Psalm 92 Test Participant Analysis

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Psalm 92/Test/Participant Analysis
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Participant Analysis

What is Participant Analysis?

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? It is often helpful for understanding literary structure, speaker identification, etc.

For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Participant Analysis Creator Guidelines.

Participant Set List

There are four participants/characters in Psalm 92:

Psalmist


YHWH
"Most High" (v. 2)
"Our God" (v. 14)
"My rock" (v. 16)


Righteous


[YHWH's] Enemies
[The psalmist's] Enemies
"Wicked people" (vv. 8, 12)
"Evildoers" (vv. 8, 10)
"Those rising up against me" (v. 12)
Stupid people
Fools


  • Psalmist: someone who has been made to rejoice by YHWH's work (v. 5) and received promises of victory over his enemies (vv. 11-12). Furthermore, he is the relational proprietor of "my rock" (v. 16) and shares in "our God" (v. 14).
  • The righteous are explicitly introduced as a class term in the topic shift in v. 13, yet subtly shift to a plural reference from v. 14 onwards. They have also been judged as the addressee from then on, with the intended perlocutionary effect that they will trust in the contents of v. 16: that YHWH is fair and just.
  • The enemies are explicitly mentioned as YHWH's enemies in v. 10 and probably also as the psalmist's in v. 12 (though see the lexical notes on שׁוּרָי). In parallel with "evildoers" in v. 10, this is also true of their identification as both "wicked" and "evildoers" in v. 8 and "those rising up against me" in v. 12. Though not identical, the fools mentioned in v. 7 are not aware of their coming downfall, despite their ephemeral prosperity, so are understood to form part of this participant set. As in the case of the righteous above, this participant set is first introduced as a class term in the singular (v. 7), before shifting to plural reference in vv. 8, 10, 12.
Speaker 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. Addressee
מִזְמ֥וֹר שִׁ֗יר לְי֣וֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת׃ 1 A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
Psalmist ט֗וֹב לְהֹד֥וֹת לַיהוָ֑ה 2 It is right to praise YHWH YHWH
וּלְזַמֵּ֖ר לְשִׁמְךָ֣ עֶלְיֽוֹן׃ and [it is right] to sing praise to your name, Most High.
לְהַגִּ֣יד בַּבֹּ֣קֶר חַסְֽדֶּ֑ךָ 3 [It is right] to declare your loyalty in the morning
וֶ֝אֱמֽוּנָתְךָ֗ בַּלֵּילֽוֹת׃ and [it is right to declare] your faithfulness at night.
עֲֽלֵי־עָ֭שׂוֹר וַעֲלֵי־נָ֑בֶל 4 [It is right to praise YHWH] with a ten-stringed instrument and with a harp,
עֲלֵ֖י הִגָּי֣וֹן בְּכִנּֽוֹר׃ with a soft melody on a lyre.
כִּ֤י שִׂמַּחְתַּ֣נִי יְהוָ֣ה בְּפָעֳלֶ֑ךָ 5 For you have made me rejoice, YHWH, by your action;
בְּֽמַעֲשֵׂה* יָדֶ֣יךָ אֲרַנֵּֽן׃* In the work of your hands I rejoice.
מַה־גָּדְל֣וּ מַעֲשֶׂ֣יךָ יְהוָ֑ה 6 How great are your works, YHWH!
מְ֝אֹ֗ד עָמְק֥וּ מַחְשְׁבֹתֶֽיךָ׃ your plans are so deep.
אִֽישׁ־בַּ֭עַר לֹ֣א יֵדָ֑ע 7 Stupid people do not know [this]
וּ֝כְסִ֗יל לֹא־יָבִ֥ין אֶת־זֹֽאת׃ and fools do not understand this:
בִּפְרֹ֤חַ רְשָׁעִ֨ים ׀ כְּמ֥וֹ עֵ֗שֶׂב 8 when wicked people flourish like a green plant
וַ֭יָּצִיצוּ כָּל־פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן and any evildoers prosper,
לְהִשָּֽׁמְדָ֥ם עֲדֵי־עַֽד׃ [this is] for them to be destroyed forever,
וְאַתָּ֥ה מָר֗וֹם לְעֹלָ֥ם יְהוָֽה׃ 9 but you are on high forever, YHWH.
כִּ֤י הִנֵּ֪ה אֹיְבֶ֡יךָ ׀ יְֽהוָ֗ה 10 For look, your enemies, YHWH
כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֣ה אֹיְבֶ֣יךָ יֹאבֵ֑דוּ for look, your enemies will perish;
יִ֝תְפָּרְד֗וּ כָּל־פֹּ֥עֲלֵי אָֽוֶן׃ all evildoers will be scattered,
וַתָּ֣רֶם כִּרְאֵ֣ים קַרְנִ֑י 11 and you will lift up my horn like a wild ox,
בְּלּתִי* *כְּשֶׁ֣מֶן* רַעֲנָֽן׃* my old age [will be] fresh like oil,
וַתַּבֵּ֥ט עֵינִ֗י בְּשׁ֫וּרָ֥י 12 and my eyes will look upon my enemies;
בַּקָּמִ֖ים עָלַ֥י מְרֵעִ֗ים תִּשְׁמַ֥עְנָה אָזְנָֽי׃ my ears will hear those who rise up against me, wicked people.
צַ֭דִּיק כַּתָּמָ֣ר יִפְרָ֑ח 13 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; The Righteous
כְּאֶ֖רֶז בַּלְּבָנ֣וֹן יִשְׂגֶּֽה׃ like a cedar tree in Lebanon he will grow.
שְׁ֭תוּלִים בְּבֵ֣ית יְהוָ֑ה 14 [They will be] transplanted in the house of YHWH;
בְּחַצְר֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣ינוּ יַפְרִֽיחוּ׃ in the courtyards of our God they will flourish.
ע֭וֹד יְנוּב֣וּן בְּשֵׂיבָ֑ה 15 They will still thrive in old age;
דְּשֵׁנִ֖ים וְרַֽעֲנַנִּ֣ים יִהְיֽוּ׃ they will be vigorous and fresh
לְ֭הַגִּיד כִּֽי־יָשָׁ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה צ֝וּרִ֗י 16 in order that people declare that YHWH, my rock, is fair
וְֽלֹא־עַוְלָ֥תָה בּֽוֹ׃ and there is no injustice in him.


  • v. 5 – For the emendation of בְּֽמַעֲשֵׂה* יָדֶ֣יךָ* (MT: בְּֽמַעֲשֵׂ֖י יָדֶ֣יךָ), see the grammar notes.
  • v. 11 – For the revocalization of *בְּלֹתִי* (MT: בַּ֝לֹּתִ֗י) and the emendation of *כְּשֶׁמֶן* (MT: בְּשֶׁ֣מֶן), see the The Grammar and Meaning of Ps 92:11b.

Participant Relations Diagram

The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:

Psalm 092 - Participant Analysis Summary.jpg

Psalm 092 - PA Mini-Story.jpg

Participant Analysis Summary Distribution

Psalm 092 - Summary Distribution.jpg