the establishing of his house (the royal dynasty), which was established on Mount Zion, it follows that he would not rely on his own strength (v. 7). Rather, he should trust in God, who had provided strength for his house/mountain.
• The line-/clause-initial position of YHWH (יְהוָה) could signals the beginning of a conversational turn, that is, in the context of our poem, a new discourse unit. Nevertheless, in light of the signs of continuity between vv. 7–8 (see v. 7 above), it more likely serves as a strategy of discourse management without signaling a new unit.
• In the phrase in your favor (בִּרְצוֹנְךָ) the beth preposition is best understood as temporal location, as clarified by the final two clauses of the verse, that is, "in [the time of] your favor" (see CJB, CSB, NIV). Thus, this constituent provides a frame-setter within which to process the rest of its clause, the time of YHWH's favor, in contrast to YHWH hiding his face in the following clause.
• In the phrase for my mountain (לְהַרְרִי) the lamed preposition is the recipient of "strength," as with other verbs of provision, such as כון (see Ps 147:8; Job 38:41; Prov 19:29) or שׁפת (see Isa 26:12). For other examples of hiphil עמד, see Nehemiah 13:30; 2 Chronicles 11:15; 33:8.
• My mountain is most likely to be identified with the "City of David" (2 Sam 5:7–9). While Zion is described as YHWH's holy mountain in many psalms, it may also be identified as the mountain of David in Psalm 48:2–3: "Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King." The מֶלֶךְ רָב could refer to YHWH or David. For another instance of David as the proprietor of the high places, see "And he causes me to stand upon my heights" (וְעַל בָּמֹתַי יַעֲמִידֵנִי) in Psalm 18:34.
• The expression hid[e] your face also has strong intertextual connotations. See, for example, Psalm 104:27–29: "All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face (תַּסְתִּיר פָּנֶיךָ), they are terrified (יִבָּהֵלוּן); when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust (עֲפָרָם)" (NIV). See also Psalm 143:7: "Do not hide your face (אַל־תַּסְתֵּר פָּנֶיךָ) from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit (יֹרְדֵי בוֹר)" (NIV). The idea of "hiding your face" is often associated with "abandoning," which calls to mind the "Why have you abandoned me?" (לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי) in Psalm 22:2.

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v. 9

Hebrew	Verse	English
אֵלֶ֣יךָ יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א	9a	To you, YHWH, I would call out
וְאֶל־אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י אֶתְחַנָּֽן׃	9b	and to the Lord I would beg for mercy.

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

While your face was hidden from me, to you, YHWH, I would call out and to the Lord I would beg for mercy to restore my health.

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 9 recounts David's response to YHWH hiding his face and David being in anguish (v. 8b)—he called out and begged YHWH for mercy.

• As noted at the beginning of this section (see the introduction to vv. 7–11 above), this verse begins a new global speech act of report.
• The LXX (cf. Quinta) translates the yiqtol I would call out (אֶקְרָא) with the perfect verb "I have cried out," indicating the expected past reference time of this action. Most English translations also provide a past perfective verb here. This past reading is compatible with the yiqtol verb forms in this verse if interpreted as habitual past, as our CBC. Vv. 10–11 are best understood as the content of what would be called out: "part of the story about what had occurred in the past." Verse 12 then "goes back to describe the salvation that he had experienced in the past."
• The word the Lord (אֲדֹנָי) has been understood as a proper noun followed by a pronominal suffix, "my Lord" (in similar manner to "my God" in vv. 3, 13), in the LXX, Peshitta, Targum Psalms, Symmachus and Quinta (see also the CEB, CSB and RJPS), though the LXX and Targum translate with "my God." Nevertheless, the form is often understood as a title for "the Lord" (so Jerome, Aquila; see also the CJB, ESV, KJV, NABRE, NASB, NET, NIV, REB). This, our preferred view, corroborates with textual evidence that attests to the divine name יְהוָה here.
• The constituent to you (אֵלֶיךָ) is fronted for narrow focus, perhaps best interpreted as restrictive, correcting the view that David would have called out to any other gods for reprieve. The fronted to the Lord (אֶל־אֲדֹנָי) in the second line is probably best understood as poetic repetition, binding the two lines of this verse, indicated also by the relatively rare waw conjunction in this poem.

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v. 10

Hebrew	Verse	English
מַה־בֶּ֥צַע בְּדָמִי֮ בְּרִדְתִּ֪י אֶ֫ל־שָׁ֥חַת	10a	"What gain is there in my blood, in my going down to the pit?
הֲיוֹדְךָ֥ עָפָ֑ר הֲיַגִּ֥יד אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃	10b	Can dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness?

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

I would pray to you and argue,"What gain is there in my blood, in my going down to the pit? Surely, after establishing my house, you would not benefit from my death. If I am reduced to mere dust, who will praise you? Can dust praise you? No, it cannot. Can it tell of your faithfulness? Of course not. But that is what I vow to do as soon as your restore my health.

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 10 begins the content of what David called out to YHWH (v. 9) and appeals to the logic that he cannot praise YHWH if he is dead.

• Although not introduced by an explicit verb of speech, we understand vv. 10–11 to be the content of the "crying out" mentioned in v. 9.
•  It may strike one as quite unnatural to treat the interrogative pronoun מָה as modifying a nominal, i.e., "What gain...?" since we would expect an אֵי construction. Furthermore, parallel passages employing this sense of בֶּצַע as "gain" (see Gen 37:26; Mal 3:14; Job 22:3) are best understood as a verbless clause ("What is the gain...?"). Nevertheless, our preferred reading is reflected in the ancient versions most explicit about the syntax here, the Peshitta and Targum Psalms, which understand מָה as modifying a nominal and provide an existential clause, What gain is there...?
• Our preferred syntactic interpretation of the poetic line מַה־בֶּצַע בְּדָמִי בְּרִדְתִּי אֶל־שָׁחַת reflects the REB: "What profit is there in my death, in my going down to the pit?" (cf. GNT, NET, RJPS) that is, with "What profit is there" elided in the second clause. An alternative interpretation involves reading the line as one clause, following Jerome: "What is the use in my blood when I descend to corruption?"
• On the contribution of the grave in this verse to the poetic feature, The Pit of Forgetfulness and Silence, see v. 2 above.
•  For the mention of dust as the place of death, see Psalm 22:16, 30; 44:26; 104:29. Although dust also describes the composition of humanity (Ps 103:14), the image is slightly different here, with the dust as the realm of the dead (not) offering praise to God—those who have already become nothing but dust. Malul understands the sense of עפר here as shorthand for "those going down to dust," as in Psalm 22:30, or "those dwelling in dust" (Isa 26:19).
• It is preferable to interpret the yiqtols in v. 10b with modality of ability, as the NET illustrates: "Can the dust of the grave praise you? Can it declare your loyalty?" It is also possible to simply to read them as future predictive: "Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?" (ESV).
• For similar appeals to the logic of the ability to praise if dead, see also Psalm 6:6: "For there is no commemoration of you in the world of the dead. In Sheol, who can praise you?" (CBC; cf. Ps 88:11–13).

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v. 11

Hebrew	Verse	English
שְׁמַע־יְהוָ֥ה וְחָנֵּ֑נִי	11a	Listen, YHWH, and be merciful to me!
יְ֝הוָה הֱֽיֵה־עֹזֵ֥ר לִֽי׃	11b	YHWH, be a defender for me!"

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

Listen, YHWH, and be merciful to me! I will not keep talking so proudly or let my mouth speak such arrogance (1 Sam 2:3). YHWH, be a defender for me!" I know now that you were my defender all along, not the strength of my army.

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 11 concludes the quotation of what David called out (v. 9) and once again appeals to YHWH's mercy.

• The vocative, YHWH, intervenes between the two imperatives "listen" and "be merciful," highlighting their urgency. The second vocative of v. 11 aids in delimiting the verse's poetic lines.
• When the participle עוֹזֵר is "used in a socio-legal context, with both human and divine subjects ... [it] refer[s] to the activity of protecting or defending someone as 'defender'" (SDBH).
• In the phrase be a defender for me (הֱיֵה־עֹזֵר לִי) the lamed preposition is best understood as benefactive. Alternatively, it could be understood as the possessor of a relationship, "my helper," as most modern translations.

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Mourning to Dancing (vv. 12–13)

The final global speech act, consisting of another vow (cf. vv. 2–4), is dominated by emotions of determination and joy.

This final section of the poem could be summarized as "Since you've restored my joy, people will sing to you 'Glory'! I shall praise you forever!"

v. 12

Hebrew	Verse	English
הָפַ֣כְתָּ מִסְפְּדִי֮ לְמָח֪וֹל לִ֥י	12a	You changed my mourning into dancing for me;
פִּתַּ֥חְתָּ שַׂקִּ֑י וַֽתְּאַזְּרֵ֥נִי שִׂמְחָֽה׃	12b	you removed my sackcloth and dressed me with joy,

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

When you heard my prayer and answered me, you changed my mourning into dancing for me; you removed my sackcloth, in which I was mourning my circumstances and humbly seeking you, and dressed me with joy the same way you equip others with strength,

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 12 returns to the testimony of vv. 2–4 and describes the effects of YHWH's deliverance.

• "After quoting the crisis psalm the worshiper recited while in distress, the psalm narrates God’s rescue" and "goes back to describe the salvation that he had experienced in the past."
• The semantics of v. 12 make transparent the interpretation of these three clauses as a thought unit, though only the second and third clauses are explicitly conjoined with a waw. The content introduced by "so that" (לְמַעַן) in v. 13 is then considered subordinate to the entirety of v. 12.

• A number of modern translations have present perfects for the verbs in this verse, such as the NASB: "You have turned my mourning into dancing for me." This is a perfectly plausible reading of the qatal, but should be consistent with however the verbs throughout vv. 2–4 are rendered (such as the NASB does), since they share a reference point time.
• In the phrase you changed my mourning into dancing for me (הָפַכְתָּ מִסְפְּדִי לְמָחוֹל לִי) the final lamed preposition is benefactive. Despite the distance from the head verb, it seems preferable to read "for me" לִי as modifying "you changed" (הָפַכְתָּ), rather than modifying מָחוֹל לִי as a relationship of possession, as "dancing [which is] for me ➞ mine."
• Dancing only appears elsewhere in the Psalms in 149:3 and 150:4.
• For the imagery of "joy is clothing" in the phrase "[you] dressed me with joy," see the following table:

The imagery implies that the psalmist is surrounded by and identified by a visible characteristic of joy. As the "state in which humans feel and show great joy" (SDBH), this "clothing" determines his identity as one who rejoices in YHWH and confirms his social status as one restored both physically and spiritually among the community of faith.

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v. 13

Hebrew	Verse	English
לְמַ֤עַן ׀ יְזַמֶּרְךָ֣ כָ֭בוֹד וְלֹ֣א יִדֹּ֑ם	13a	so that people will sing to you "Glory!" and will not stay silent.
יְהוָ֥ה אֱ֝לֹהַ֗י לְעוֹלָ֥ם אוֹדֶֽךָּ׃	13b	YHWH, my God, I shall praise you forever.

Diagrams Expanded Paraphrase

Expanded Paraphrase The words in <i>italics</i> provide a fuller sense of the psalm; the text itself is in <b>bold</b>.

so that people of the congregation of your faithful ones will sing to you " On account of your faithfulness you deserve the glory!" (Ps 115:1) and will not stay silent about your miraculous acts of deliverance. YHWH, my God, instead of imagining that my own strength will last forever, I shall praise you forever and tell everyone about your faithfulness towards me in your favor, since "for a brief moment you abandoned me, but with deep compassion you brought me back. In a surge of anger you hid you face from me for a moment, but with everlasting kindness you had compassion on me" (Isaiah 54:7–8).

Notes

• Summary 
• Notes

Verse 13 provides the result of YHWH's deliverance celebrated in v. 12—people will sing "Glory" to YHWH and David will praise YHWH forever.

• On the syntax of the first clause of this verse, particularly the function of the word glory (כָּבוֹד), see the exegetical issue, The Text and Meaning of Psalm 30:13a.

1. Most ancient and modern translations of the verse tend to interpret "glory" as the grammatical subject and are thus forced to provide a pronominal suffix "my." Since every use of כָּבוֹד with a human referent is suffixed in the MT, it is unlikely to be intended here. The conclusion that כָּבוֹד be read as the grammatical subject is, therefore, excluded.
2. Others understand כָּבוֹד as a vocative, since כָּבוֹד may serve as an appellation for YHWH on a number of occasions in the Bible. Nevertheless, כָּבוֹד nowhere else functions in the role of a vocative.
3. On the other hand, כָּבוֹד functions as a grammatical object in other psalms (most notably, right before our psalm, in Psalm 29:9). While the parallel זַמְּרוּ כְבוֹד in Psalm 66:2 is also enlightening, it should be noted that in no other instance beside the present clause do we find a זמר verb phrase with a double object of both the recipient and the content of the praising. Despite these idiosyncrasies, it appears to be the best interpretation of Psalm 30:13a, as reflected in our CBC: so that people will sing to you "Glory!"

• For the intertextual connections to the previous psalm see the contribution of glory, as discussed in the poetic feature, Two houses. Such singing would take place in a thanksgiving ceremony, organized after an experience of deliverance, in which others would join the supplicant in praising YHWH for his acts of deliverance (Pss 22:26–27; 26:12; 35:18; 40:10; 69:31–34; 107:31–32; 109:30; 116:17–18).
• The adverbial forever (לְעוֹלָם) immediately follows the vocative, so is considered fronted within the clause proper. There are two possible functions of this fronting: (1) scalar focus, i.e., no less than forever, or, preferably, (2) what is called "altruistic movement," that is, movement in order to enable another clausal constituent to assume a certain position. In this case, the final position of I shall praise you (אוֹדֶךָּ) provides an inclusio in the poetic macrostructure with the only other first-person singular cohortative verb—the very first word of the body of the psalm (see v. 2 above and the discussion of poetic structure in the introduction of this page).

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Legends

Grammatical diagram

Visualization	Description
	The clause is represented by a horizontal line with a vertical line crossing through it, separating the subject and the verb.
	The object is indicated by a vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the clause. Infinitives and participles may also have objects. If the direct object marker (d.o.m.) is present in the text, it appears in the diagram immediately before the object. If the grammar includes a secondary object, the secondary object will appear after the object, separated by another vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the clause.
	The subject complement follows the verb (often omitted in Hebrew) separated with a line leaning toward the right. It can be a noun, a whole prepositional phrase or an adjective. The later two appear modifying the complement slot.
	When a noun further describes or renames the object, it is an object complement. The object complement follows the object separated by a line leaning toward the right.
	In a construct chain, the noun in the absolute form modifies the noun in the construct form.
	Participles are indicated in whatever position in the clause they are in with a curved line before the participle. Participles can occur as nominal, where they take the place of a noun, predicate, where they take the place of a verb, or attributive, where they modify a noun or a verb similar to adjectives or adverbs.
	Infinitives are indicated by two parallel lines before the infinitive that cross the horizontal line. Infinitive constructs can appear as the verb in an embedded clause. Infinitive absolutes typically appear as an adverbial.
	The subject of the infinitive often appears in construct to it. In this situation, the infinitive and subject are diagrammed as a construct chain.
	The object of the infinitive is indicated by a vertical line that does not cross the horizontal line of the infinitival clause.
	Modifiers are represented by a solid diagonal line from the word they modify. They can attach to verbs, adjectives, or nouns. If modifying a verb or adjective, it is an adverb, but if modifying a noun, it is an adjective, a quantifier, or a definite article. If an adverb is modifying a modifier, it is connected to the modifier by a small dashed horizontal line.
	Adverbials are indicated by a dashed diagonal line extending to a horizontal line. These are nouns or infinitives that function adverbially (modifying either a verb or a participle), but are not connected by a preposition.
	Prepositional phrases are indicated by a solid diagonal line extending to a horizontal line. The preposition is to the left of the diagonal line and the dependent of the preposition is on the horizontal line. They can modify verbs (adverbial) or nouns (adjectival).
	Embedded clauses are indicated by a "stand" that looks like an upside-down Y. The stand rests in the grammatical position that the clause fulfills. Extending from the top of the stand is a horizontal line for the clause. If introduced by a complementizer, for example כִּי, the complementizer appears before the stand. Embedded clauses can stand in the place of any noun.
	When clauses are joined by a conjunction, they are compound clauses. These clauses are connected by a vertical dotted line. The conjunction is placed next to the dotted line.
	Within a clause, if two or more parts of speech are compound, these are represented by angled lines reaching to the two compound elements connected by a solid vertical line. If a conjunction is used, the conjunction appears to the left of the vertical line. Almost all parts of speech can be compound.
	Subordinate clauses are indicated by a dashed line coming from the line dividing the subject from the predicate in the independent clause and leading to the horizontal line of the subordinate clause. The subordinating conjunction appears next to the dashed line.
	Relative clauses also have a dashed line, but the line connects the antecedent to the horizontal line of the relative clause. The relative particle appears next to the dashed line.
	Sentence fragments are represented by a horizontal line with no vertical lines. They are most frequently used in superscriptions to psalms. They are visually similar to discourse particles and vocatives, but most often consist of a noun phrase (that does not refer to a person or people group) or a prepositional phrase.
	In the body of the psalm, a horizontal line by itself (with no modifiers or vertical lines) can indicate either a discourse particle or a vocative (if the word is a noun referring to a person or people group). A discourse particle is a conjunction or particle that functions at the discourse level, not at the grammatical level. Vocatives can appear either before or after the clause addressed to them, depending on the word order of the Hebrew.
	Apposition is indicated by an equal sign equating the two noun phrases. This can occur with a noun in any function in a sentence.

Hebrew text colors
Default preferred text	The default preferred reading is represented by a black line. The text of the MT is represented in bold black text.
Dispreferred reading	The dispreferred reading is an alternative interpretation of the grammar, represented by a pink line. The text of the MT is represented in bold pink text, while emendations and revocalizations retain their corresponding colors (see below).
Emended text	Emended text, text in which the consonants differ from the consonants of the Masoretic text, is represented by bold blue text, whether that reading is preferred or dispreferred.
Revocalized text	Revocalized text, text in which only the vowels differ from the vowels of the Masoretic text, is represented by bold purple text, whether that reading is preferred or dispreferred.
(Supplied elided element)	Any element that is elided in the Hebrew text is represented by bold gray text in parentheses.
( )	The position of a non-supplied elided element is represented by empty black parentheses. For example, this would be used in the place of the noun when an adjective functions substantivally or in the place of the antecedent when a relative clause has an implied antecedent.

Gloss text colors
Gloss used in the CBC	The gloss used in the Close-but-Clear translation is represented by bold blue text.
Literal gloss >> derived meaning	A gloss that shows the more literal meaning as well as the derived figurative meaning is represented in blue text with arrows pointing towards the more figurative meaning. The gloss used in the CBC will be bolded.
Supplied elided element	The gloss for a supplied elided element is represented in bold gray text.

Shapes and colours on grammatical diagram

Visualization	Description
	The prepositional phrase is indicated by a solid green oval.
	The construct chain is indicated by a solid yellow oval.
	When the conjunction ו appears at the phrase-level (not clause-level), it is indicated by a solid light purple oval.
	The article is indicated by a solid blue oval.

Expanded paraphrase

(For more information, click "Expanded Paraphrase Legend" below.)

Expanded Paraphrase Legend

Expanded paraphrase legend
Close but Clear (CBC) translation	The CBC, our close but clear translation of the Hebrew, is represented in bold text.
Assumptions	Assumptions which provide background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences are represented in italics.

Bibliography

Alter, Robert. 1985. The Art of Biblical Poetry. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Auffret, Pierre. 1982. La Sagesse a Bâti sa Maison: Etudes de structures littéraires dans l'Ancien Testament et spécialement dans les Psaumes. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Bandstra, Barry. 1995. “Marking Turns in Poetic Text. ‘Waw’ in the Psalms.” Narrative and Comment: Contributions to Discourse Grammar and Biblical Hebrew, 45–52.

Blake, Frank R. 1912. "The Hebrew Metheg," Journal of the American Oriental Society 32.1: 78–102.

Böhler, Dieter. 2021. Psalmen 1–50. Freiburg, Basel, Wien: Herder Verlag.

Cohen, Nava. 2019. "Psalm 30—The 'lost' Psalm of King Hezekiah?" (in Hebrew), Beit Mikra 64.1: 107–137.

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