The Meaning of זֵדִים in Ps 19:14

Back to Psalm 19.

Exegetical issues for Psalm 19:

• The Unity of Ps 19
• The Text and Meaning of Ps 19:5a
• The Meaning of זֵדִים in Ps 19:14

Introduction

The Hebrew text of Ps 19:14 reads as follows:

גַּ֤ם מִזֵּדִ֨ים ׀ חֲשֹׂ֬ךְ עַבְדֶּ֗ךָ

אַֽל־יִמְשְׁלוּ־בִ֣י אָ֣ז אֵיתָ֑ם

וְ֝נִקֵּ֗יתִי מִפֶּ֥שַֽׁע רָֽב׃

In this verse, the psalmist asks YHWH to keep him from זֵדִים (v. 14a) and to not let זֵדִים rule over him (v. 14b), so that he can be blameless and innocent (v. 14bc). The word זֵדִים, key to understanding this verse, has been interpreted in various ways. Consider, for example, the following translations:

• Keep back your servant also from the insolent (NRSV, cf. EÜ, GNB, ZÜR, LUT, NGÜ, NBS, NVS78P, PDV2017, NFC, RVR95, BTX4)
• Keep your servant also from willful sins (NIV, cf. REB, GNT, NJPS, NEB, NLT, RSV, ESV, CEV, NVI, HFA)

Both of these interpretations agree that the word זֵדִים is an adjective that means "presumptuous" or "prideful" (hence, in the plural, literally: "presumptuous ones"). They disagree, however, on whether it refers to "presumptuous (people)" (cf. NRSV) or to "presumptuous (acts)" (cf. NIV).

Argument Maps

Presumptuous people

Some interpreters think that the word זֵדִים refers to 'presumptuous people.' The NRSV, for example, says, "Keep back your servant also from the insolent" (NRSV). Although this view is rare among English translations, it is the most popular view among the modern non-English translations we consulted (e.g., EÜ, GNB, ZÜR, LUT, NGÜ, NBS, NVS78P, PDV2017, NFC, RVR95, BTX4).

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[Presumptuous people]: The adjective זֵדִים refers to "presumptuous people" (BDB :L:; Hupfeld 1855, 420-422 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <Usage>: In every other instance of the adjective זֵדִים/זֵד, the reference is to "proud people" (cf. BDB :L:, DCH :L:, NIDOTTE :D:, TWOT :D:; Baethgen 1904, 57 :C:; Waltke 2010, 371-2 :C:). #dispreferred
  + [זֵדִים/זֵד as "proud people"]: E.g., "The insolent (זֵדִים) utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law" (Ps 119:51, ESV). Cf. Isa 33:11; Jer 43:2; Mal 3:15, 19; Pss 86:14; 119:21, 69, 78, 85, 122; Prov 21:24; cf. Ben Sira 12:5; 35:18. #dispreferred
 + <זֵדִים in Ps 119>: In Ps 119, which is similar to Ps 19 in its focus on Torah, consistently uses the word זֵדִים to refer to insolent people who ignore Torah and oppress the righteous (Baethgen 1904, 57 :C:). #dispreferred
  + [זֵדִים/זֵד as "proud people"]
 + <משׁל>: The word זֵדִים is the subject of the verb משׁל in the following line, and משׁל usually takes a personal/animate subject (cf. DCH :L:). #dispreferred
  <_ <משׁל in this context>: A personal/animate subject of משׁל does not make sense in this context. In what sense are insolent people threatening to 'rule over' king David, and what does this have to do with the moral language in the surrounding clauses?
   - <"Other willful rulers">: "If one again follows the heading and sees 'Yhwh’s servant' as David, then this constitutes a plea that other willful rulers should not rule over Yhwh’s designated ruler of Israel and push him into policies that involve rebellion against Yhwh, as was often the kings’ experience. Yhwh’s protecting him from that will make it possible for him to remain wholly committed to Yhwh" (Goldingay 2006, 296 :C:). #dispreferred
 - <חשׂך>: "If זדים had been intended of arrogant and insolent possessors of power, the prayer would have taken some other form than that of 'keeping back' (חשׂך)" (Keil and Delitzsch 1996, 180 :C:).
  <_ <"Keep me from (joining) the arrogant">: Verse 14a is not a prayer of protection from the arrogant ('keep me from them'), but a prayer of protection from the moral influence of the arrogant ('keep me from joining them') (cf. Hupfeld. 1855, 421 :C:; Waltke 2010, 372 :C:). #dispreferred
   _> <משׁל in this context>: A personal/animate subject of משׁל does not make sense in this context. In what sense are insolent people threatening to 'rule over' king David, and what does this have to do with the moral language in the surrounding clauses?

Presumptuous acts (preferred)

Some interpreters think that the word זֵדִים refers to 'presumptuous acts', or 'willful sins.' The NIV, for example, says, "Keep your servant also from willful sins" (NIV, cf. REB, GNT, NJPS, NEB, NLT, RSV, ESV, CEV, NVI, HFA). The CEV expresses this view more idiomatically: "Don't let me do wrong on purpose" (CEV). Although this view is the majority view among English translations, it is a minority view among non-English translations.

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[Presumptuous acts]: The word זֵדִים refers to "presumptuous acts", or "willful sins" (cf. DCH :L:: "perh. presumptuous deed or thought, i.e. sin"; NIDOTTE :D:, TWOT :D:, Rashi :C:; Clines 1974, 7-8 :A:).
 + <Parallel שְׁגִיאוֹת / נִסְתָּרוֹת>: The word זֵדִים is a final addition to the series of words שְׁגִיאוֹת and נִסְתָּרוֹת, both of which refer to types of sins (cf. König 1910, 87 :L:).
  + <גַּם>: The word גַּם "typically marks the entity immediately following it (its syntactic domain) for addition..." (BHRG §40.20 :G:).
  + <שְׁגִיאוֹת>: The word שְׁגִיאוֹת in the previous verse refers to "acts of which the doer is conscious but whose sinfulness he learns afterwards" (Milgrom 1967, 120 :A:; cf. HALOT :L:, BDB :L:, DCH :L:)
 + <חשׂך מן>: The expression 'restrain from' (חשׂך מן) is used similarly elsewhere to refer to "restraint from (doing) evil" (cf. Milgrom 1967, 120-121 :A:; Radak :C:).
  + [חשׂך מן]: "He has kept his servant from doing wrong (וְאֶת־עַבְדּוֹ֙ חָשַׂ֣ךְ מֵֽרָעָ֔ה)" (1 Sam 25:39, NIV; cf. Gen 20:6).
 - <Usage>: In every other instance of the adjective זֵדִים/זֵד, the reference is never to "presumptuous sins" but to "presumptuous people" (cf. BDB :L:, DCH :L:, NIDOTTE :D:, TWOT :D:). #dispreferred
  + [זֵדִים/זֵד as "proud people"]: E.g., "The insolent (זֵדִים) utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law" (Ps 119:51, ESV). Cf. Isa 33:11; Jer 43:2; Mal 3:15, 19; Pss 86:14; 119:21, 69, 78, 85, 122; Prov 21:24; cf. Ben Sira 12:5; 35:18. #dispreferred
  <_ <Noun (זֵד)>: The word זֵדִים in Ps 19:14 is actually a noun ("insolent sin") homophonous with but distinct from the adjective זֵדִים ("insolent") (cf. the form רֵאשׁ in Prov 30:8, which is an abstract noun with the same vowel pattern from the II-yod root רישׁ, as well as the form רֵקִים in Prov 28:19) (Radak :C:; Milgrom 1967, 120, :A:).
   + [Prov 30:8]: רֵ֣אשׁ וָ֭עֹשֶׁר אַל־תִּֽתֶּן־לִ֑י
   + [Prov 28:19]: עֹבֵ֣ד אַ֭דְמָתוֹ יִֽשְׂבַּֽע־לָ֑חֶם וּמְרַדֵּ֥ף רֵ֝קִ֗ים יִֽשְׂבַּֽע־רִֽישׁ (cf. LXX: σχολὴν; Jerome: otium; Peshitta and Targum: סריקותא)
   - <Qil nouns from hollow roots>: Nouns which follow this pattern (i.e., Qil nouns from hollow roots) tend to be verbal adjectives (e.g., מֵת 'dead person' and גֵּר 'sojourner') (cf. Huehnergard 2015, 30-31 :A:). #dispreferred
  <_ <Other substantival adjectives>: Substantival adjectives can sometimes refer to both people and things.
   + [רַע]: As a substantival adjective, רַע can refer to a "bad (act)" (e.g., Jer 3:5) or to a "bad (person)" (e.g., Jer 2:33) (cf. BDB 948 :L:).
   + [רֵק]: As a substantival adjective, רֵק can refer to "worthless (people)" (e.g., הָרֵקִים in 2 Sam 6:20; cf. Jdg 9:4) or to "worthless (things)" (e.g., רֵקִים in Prov 28:19).
 - <משׁל "rule">:  The word זֵדִים is the subject of the verb משׁל in the following line, and משׁל does not usually have a non-personal/inanimate subject. #dispreferred
  <_ <Personification>: The זֵדִים ("presumptuous acts") are being personified, similar to the way in which sins are personified elsewhere.
   + [Gen 4:7]: "...sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it" (Gen 4:7, ESV).
   + [Ps 119:133]: וְֽאַל־תַּשְׁלֶט־בִּ֥י כָל־אָֽוֶן "let no sin rule over me" (Ps 119:133, NIV).
   + [Sirach 23:6]: "Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me" (Sir 23:6, RSV).
 + <"Then I will be blameless...">: The following statement "then I will be blameless and innocent of great crime" only makes sense if זֵדִים refers to sins (cf. König 1910, 87 :L:).

Conclusion (A)

The adjective זֵדִים probably refers to "presumptuous (acts)." Although elsewhere in the Bible זֵדִים refers to "presumptuous (people)," the context of the word in Ps 19—its appearance at the end of a list with שגיאות and נסתרות; the use of the verb חשׂך; and the following expression "then I will be blameless"—strongly suggests that it refers to "presumptuous (acts)." Some adjectives in Biblical Hebrew can act as substantives referring to both people and things (e.g., רַע). It is also possible, however, that זֵדִים in Ps 19:14 is not an adjective but a noun. In either case, the meaning is the same.

The significance of this interpretation in the wider context of vv. 13-14 is summarized by Milgrom as follows: "The psalmist has extolled the keeping of the Law for its manifold benefits (vss. 8-12) but he now asks the rhetorical question: who can know the entire law and thereby prevent inadvertencies? Furthermore, beyond the scope of law and human wisdom lies the unchartable realm of the hidden, the unconscious sins. In this matter, he can only turn to God and implore that he be cleared. Finally, as regards deliberate sins, man requires restraint in the face of temptation and passion and for this he asks divine aid. Having covered the entire range of human evil, the psalmist's conclusion follows irrefutably: 'then I shall be perfect.'"

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: καὶ ἀπὸ ἀλλοτρίων φεῖσαι τοῦ δούλου σου
  • "Also from strangers spare your slave!"
• Aquila: καίγε ἀπὸ ὑπερηφάνων συντήρησον τὸν δοῦλόν σου
• Peshitta: ܐܦ ܡܢ ܥܘܠܐ ܚܣܘܟܝܗܝ ܠܥܒܕܟ܂
  • "Also keep back your servant from iniquity."
• Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): a superbis quoque libera servum tuum
  • "Free your servant from the arrogant as well."
• Targum: ברם מן זידונייא פצי עבדך
  • "But deliver your servant from the presumptuous."

Modern

Proud people

• the insolent (NRSV)
• vermessenen Menschen (EÜ, GNB, ZÜR)
• den Stolzen (LUT)
• überheblichen Menschen (NGÜ)
• Übermütigen (ELB)
• gens arrogants (NBS)
• présomptueux (NVS78P)
• orgueilleux (PDV2017, TOB)
• insolents (NFC)

Pride

• pride (NJB)
• pensées d’orgueil (BDS)
• sentiment d’orgueil (S21)
• el orgullo (DHH94I)
• las soberbias (RVR95, BTX4)

Willful sins

• willful sins (NIV, REB, GNT, NJPS)
• mutwilligen Sünden (HFA)
• sins of self-will (NEB)
• deliberate sins (NLT)
• presumptuous sins (RSV, ESV)
• flagrant sins (NET)
• Don't let me do wrong on purpose (CEV)
• pecar a sabiendas (NVI)

Secondary Literature

Baethgen, Friedrich. 1904. Die Psalmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.

Clines, D. J. A. 1974. “The Tree of Knowledge and the Law of Yahweh (Psalm XIX).” Vetus Testamentum 24, no. 1: 8–14.

Goldingay, John. 2006. Psalms: Psalms 1–41. Vol. 1. BCOT. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Hupfeld, Hermann. 1855. Die Psalmen. Vol. 1. Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes.

Keil and Delitzsch 1996. Commentary on the Old Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

König, Eduard. 1910. Hebräisches und aramäisches Wörterbuch zum Alten Testament. Leipzig: Dieterich’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.

Milgrom, Jacob. 1967. “The Cultic ‮שגגה‬ and Its Influence in Psalms and Job.” The Jewish Quarterly Review 58, no. 2: 115–125.

Radak.

Rashi.

Waltke, Bruce K., J. M. Houston, and Erika Moore. 2010. The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.

References

19:14 Approved