User's Guide
User's Guide Contents
Welcome to Psalms: Layer by Layer
Welcome to Psalms: Layer by Layer, created by Scriptura. Whether you are an artist, translator, scholar, pastor, or simply a lover of the psalms, we hope our extensive resources will be a doorway into discovering for yourself the breathtaking beauty and power of these ancient poems.
This User’s Guide provides introductions and explanations for all of our resources, along with video tutorials. To learn more about the background and work of Scriptura and the Psalms: Layer by Layer project, click here.
Psalm Home: Resource Map
Every psalm has a Home Page where you will find the resource map of everything we offer for that psalm. We have organized these resources into three use cases:
Bible Text
For users of all areas of interest, these resources present the Hebrew and English text alongside audio recordings and informational overlays.
- Hebrew & English: Read the Hebrew text alongside our English Close-but-Clear.
- Structural Overlay: Read the text overlaid with the main section divisions of the psalm.
- Expanded Paraphrase: Read our Expanded Paraphrase, which unpacks the background and logical assumptions underlying the text.
- Participant Tracking: Here the text is overlaid with the results of our Participant Analysis layer, which tracks the relational dynamics between the psalm's participants.
Translation
These resources have been created by translation experts, including Translation Consultants. They reframe all of our resources to meet the specific needs of translators and performers, for both written, oral, or song translation.
- Overview: The Translation Overview provides all the essential information about the psalm in summary form.
- Verse by Verse: The Translation Verse-by-Verse notes present all of the most relevant exegetical notes from our other layers, in a commentary-style format.
- Workflow Guide : This resources walks users through a ten-step process for translating the psalm.
Academic
The resources below are geared towards academic research. They also serve as the exegetical basis for all of our other resources.
- Overview: This page is designed to introduce and orient you to the psalm as a whole, and includes introductory information, structure, background and participants.
- Layer by Layer: The heart of our exegetical approach is our Layer-by-Layer analysis of each psalm. Each layer of analysis provides a different layer of information, a different unique view and understanding of the psalm.
- Verse by Verse: Here, the most relevant notes from our other layers are collected into a commentary-style format.
- Exegetical Issues: For each psalm, we address the top 3 debated issues of interpretation, including an in-depth analysis of each major view, as well as our conclusions.