The Meaning of Ps 109:4b

Back to Psalm 109.

Exegetical issues for Psalm 109:

The Meaning of Ps 109:4b

The Speaker of Ps 109:6-19

The Meaning of Ps 109:20

Introduction

The Hebrew text of Ps 109:4, according to the Masoretic Text, reads as follows:

תַּֽחַת־אַהֲבָתִ֥י יִשְׂטְנ֗וּנִי

וַאֲנִ֥י תְפִלָּֽה׃

The second line of this verse (וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה) is difficult to understand. Modern translations offer several different interpretations:

• but I continue to pray (NET)
• even though I prayed (cf. BTX4)
• even though I... have prayed for them (GNT)
• though I have done nothing wrong (REB)

The first two translations (NET, BTX4) are attempts to interpret and translate the Masoretic Text (וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה, lit.: "I am prayer"). The third translation (GNT) follows a textual emendation (reading וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לָהֶם, literally: "and I—my prayer was for them"). The fourth translation (REB) follows another textual emendation (וְאֵין תִּפְלָה, literally: "and there was nothing wrong/unseemly"). The issue, therefore, involves textual criticism. But it also goes beyond textual criticism, since even those who agree on the text interpret it in different ways (e.g., NET vs BTX4).

Argument Maps

But I am prayer (וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה)

Most modern translations follow the reading of the Masoretic Text: וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה. They interpret this text in two different ways:

1. "But I remain prayerful"
2. "Even though I prayed (for them)"

But I remain prayerful

Most of the modern translations consulted interpret v. 4b (וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה) as a statement about the psalmist's continued prayerfulness. The NIV, for example, says, "but I am a man of prayer." With this statement, the psalmist is committing himself to continued prayerfulness in contrast to and in response to his enemies' accusations. Cf. NJB: "and all I can do is pray!" Calvin represents this interpretation in the following comment: "When he was attacked in a cruel and hostile manner, he did not betake himself to such unlawful means as the rendering of evil for evil, but committed himself into the hand of God, fully satisfied that he alone could guard him from all ill."

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[But I remain prayerful]: The clause וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה means "I am/remain prayerful (in the face of their accusations)." #dispreferred
 - <Impossible Hebrew>: The Hebrew expression וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה (lit.: "I am (a) prayer") is "impossible" ('unmöglich,' Gunkel 1926, 478 :C:; cf. Duhm 1899, 253 :C:).
  - <"Prayerful">: The expression וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה (lit.: "I am (a) prayer") can mean "I am prayerful" or "I am a man of prayer" (אני איש תפלה, so Radak :C:, Ibn Ezra :C:, JM §154e :G:), which in the context means specifically, "In response to their accusations, I will commit myself to prayer." #dispreferred
   + <Verbless clauses>: "The nominal (substantival) predicate is used in Hebrew in a rather broad sense," including "the substantive expressing an abstract quality or a concrete particularity" (JM §154e :G:; cf. GKC §141c :G:). #dispreferred
    + [Ps 120:7]: "I am for peace (אֲנִי שָׁלוֹם), but when I speak, they are for war (הֵמָּה לַמִּלְחָמָה)!" (Ps 120:7, ESV; cf. Ps 92:9 וְאַתָּה מָרוֹם; Ps 110:3 עַמְּךָ נְדָבֹת; Prov 3:17; Ezek 2:7). #dispreferred
 + <Context (v. 7)>:  "In light of v. 7... the petition or prayer is intended in the sense of a request or appeal by which an accused or condemned person calls on the appeal court to review or revise the proceedings—thus in the case of our psalm an appeal to YHWH as the 'higher' court" (Zenger 2011, 126 :C:). #dispreferred
  + [v. 7]: "They say, '... When his case comes up for judgment, let him be pronounced guilty. Count his prayers as sins" (Ps 109:6-7, NLT). #dispreferred
 + <Contrast in the present>: The use of waw + pronoun (וַאֲנִי) to begin the b-line sets up a contrast between the b-line and the a-line. Because the a-line has present-tense habitual semantics (yiqtol, יִשְׂטְנוּנִי: "they keep accusing me"), the b-line probably also has present-habitual semantics: "they keep accusing me, but I am (for prayer) >> but I keep praying." #dispreferred
  <_ <Focus on past friendship>: The focus of the a-line is not the continued accusations, but the (past) love of the psalmist. Note the marked word order: "It is in exchange for my loving friendship that they keep accusing me."

Even though I would pray (for them) (preferred)

Some modern translations interpret the clause וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה as a statement about the psalmist's past or present prayerfulness on behalf of those who are now accusing him. The CEV, for example, says "I had pity and prayed for my enemies," and the NLT says, "even as I am praying for them!" Ibn Ezra explains the meaning as follows: "I used to pray to the Lord on their behalf." The following argument map will represent the view that וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה refers to the psalmist's past (not present, ongoing) prayerfulness for his enemies.

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[Even though I would pray (for them)]: The clause וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה means "even though I was prayerful on their behalf," "even though I would always pray for them" (cf. Ibn Ezra :C:).
 - <Impossible Hebrew>: The Hebrew expression וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה (lit.: "I am (a) prayer") is "impossible" ('unmöglich,' Gunkel 1926, 478 :C:; cf. Duhm 1899, 253 :C:). #dispreferred
  - <"Man of prayer">: The expression וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה (lit.: "I am (a) prayer") can mean "I am a man of prayer" (אני איש תפלה, so Radak :C:, Ibn Ezra :C:, JM §154e :G:), which in the context means specifically, "even though I would always pray for them."
   + <Verbless clauses>: "The nominal (substantival) predicate is used in Hebrew in a rather broad sense," including "the substantive expressing an abstract quality or a concrete particularity" (JM §154e :G:; cf. GKC §141c :G:).
    + [Ps 120:7]: "I am for peace (אֲנִי שָׁלוֹם), but when I speak, they are for war (הֵמָּה לַמִּלְחָמָה)!" (Ps 120:7, ESV; cf. Ps 92:9 וְאַתָּה מָרוֹם; Ps 110:3 עַמְּךָ נְדָבֹת; Prov 3:17; Ezek 2:7).
 + <Context (vv. 4a, 5)>: The surrounding clauses, including the parallel line (v. 4a), describe the psalmist's friendship (or, "love") towards those now accusing him. In this context, it makes sense to read the statement וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה as a concrete expression of his past friendship (Baethgen 1904, 332 :C:).
  + [vv. 4a, 5]: "In return for my friendship they accuse me... They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship" (Ps 109:4-5, NIV).
 + <Ps 35:11-14>: Psalm 35:11-14 expresses a similar idea. There the psalmist says that he had (in the past) shown love to his accusers by praying for them when they were suffering.
  + [Ps 35:11-14]: "Malicious witnesses rise up... They repay me evil for good... But I, when they were sick—I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning" (Ps 35:13-14, ESV).
 + <Ancient versions>: A few of the ancient versions use past-tense imperfective verbs to translate the phrase ("but I would pray"), and the Peshitta explicitly adds the prepositional phrase "for them."
  + [Ancient versions]: LXX: ἐγὼ δὲ προσευχόμην ("but I, I would pray"); Peshitta: ܘܐܢܐ ܡܨܠܐ ܗܘܝܬ ܥܠܝܗܘܢ܂ ("but I was praying for them"); Jerome iuxta Hebr.: ego autem orabam ("but I would pray / was praying."

Even though I would pray for them (וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לָהֶם)

Some modern translations follow the emendation: וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לָהֶם ("but I—my prayer is/was for them"). This emendation results in a meaning that is essentially the same as that of the previous interpretation. The GNT, for example, says, "even though I love them and have prayed for them," and it notes in a footnote that it is following the "Probable text" (probably וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לָהֶם) instead of the "Hebrew." Most of the arguments in favor of this interpretation feature in the previous argument map, and these arguments will not be repeated here. Instead, for the sake of brevity, the argument map below will focus specifically on the arguments for the textual emendation.

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[Even though I prayed for them]: The earlier form of the text is וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לָהֶם—"even though I would pray for them" (cf. Kittel 1929, 353-4 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <Balance>: The addition of תִי לָהֶם at the end of the end of the line would make for better prosodic balance with the a-line (10 syllables / 9 syllables). #dispreferred
 + <Syriac Peshitta>: The Syriac Peshitta probably read וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לָהֶם in its Hebrew exemplar (see BHS). #dispreferred 
  + [Syriac Peshitta]: ܘܐܢܐ ܡܨܠܐ ܗܘܝܬ ܥܠܝܗܘܢ܂—"but I was praying for them" (Taylor 2020, 463). #dispreferred
  - <Free translation>: The Peshitta is giving a free translation of ואני תפלה and is not reading a different Hebrew text (Barthélemy 2005, 726).
   + <Characteristic accomodation>:"One of the most characteristic traits of \[the Syriac Peshitta Psalter\] is the clarity of its translation." It frequently "deviates from its Hebrew base text and accommodates the translation to the immediate context, following a certain logic or overcoming a certain difficulty" (Carbajosa 2020, §10.3.4.5).

Even though there is nothing wrong (וְאֵין תִּפְלָה)

At least two modern translations follow a different emendation: וְאֵין תִּפְלָה. The NEB reads, "though I have done nothing unseemly," and the REB reads, similarly, "though I have done nothing wrong." The book The Hebrew Text of the Old Testament: the Readings adopted by the Translators of the New English Bible makes it clear that these translations are reading וְאֵין תִּפְלָה instead of וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה.

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[Even though there is nothing wrong]: The earlier reading of the text is וְאֵין תִּפְלָה, "even though there is nothing wrong" (cf. Gunkel 1926, 478 :C:). #dispreferred
 - <Manuscript evidence>: There is no manuscript evidence for the reading וְאֵין תִּפְלָה. On the contrary, the manuscript evidence is united in support of the reading וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה (cf. Barthélemy 2005, 725-6). 
  + [Manuscript evidence]: MT: וַאֲנִ֥י תְפִלָּֽה ; LXX: ἐγὼ δὲ προσευχόμην; Aquila and Symmachus: καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι προσευχή; Jerome: ego autem orabam; Peshitta: ܘܐܢܐ ܡܨܠܐ ܗܘܝܬ ܥܠܝܗܘܢ܂; Targum: ואנא אצלי.
   <_ <Scribal error>: It is plausible that at some early point in the transmission of the psalm a scribe would have confused ואין תפלה with ואני תפלה. The difference involves only the swapping of two Hebrew letters (ני vs ינ). Perhaps the scribe was thrown off by the rare word תִּפְלִה, which he misinterpreted as the more common word תְפִלִּה. #dispreferred
    + <Early scribal struggles with תפל>: "It is clear that the LXX already had problems with the interpretation of this root. It omits תפל in Job 6:6 and misreads it as תִּפֹּל (from נפל) in Ezekiel" (TDOT :D:). #dispreferred
 + <Context (vv. 2-3, 5)>: The surrounding verses emphasize the groundless nature of the enemies' accusations, and the reading ואין תפלה ("even though there is nothing wrong") would work well with this emphasis. #dispreferred
  + [vv. 2-3, 5]: "Wicked people and liars have attacked me. They tell lies about me, and they say evil things about me, attacking me for no reason (חִנָּם)... They pay me back evil for good and hatred for love" (Ps 109:2-3, 5, GNT). #dispreferred
 + <Meaning of תִּפְלָה>: The word תִּפְלָה can mean "unseemliness" (BDB :L:, DCH :L:) or "offensiveness" (HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
  + [Meaning of תִּפְלָה]: "In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong (תִּפְלָה)" (Job 1:22, ESV; cf. Jer 23:13; Job 24:12; 5Q14). #dispreferred
 + <Ps 59:4-5>: A similar thought is expressed in Ps 59:4f (cf. Gunkel 1926, 478 :C:). #dispreferred
  + [Ps 59:4-5]: "For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression (לֹא־פִשְׁעִי) or sin of mine (וְלֹא־חַטָּאתִי), O Lord, for no fault of mine, they run and make ready" (Ps 59:4-5, ESV). #dispreferred

Conclusion (B)

The manuscript evidence invariably supports the reading וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה. Furthermore, the ancient versions appear to have interpreted this clause as a statement about the psalmist's past prayers on behalf of his enemies. This view works well in the context. In the parallel line, the psalmist focuses—note the marked word order!—on the love that he had shown to those who are now accusing him: "it is in exchange for my love that they keep accusing me" (see also v. 5). In this context, it makes sense to understand the b-line of v. 4 (וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה) as a reference to a concrete expression of the psalmist's past love for his enemies: "in exchange for my love, i.e., even though I would always pray for them." The statement has a remarkable parallel in Ps 35 (which is similar to Ps 109 in many other respects):

"Malicious witnesses rise up... They repay me evil for good (רָעָה תַּחַת טוֹבָה)... But I (וַאֲנִי), when they were sick—I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed (וּתְפִלָּתִי) with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning" (Ps 35:13-14, ESV).

The objection that וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה is "impossible" Hebrew does not hold up. As Joüon and Muraoka note, "The nominal (substantival) predicate is used in Hebrew in a rather broad sense," including "the substantive expressing an abstract quality or a concrete particularity" (JM §154e, cf. GKC §141c). The clearest example is Ps 120:7: "I am for peace (אֲנִי שָׁלוֹם), but when I speak, they are for war (הֵמָּה לַמִּלְחָמָה)!" (ESV). Similarly, וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה means "but I am/have been for prayer" or perhaps "I am/have been a man of prayer" (אִישׁ תְפִלָּה, so Radak, Ibn Ezra), which in the context means specifically, "even though I have always prayed (for them)."

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: ἐγὼ δὲ προσευχόμην
  • "but I, I would pray"
• Aquila: καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι προσευχή
  • "and I am (a) prayer"
• Symmachus: καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι προσευχή
  • "and I am (a) prayer"
• Peshitta: ܘܐܢܐ ܡܨܠܐ ܗܘܝܬ ܥܠܝܗܘܢ܂
  • "but I was praying for them."
• Jerome (iuxta Hebr.): ego autem orabam
  • "but I would pray / but I was praying"
• Targum: ואנא אצלי
  • "yet I pray."

Modern

I prayer (וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּה)

But I respond with prayer

• but I am a man of prayer (NIV)
• but I give myself to prayer (ESV)
• and all I can do is pray! (NJB)
• but I continue to pray (NET)
• ich aber bete (LUT)
• ich aber bete weiter zu dir (HFA)
• Ich aber bleibe unbeirrt im Gebet (NGÜ)
• Ich aber bin ⟨stets im⟩ Gebet (ELB)
• ich aber bete (EÜ)
• pero yo hago oración (DHH94I)
• et moi, je suis en prière (TOB)
• moi, je recours à la prière (NBS)
• Mais moi (je recours à la) prière (NVS78P)
• mais moi, je prie pour eux (PDV2017)
• pourtant, moi, je ne fais que prier (NFC)
• mais moi, je recours à la prière (S21)

While I (continue to) pray (circumstantial)

• während ich im Gebet verharre (ZÜR)
• mientras yo permanezco en oración (NVI)
• tandis que moi, je suis en prière (BDS)

Even though I was praying

• aunque yo oraba (BTX4)
• pero yo oraba (RVR95)

I must stand judgment

• and I must stand judgment (NJPS)

Even though I was praying for them (תְּפִלָּתִי לָהֶם)

• even while I make prayer for them (NRSV)
• even though I love them and have prayed for them (GNT)
• even as I am praying for them! (NLT)
• I had pity and prayed for my enemies (CEV)
• ich aber habe für sie gebetet (GNB)

Nothing unseemly (וְאֵין תִּפְלָה)

• though I have done nothing unseemly (NEB)
• though I have done nothing wrong (REB)

Secondary Literature

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

Barthélemy, Dominique. 2005. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament. 4: Psaumes. Edited by Norbert Lohfink. Orbis biblicus et orientalis, 50,4. Fribourg/Suisse: Academic Press.

Carbajosa, Ignacio. 2020. “10.3.4 Peshitta.” Textual History of the Bible.

Duhm, Bernhard. 1899. Die Psalmen. Vol. XIV. Kurzer Hand-Commentar zum Alten Testament. Leipzig und Tübingen: Mohr (Paul Siebeck).

Gunkel, Hermann. 1926. Die Psalmen. 4th ed. Göttinger Handkommentar zum Alten Testament 2. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. 2011. Psalms 3: A Commentary on Psalms 101-150. Edited by Klaus Baltzer. Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Hermeneia. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.

Ibn Ezra. Ibn Ezra on Psalms.

Kittel, Rudolf. 1922. Die Psalmen. Leipzig: A. Deichertsche Verlagsbuchhandlung Dr. Werner Scholl.

Radak. Radak on Psalms.

References

109:4 Approved