Outline of Chapter 62:

         Introduction         An Introduction to Psalm 62

         Inscription            Psalm 62 Inscription

         vv.     1–2           David Depends Upon God

         vv.     3–4           The Enemies of David

         vv.     5–8           David Continues to Depend Upon God

         vv.     9–10         David’s Enemies Do Not Depend Upon God

         vv.    11–12         God is in Control

         Addendum          Psalm 62 Addendum

Charts, Short Doctrines and Maps:

         Introduction         The Principals of Psalm 62

         Introduction         The Historical Context of Psalm 62

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Psalm 62

         Introduction         Alternate Outline to Psalm 62 from Harvesttime.org

         v.       1              Occurrences of Dûwmîyâh in Scripture

         v.       2              Jesus is the Rock in the New Testament

         v.       2              Jesus in the Hebrew of the Old Testament

         v.       4              The Doctrine of Lying

         v.       4              Psalm 62:4 and the Absalom Revolution

         v.       4              The 4 Ingredients to Psalm 62:4

         v.       9              Vanity

         v.      11              Why There is Repetition in Bible Teaching

         v.      12              Links to the Doctrine of Grace

         v.      12              God Rewards Us According to What We Have Done

         v.      12              Related Links To Doctrines of Human Good and Divine Good

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Psalm 62

         Addendum          Robert L. Alden Organizes Psalm 62 as a Chiasmos

         Addendum          The Principles of Psalm 62

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An Introduction to Psalm 62

I ntroduction: There is an interesting back and forth which occurs in Psalm 62. David speaks of his trust in God, and then he speaks of those who are evil, and then he goes back to speaking of his trust in God. This gives us five sections in this psalm, where David changes the focus and the mood 4 times. However, even though David speaks of some of these men as problematic in their behavior and their lives; he does not speak of them as having attacked him personally (although that is clearly implied in v. 4). In fact, it is v. 4 which more or less sets the precedent for such an approach: They delight in deception; [for] with their [lit., his] mouth, they bless; but in their thinking, they curse [him]. If these men delight in deception, the idea is, David does not realize that these men are against him. Therefore, he does not say, “Charlie Brown did evil to me in this way...” He fell for the deception and did not realize it at the time (I take that by implication and not by a direct statement).

Many of David’s psalms like to grab us and place us in the middle of his problems or his difficulties, and then guide us toward God and the Word of God to lead him out. However, this psalm begins and continues with great spiritual confidence. Only once in this psalm do we get the idea that, David was knocked back a little bit (at the end of v. 2—I will not be greatly shaken); but even that leads to a complete and full recovery (the end of v. 6, where he writes, I will not be shaken).

This may help us, those studying this psalm, to have some confidence in our own personal lives. If every psalm of David threw us into the middle of a jackpot, and David is all upset at first, we might think that is the proper reaction to every difficulty that we face. However, this is not the case with every difficulty in our lives. With spiritual maturity, even the charge of an elephant can be deftly and easily handled.

Psalm 62, like most of the psalms, does not have a well-defined period of time during which it takes place. David is the author and he appears to have a position of authority and he clearly has enemies who pretend to be his friends, but curse him either inwardly or when together with their friends (v. 4). They want to bring David down (v. 4) and it appears that they may be associated with various crimes as well (v. 10). This can certainly have been written on a number of occasions during David’s life.

Many point out a peculiarity with this psalm, that many verses begin with the adverb ʾak^e (אַ) [pronounced ahk^e], which means, surely, truly, certainly, no doubt, only, but; only now, just now, only this once; nothing but. Strong’s #389 BDB #36. This particle is found many times in this psalm, and it can be used in a restrictive sense (as in only) or in an emphatic or affirmative sense, as in surely, truly, certainly. Like most translators, I let the verse define the sense in which this particle is used. From what I can tell, this adverb does not help us divide up the psalm. At this point in time, I don’t quite get the significance of the extensive use of this simple adverb. Every expositor notices it, but few can take it further than that. It is possible that this simply sounds nice when set to music, giving the lyrics somewhat of an alliterative quality.

David Bland says that several verses begin with similar sounding words, but some of these begin with א and some begin with ע. Although we do not know exactly how the ancients pronounced these silent beginnings, I suspect that they were different (I suppose them to be a sound from the back-top of one’s throat, the latter being much more pronounced than the former).

The NET Bible sums this psalm up in this way: The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God's justice and in his ability to protect his people.

David Bland: Psalm 62...as well as Psalms 4, 16, 27 and 131, is a psalm of trust.

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Psalm 62 Inscription

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

Aramaic text not represented in some way in the Hebrew original is signaled by italics. The absence of italics should not be construed to mean that the targum translates literally. Aramaic verbs are translated literally; that is, perfects are generally translated as past tense, imperfects as future or jussive, participles as general present.

Targum (trans. By Cook)        For praise, by Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

Latin Vulgate                          Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of David.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        To the preeminent one; upon Jeduthun; a psalm to David.

Septuagint (Greek)                For the end, A Psalm of David to Jeduthun.

Significant differences:           For whatever reason, we often find unto the end in the Latin and Greek with this Hebrew phrase.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.        (A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.)

Easy English                          (This is) for the music leader of Jeduthun's (singers).

(It is) a psalm of David.

The Message                         A David psalm.

New Berkeley Version                                        Calm in His Friendship

For the Chief Musician; According to Jeduthun [Earlier mentioned as Ethan, a Levite musician]. A Psalm of David.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

God’s Word™                         For the choir director; according to Jeduthun; a psalm by David.

New American Bible              For the leader; `al Jeduthun. [apparently the Hebrew name for the melody.] A psalm of David.

New Jerusalem Bible             [For the choirmaster . . . Jeduthun Psalm Of David]

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      To Jeduthun the conductor, a psalm from David.

Bible in Basic English             To the chief music-maker. After Jeduthun. A Psalm. Of David.

Complete Jewish Bible           For the leader. Set in the style of Y'dutun. A psalm of David:...

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 To his Bandmaster, for Jeduthun.

A Psalm by David.

JPS (Tanakh—1917)               For the Leader; for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

Judaica Press Complete T.    For the conductor, on jeduthun, a song of David.

New Advent Bible                  Unto the end, for Idithun, a psalm of David.

NET Bible®                             For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David. Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God's justice and in his ability to protect his people.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                To the Chief Musician; according to Jeduthun [Ethan, the noted musician, founder of an official musical family]. A Psalm of David.

Concordant Literal Version    A Davidic Psalm.

Context Group Version          For the Chief Musician; after the manner of Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

Emphasized Bible                  To the Chief Musician. On Jeduthun—A Melody of David.

English Standard Version      My Soul Waits for God Alone

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

exeGeses companion Bible   To His Eminence; Yeduthun/A Laudatory:

A Psalm by David.

LTHB                                     To the chief musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

NASB                                     God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.

For the choir director; according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. Compare 1Chr 16:41; 25:1; Psalm 39 and 77 titles

New King James Version       A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

Syndein                                  {See Also I Samuel 23:13. This Psalm was written as David departed from the Reversionistic men of Keilah. David saved the city from the Philistines. They were praising David to his face and plotting to turn him over to King Saul behind his back.}

{Note: Also applies to the Absalom revolution in 2Samuel 15}

{Title} To the Chief Musician - to Jeduthun {name means "praising"} A Psalm of David.

Updated Bible Version 2.11   For the Chief Musician; after the manner of Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

Young's Literal Translation     To the Overseer, for Jeduthun. --A Psalm of David.

The gist of this verse:          This psalm was possibly a collaborative effort between David and Jeduthun, who were contemporaries.

Translation: To the Preeminent One;... As we have seen with the numerous translations above, no one is clear as to who this person is. This psalm could be dedicated to God, which is essentially how I have translated it; however, it could be designed to be conducted by the chief musician, which is how Rotherham understands it. Most translators assume that this is given over to the choir director or the conductor or the one in charge of those who sang.

We find this word as a Piel infinitive in 1Chron. 15:21 23:4 2Chron. 34:12 Ezra 3:8–9. 1Chron. 23:4 indicates that this does not have to be a supervisory position, as it reads: Of these [38,000 Levites], 24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of Yahweh; and 6000 were officers and judges. Quite obviously, you cannot have 24,000 chiefs and no Indians, these were all of the Levites assigned to work on the Temple (Ezra 3:8–9 finds this word used in this same way). However, the supervisory nature of this word seems to be clear in 1Chron. 15:21 2Chron. 34:12.

Unfortunately, the exact meaning of the lâmed preposition is also hard to determine. We find several psalms which are ascribed to David written to David; but the idea is, the psalm belongs to David. The lâmed preposition is used more often when something is given to someone else or something is for someone else, the chief meanings of the lâmed preposition. Despite the use of the lâmed preposition with David throughout the book of Psalms, I have taken this to me that this psalm is written for whomever this Preeminent person is.

Barnes comments on this portion of the inscription: This phrase in the title, “To the chief Musician,” occurs at the beginning of 53 psalms, and at the close of the hymn in Habak. 3:19. It is uniformly rendered “to the chief Musician,” and means that the psalm was intended for him, or was to be given to him, probably to regulate the manner of performing it. In no one instance does the title imply that he was the author. The word rendered “Chief Musician” is derived from [ a Hebrew word] properly meaning “to shine,” but not used in the Qal. In the Piel form it means to be conspicuous; to be over anything; to be chief; to be superintendent (2Chron. 2:2, 18 34:12) and then it means to lead in music. The meaning of the form used here, and in the other places where it occurs as a title to a psalm, is “Chief Musician,” or precentor; and the idea is, that the psalm is to be performed under his direction; or that the music is to be directed and adapted by him.

Even though we have the same preposition used here as we find used with David, when he is the author, the many times that this phrase is found in combination with the author’s name suggests more that there is a musical organization and that this song was delivered over to the Choirmaster (or conductor) of that organization to be sung and performed at various functions.

When the Ark was moved successfully into Jerusalem, specific psalms were sung. I would think that these psalms that David wrote were performed or sung with groups of attendants not unlike songs are sung today in church services.

The NIV Study Bible has its opinion on this matter: [For the director of music is] probably a liturgical notation, indicating either that the psalm was to be added to he collection of works to be used by the director of music in Israel’s worship services, or that when the psalm was used in the temple worship, it was to be spoke [or, sung?] by the leader of the Levitical choir—or by the choir itself (see 1Chron. 23:4–5, 30 [Of the overseers over the works of the house of the Lord there were twenty-four thousand, and there were six thousand scribes and judges; and four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand to praise the Lord with instruments which he made to praise the Lord...to stand in the morning to praise and give thanks to the Lord, and so in the evening] 25 [assignments are given to the sons of Korah, among others]). In this liturgical activity the Levites functioned as representatives of the worshiping congregation. Following their lead the people probably responded with “Amen” and “Praise the Lord” (Hallelujah); see 1Chron. 16:36 Neh. 5:13; compare 1Cor. 14:16 Rev. 5:14 7:12 19:4.

Translation: ...together with Jeduthun;... The preposition here can mean quite a number of different things. This is probably a proper noun, which would suggest that this psalm was co-written by David and Jeduthun.

David organized a rather complex service where the God of Israel was celebrated, and, my guess is, this would be at the tent where the Ark of God was kept (1Chron. 16:1). Jeduthun was involved in the music which was performed when the Ark of God was put into a permanent place in Jerusalem (1Chron. 16:41–42). The sons of Jeduthun (and Asaph and Heman) were involved in the music and prophesying which apparently took place at the Jerusalem services (1Chron. 25:1–3). So there is no misunderstanding, prophesying does not have to be communication by God through a prophet of things which will occur in the future, but this can be the communication of divine viewpoint through these men. This is very likely praising and thanksgiving performed with music (as per 1Chron. 25:3, which reads: The sons of Jeduthun were: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, all under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the lyre in thanksgiving and praise to the LORD.).

Jeduthun is named in Psalm 39 and 77 (in the inscription).

Because of this psalm and 1Sam. 16 and 25, we know that David is closely associated with the music and teaching that went on in his day (although there are relatively few references to the teaching aspect of it).

Poole suggests that Jeduthen invented a musical instrument named after himself; or that this was his tune.

Translation: ...a psalm by David. David is listed as the human author; God the Holy Spirit is the Divine Author of this psalm. From time to time, there will be a verse or a passage where David seems to be thinking about one thing when he writes; and God the Holy Spirit appears to have something else in mind (that is, the same set of words can mean more than two things).

What these psalms often do is, give us a view into David’s thinking and motivation, something which is sometimes lacking in the narrative of Samuel.

This is nearly the same inscription as is found in Psalm 19 20 41. Although some of the words in the inscriptions have been explained semi-reasonably, I have not yet found a satisfying explanation for most of these words and how they might tie various psalms together.

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David Depends Upon God

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

Aramaic text not represented in some way in the Hebrew original is signaled by italics. The absence of italics should not be construed to mean that the targum translates literally. Aramaic verbs are translated literally; that is, perfects are generally translated as past tense, imperfects as future or jussive, participles as general present.

Targum (trans. By Cook)        Truly for God my soul is quiet; from Him is my redemption.

Latin Vulgate                          Shall not my soul be subject to God? for from him is my salvation.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Surely unto Elohim a quiet and confident expectation [has] my soul;

from Him [is] my deliverance.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    MY soul waits upon God; from him comes my salvation.

Septuagint (Greek)                Shall not my soul be subjected to God? For from Him is my salvation.

Significant differences:           I have translated one Hebrew word with 4 words here, which is not what we find elsewhere. However, I don’t think that to be subject to is the correct translation for this word, as is found in the Greek, the Latin, the Arabic and the Ethiopic versions.

Redemption (found in the targum) is close to salvation/deliverance but not accurate.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Only in God do I [Or my soul] find rest;

my salvation comes from him.

Contemporary English V.       Only God can save me, and I calmly wait for him.

Easy English                          Only on God is my *soul *resting.

From him comes my *safety.

Easy-to-Read Version            {No matter what happens,}

my soul waits patiently

for God {to save me}.

My salvation comes only from him. Or, "My soul finds peace only in God. He is the One who saves me!"

Good News Bible (TEV)         I wait patiently for God to save me; I depend on him alone.

The Message                         God, the one and only-- I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not?

New Berkeley Version           Truly my soul looks in stillness to God;

from Him is my salvation.

New Life Bible                        My soul is quiet and waits for God alone. He is the One Who saves me.

New Living Translation           I wait quietly before God,

for my victory comes from him.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Shouldn't my life be given to God? In His salvation shouldn't I trust?

Beck’s American Translation Surely my heart is calm before God,

for He saves me.

God’s Word™                         My soul waits calmly for God alone. My salvation comes from him.

New American Bible              My soul rests in God alone [Psalm 18:3 31:3-4 42:10 118:8 146:3.],

from whom comes my salvation.

NIRV                                      I find my rest in God alone.

He is the One who saves me.

New Jerusalem Bible             In God alone there is rest for my soul, from him comes my safety;...

New Simplified Bible              I wait silently for my God. My salvation comes from him.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      My soul surely is at-attention at God; my salvation is from him!

Bible in Basic English             My soul, put all your faith in God; for from him comes my salvation.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Yes! My soul is resigned to my God;

And from Him my safety will come.

HCSB                                     I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Truly my soul waits quietly for God;

my deliverance comes from Him.

Judaica Press Complete T.    Only to God does my soul hope; from Him is my salvation.

New Advent Bible                  Shall not my soul be subject to God? For from him is my salvation.

NET Bible®                             For God alone I patiently wait [Heb "only for God [is] there silence [to] my soul."];

he is the one who delivers me [Heb "from him [is] my deliverance."].

NIV, ©2011                             Truly my soul finds rest in God;

my salvation comes from him.

The Scriptures 1998              My being finds rest in Elohim alone; From Him is my deliverance.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.

Concordant Literal Version    Only in Elohim is my soul stilled; From Him comes my salvation..

Context Group Version          My life { soul } waits in silence for God only: From him [ comes ] my rescue.

Updated Darby Translation    Upon God alone does my soul rest peacefully; from Him is my salvation.

English Standard Version      For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

exeGeses companion Bible   Truly my soul is silent to Elohim;

- from him is my salvation:.

The updated Geneva Bible    Truly my soul waits upon God: from Him [comes] my salvation. Though Satan tempted him to murmur against God, yet he bridled his affections, and resting on Gods promise.

Hebrew Names Version         My soul rests in God alone. My yeshu`ah is from him.

LTHB                                     Only to God is my soul silent; from Him comes my salvation.

Syndein                                  Only/dogmatically {ak} toward 'Elohiym/Godhead. . . {recover from reversionism} my soul is 'perfectly resigned'/'silently resolved' {duwmiyah} . . . to Him . . . {idiom meaning David's soul finds rest in God alone} {He is} my deliverance. {Note: As David is fleeing the trap of Saul at Keilah, David turns to the men of Keilah and tells them to not come 'toward' or after HIM but instead turn toward God ! Recover from reversionism. David's soul is under the protection of God and he worries about nothing (well at this point of his life anyway - he is very much in SuperGrace here).}.

A Voice in the Wilderness      Only before God is my soul silent; from Him comes my salvation.

World English Bible                My soul rests in God alone. My salvation is from him.

Young’s Updated LT             Only—toward God is my soul silent, From Him [is] my salvation.

The gist of this verse:          David waits with quiet confidence on God, depending upon Him for his deliverance.

Translation: Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim;... The first word, a particle, can act as a limiting adverb or in a restrictive sense; or it can convey a great emphatic statement.

Barnes waxes poetically on this first word: The state of mind indicated by this particle is that of one who had been seriously contemplating a subject; who had looked round on his own actual condition; who had taken an estimate of all his resources, and of all his means of reliance, and who had carefully examined his own state of mind to see what was his real trust, and what were his real feelings toward God. Having done all this, he, at last, breaks out with the expression - “My soul does sincerely confide in God; I have no other resource; I have no power to meet my foes, and I am sure - my inmost soul testifies - that my real trust is, where it ought to be, in God; I see nothing in myself on which to rely; I see so much crime, falsehood, treachery in people, that I cannot confide in them; I have had so much painful experience of their insincerity and baseness that I cannot rely on them; but I do see that in God which leads me to trust in Him, and I am sure that my heart truly does rely on Him.” A few of these comments, Barnes makes, knowing what is to come in this psalm.

There is one word in this first verse which is very difficult to translate; and, because of that, finding meaning in this first verse is quite difficult. Therefore, let’s look at that word to begin with (the meanings above were culled out of BDB and Gesenius; but the first meaning comes out of the table below:

Barnes writes: The idea here is, “Truly toward God is the silent waiting of my soul”; that is, “In him alone do I trust; there is calmness of mind; I have no apprehension as to what can happen. My mind is at peace, for I feel that all is in the hands of God, and that lie is worthy of entire trust and confidence.” The feeling is that which exists when we have entrusted all to God; when, having entire confidence in His power, His goodness, His wisdom, His mercy, we commit the whole case to Him as if it were no longer our own. Such is the calmness - the peace - the quiet - the silence of the soul - when all is left with God.

So our verse, so far, reads: Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim;... This is based upon the short study above to hone in on the correct translation of the Hebrew word in question. The idea here is, in whatever situation David finds himself, he has confidence in God. He is exercising faith-rest toward God. He has placed his confidence in God. Therefore, he is not upset, he is not out of control, he is not panicking.

Application: On the other hand, this does not mean that we do not act or that we lay on our backs to have our tummies scratched all day long. This portion of v. 1 means that, God has a plan for the arc of our lives, and David, no matter what the circumstance, is willing to trust God in this part of his life. At times, this plan will call for David to act; and at other times, it will call upon David to stand back and watch the deliverance of God (Ex. 14:13–14).

Application: Part of the Christian life is knowing when to act and when to let God act. When the Jews left Egypt, they had to act in specific ways—for instance, when they were told to slap blood on their tent’s door frame, they did. However, when it came to the pursuit of the Egyptians, the Jews were not told to stand and fight, but to stand and watch what God would do. How do we know what to do and when to do it? Knowledge of Bible doctrine.

Application: Again, v. 1a reads: Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim;... At this point in time (this was written in 2012–2013), we have seen great change in America. I recall from my youth singing Christmas carols in school—it was common—every public school did this. The Christmas pageant was standard in nearly every school across America (at all ages). This is no longer the case. There are some schools which have, in recent years, banned the colors red and green around Christmas time; do not sing Christmas carols; or accompany Christmas carols with songs of other faiths. In high schools and junior highs, a child cannot get an aspirin without their parents’ permission; yet, that same child can be given birth control pills and condoms without their parental knowledge or consent. There have even been cases of children being taken for abortions without parental knowledge or consent.

Application: What has been the result? Faith and knowledge of the Word of God have been chipped away at. Even knowledge of Jesus Christ, Whose birth is celebrated by Christmas, is becoming less known. As a result, who do our children place their trust in? Government and, as of late, President Barrack Obama (who, in his reelection, received a significant majority of the youth vote). This is a government which is spending the youth’s money long before they make it, and yet, they vote for him. There is little of this quiet and confident expectation in God; our children are being raised to have a shaken and worried trust in our leaders and our government. They are exchanging their freedom for a promise of government largesse, for the promise of government care, and for the promise of government oversight of their lives. This is exactly the opposite of what David is saying right here: Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim;...

Application/tangent: More proof of the confusion of our youth is found in the annual survey by the National Institutes of Health, which found that only 41.7% of eighth graders believe that occasional use of marijuana is harmful, while 66.9% regard it as dangerous when used regularly. 20.6% of 12^th graders said that occasional use of pot is harmful; and only 44.1% believed that its regular use was detrimental, the lowest rate since 1979.

Application/tangent: We have noticed a number of tragedies and natural disasters as of late: hurricanes Sandy and Katrina, which caused great destruction in New York, New Jersey and New Orleans. We have had tremendous storms in the Midwest which have destroyed almost entire towns. We have suffered a tough recession with almost no accompanying growth spurt and a president who has done everything possible to discourage a growth spurt. We have had, in this past month, a massacre of little school children in Connecticut. God is speaking to us; our country is going astray. As these disasters continue, and out government does exactly the opposite thing to try to stop them, remember the words of David in Psalm 37:39 The deliverance [and ultimate salvation] of the righteous is from Jehovah; He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. Or Psalm 68:19 Blessed be Jehovah, Who each day supports us; God is our deliverance [and our ultimate salvation]. And when things look very bleak, we remember Psalm 68:20 Our God is a God of deliverance [and salvation], and to GOD, the Lord, belongs deliverance from death. It is God Who delivers us in desperate times, not man, and certainly not government. Psalm 121:2 My help comes from Y^ehowah, Who made the heavens and the earth. Isa 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. (A verse I recall from the Liberated Wailing Wall’s rendition of it). Psalm 118:14 is equivalent to the latter half of Isa. 12:2.

Application/tangent: Our country needs a strong and viable pivot—large groups of believers spread throughout the land who are spiritually growing by faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is been the source of America’s blessing and protection. Our nation needs pockets of young David’s all over, who say, Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim;...

Translation:...[for] my deliverance [is] from Him. For the longest time, I would read verses like this (particularly in the psalms) and wonder, now is David talking about temporal deliverance or is he talking about his ultimate salvation in God? However, this is solved when we understand that there are two authors of Scripture: the human author and the Holy Spirit; and often these words are used to convey two related but different thoughts. David is concerned with personal deliverance in the situation in which he finds himself. If we assume that he is on the run from Absalom, David is expressing quiet confidence in God and God’s provision, because David knows that God will deliver him.

However, ultimately, the Holy Spirit wants us to realize—and to have quiet confidence in this—that we will ultimately be saved by God, and that our life—the great arc of our individual lives—is replete with God’s care and provision for us all along the way to eternity.

V. 1 reads: Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim; [for] my deliverance [or, salvation] [is] from Him. David is not going to elaborate on what he is going through; he is not going to complain directly about his enemies; he is not going to say, “My closest friend has betrayed me.” He is beyond all of that. He is at the point where, he functions as he ought to, and the true king of Israel, removed from his throne (assuming that this takes place during the Absalom rebellion), but he will depend upon God, in this (unnamed) crisis with quiet and confidence expectation, knowing that God would deliver him.

However, this is also about ultimate deliverance, that we may come to the end of our lives, our dependence upon Christ’s completed work giving us great assurance in our own salvation.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        Truly He is my strength and my redemption, my Savior, I shall not be shaken on the day of great distress.

Latin Vulgate                          For He is my God and my saviour: He is my protector, I shall be moved no more.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Surely, He [is] my Rock and my Deliverance [or, Yeshuah];

[He is] my secure height;

I will not be shaken greatly.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    He only is my God and my salvation; he is my great defense; I shall not be moved.

Septuagint (Greek)                For He is my God, and my savior; my helper, I shall not be greatly moved.

Significant differences:           Interestingly enough, the Latin Syriac and Greek all have God instead of Rock. The targum has strength, which is closer, but not a legitimate translation.

The second noun can be legitimately translated Savior, salvation; and redemption (the targum) is close, but not exactly right.

The he is in the Latin and Syriac is understood in the Hebrew (in my opinion).

In the final phrase, the adverb is missing from the targum, the Latin and the Syriac. That particular adverb will be discussed in the exegesis below.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Only God is my rock and my salvation-

my stronghold!-I won't be shaken anymore.

Contemporary English V.       God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe and the fortress where I am secure.

Easy English                          Only he is my rock. He will keep me safe!

He is my *fortress, so nothing will move me much.

Easy-to-Read Version            {I may have many enemies,}

but God is my fortress [A building or city with tall, strong walls for protection.].

God saves me.

God is my place of safety

high on the mountain.

Not even great armies can defeat me.

Good News Bible (TEV)         He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated.

The Message                         He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I'm set for life.

New Berkeley Version           He alone is my rock and my health [God alone is the source of health],

my fortress, I shall not be greatly shaken. Quietly David relates life to God and forms a practical philosophy that rests on God.

New Century Version             He is my rock and my salvation.

He is my defender;

I will not be defeated.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          For, He is my God and my Savior. He is my shield, so I'll not be afraid to fight larger armies.

Beck’s American Translation Sure He is my Rock and my Saviour,

my mountain Refuge where I’ll not be shaken.

Christian Community Bible     He alone is my rock and salvation;

with him as my stronghold,

I shall not be overcome..

God’s Word™                         He alone is my rock and my savior-my stronghold. I cannot be severely shaken.

New American Bible              God alone is my rock and salvation,

my fortress; I shall never fall.

NIRV                                      He alone is my rock. He is the One who saves me.

He is like a fort to me. I will always be secure.

New Jerusalem Bible             ...he alone is my rock, my safety, my stronghold so that I stand unshaken.

Revised English Bible            He only is my rock of deliverance,

my strong tower, so that I stand unshaken.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      He's surely my rock and my salvation, and my high-tower. I never move much.

Bible in Basic English             He only is my Rock and my salvation; he is my high tower; I will not be greatly moved.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Yes! He is my rock, and my Saviour,

My Hill whence I cannot be moved!

HCSB                                     He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Truly He is my rock and deliverance,

my haven; I shall never be shaken.

New Advent Bible                  For he is my God and my saviour: he is my protector, I shall be moved no more.

NET Bible®                             He alone is my protector [Heb "my high rocky summit."] and deliverer.

He is my refuge [Or "my elevated place" (see Psa_18:2).]; I will not be upended [The Hebrew text adds רַבָּה (rabbah, "greatly") at the end of the line. It is unusual for this adverb to follow a negated verb. Some see this as qualifying the assertion to some degree, but this would water down the affirmation too much (see Psa_62:6 (i.e., Psalms 62:6b), where the adverb is omitted). If the adverb has a qualifying function, it would suggest that the psalmist might be upended, though not severely. This is inconsistent with the confident mood of the psalm. The adverb probably has an emphatic force here, "I will not be greatly upended" meaning "I will not be annihilated."].

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

American KJV                        He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

The Amplified Bible                He only is my Rock and my Salvation, my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be greatly moved.

Concordant Literal Version    He only is my Rock and my Salvation, My Impregnable Retreat; I shall not slip more.

A Conservative Version         He only is my rock and my salvation, my high tower. I shall not be greatly moved.

Context Group Version          He only is my rock and my rescue: [ He is ] my high tower; I shall not be greatly moved.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...he only is my rock and my salvation;

my secure loft; I totter not greatly.

The Geneva Bible                  He only [is] my rock and my salvation; [he is] my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. It appears by the often repetition of this word, that the prophet endured many temptations by resting on God and by patience he overcame them all.

LTHB                                     He alone is my rock and my salvation, my strong tower; I shall not be greatly moved.

Syndein                                  Only/ dogmatically {Ak} He {God} . . . my Rock and my deliverance/salvation {y@shuw`ah}. He {God} . . . my security {misgab}. I shall not be greatly shaken/tottered {SuperGrace believers - while in SuperGrace - do not get shaken up!}.

Updated Bible Version 2.11   He only is my rock and my salvation: [He is] my high tower; I will not be greatly moved.

A Voice in the Wilderness      He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my stronghold; I shall not be greatly moved.

World English Bible                He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress -- I will never be greatly shaken.

Young’s Updated LT             Only—He is my rock, and my salvation, [He is] My tower, I am not much moved.

The gist of this verse:          David sees God as his Rock, his salvation (= Jesus) and his protection in difficult times.

Translation: Surely, He [is] my Rock and my Deliverance [or, my Jesus; or, my Salvation];... The word surely indicates that this is certainly the case; this is, above all else, true and dependable. The word He refers back to God in v. 1, where David wrote: Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim; [for] my deliverance [is] from Him. Surely, He [is] my Rock and my Deliverance [or, my Jesus; or, my Salvation];... Elohim is, of course, the transliteration from the Hebrew of the word God.

With regards to the use of the word rock, Spurgeon writes: Sometimes a metaphor may be more full of meaning and more suggestive than literal speech; hence the use of the figure of a rock, the very mention of which would awaken grateful memories in the Psalmist's mind. David had often lain concealed in rocky caverns, and here he compares his God to such a secure refuge; and, indeed, declares him to be his only real protection, all-sufficient in himself and never failing.

That God is our Savior is a theme found throughout the Old and New Testaments. As New Testament believers, we often think of this in a different sense, as being saved eternally, from hell; whereas the Old Testament approach applied this in specific instances of hardship and difficulty. However, even from the very beginning, from Gen. 3, there was the sense of an ultimate salvation from our God. This may have been illustrated through specific situations—such as Noah being delivered in the Ark, the children of Israel being delivered out of Egypt by Moses—however, because God is eternal, Old and New Testament believers alike look at this deliverance as being eternal in nature, with many illustrations in time (including the incidents which appear to have inspired this psalm).

So far, our psalm reads: Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim; [for] my deliverance [is] from Him. Surely, He [is] my Rock and my Deliverance [or, my Jesus; or, my Salvation];... We do not depend upon God because it makes us feel better; He is not our Rock and our Salvation because that allows us to have a better life; we believe this because it is true. We trust in God because He is truly our Rock and He is truly our salvation (and He is literally, our Jesus).

The beginning of v. 2 reads: Surely, He [is] my Rock and my Deliverance [or, my Jesus; or, my Salvation]; [He is] my Refuge; We have a very similar sentiment expressed elsewhere. Psalm 18:2 (HCSB) The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 27:1 (HCSB) The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom should I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom should I be afraid? Psalm 59:17 To You, my strength, I sing praises, because God is my stronghold--my God of grace.

So, far, we have, in vv. 1–2a: Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim; [for] my deliverance [is] from Him. Surely, He [is] my Rock and my Deliverance [or, my Jesus; or, my Salvation];... The word translated deliverance, salvation is actually Jesus (the Hebrew transliteration of Jesus).

Now, this is quite amazing. At the time that this psalm was written, I don’t know that there even was a Greek language; and certainly, the Koine Greek (the language of the New Testament) was not written or spoken. Obviously, there was no English language at this time. All of the time when we have a transliteration of one language to another, that second language is more recent. However, here we have a transliteration which seems to go the wrong way. Jesus’ name appears to be found in the this Old Testament psalm, written by David circa 1000 b.c., before there is the Koine Greek.

David, in writing this, was thinking: Surely, God [is] my Rock and my Deliverance [in times of trouble];... However, God the Holy Spirit is conveying this meaning to us: Surely, God [is] my Rock and my [eternal] salvation [as well as my temporal deliverance]; [He is my Jesus];... Throughout the Old Testament, we have two people writing in tandem: the human author and God the Holy Spirit. Many times, what they are writing means one thing; however, it is quite normal for the human author to be referring to specific instances in his own life, but for God the Holy Spirit to give this a much wider application with more eternal applications. This is known as the Dual Authorship of Scripture (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). So, whereas, Gen. 22 is simply about an act of obedience to Abraham; this same chapter, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is all about the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. Psalm 22 and Isa. 53 refer to specific difficulties noted by the respective authors of those passages; however, God the Holy Spirit uses these passages to speak of Jesus dying for our sins on the cross.

Translation:...[He is] my Refuge;... For David, God is his refuge, his high place, his secure tower. David is in God as if in a secure tower, as if in a place of refuge. So, despite the circumstances which are going on all around him, David is secure and protected.

As has been mentioned earlier, in many other psalms, we are drawn into the emotions of David, and we are told of the fear he is feeling or the difficulties that he is going through; but here, we read only of his confidence, which is all placed in God.

Translation:...[therefore] I will not be greatly shaken. Considering the NET Bible comment above (you will need to read it in the Hebrew exegesis), let me draw an analogy. A football lineman might be one of the greatest linemen every, and he can take a hit. Now, such a one is going to be slowed, knocked a bit, because that is what happens in a football game. So he could say, “I am not greatly shaken; I am shaken, however.” We experience life and there are difficulties, and sometimes these difficulties knock us around a little. That is normal. However, our stability is in God. We depend upon Him. Therefore, we may find ourselves hit pretty hard—maybe even momentarily stunned—but we are still standing, we are still moving forward, and we are shaken, but not greatly so.

Barnes comments: The word greatly here, or much - “I shall not be much moved,” implies that he did not anticipate perfect security from danger or calamity; he did not suppose that he would escape all disaster or trouble, but he felt that no great evil would befall him, that his most important interests were safe, and that he would be ultimately secure. He would be restored to his home and his throne, and would be favored with future peace and tranquility. None of us can hope wholly to escape calamity in this life. It is enough if we can be assured that our great interests will be ultimately secured; that we shall be safe at last in the heavenly world. Having that confidence the soul may be, and should be, calm; and we need little apprehend what will occur in this world. Or, as Keil and Delitzsch write: He will not greatly, very much, particularly totter, i.e., not so that it should come to his falling and remaining down.

Paul talks about his own difficulties and how he has depended upon God: Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again (2Cor. 1:7–10; a slightly edited ESV). So, will you face difficult times? Probably. And if we look at the political climate in our country coupled by the forces of godlessness, it seems inevitable. David says that he will not be greatly shaken; Paul writes: We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies (2Cor. 4:8–10; ESV). And then David, who elsewhere writes: The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when He delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the LORD upholds his hand (Psalm 37:23–24).

Now let’s take these two verses together: Surely my soul [has] a quiet and confident expectation toward Elohim; [for] my deliverance [is] from Him. Surely, He [is] my Rock and my Deliverance [or, my Jesus; or, my Salvation]; [He is] my Refuge; [therefore] I will not be greatly shaken. David is writing about God, Who is David’s Rock, Salvation and Secure Refuge. Although David will face difficult circumstances on many occasions (much more than I think most of us realize), he places his faith in God, his Jesus.

——————————

The Enemies of David

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        How long do you rage against a pious man? All of you will be slain, like a crooked wall, like a broken fence.

Latin Vulgate                          How long do you rush in upon a man? you all kill, as if you were thrusting down a leaning wall, and a tottering fence.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Until when will you [all] shout against a man;

you will be slain all of you

like a wall bowing out,

a fence being thrust down.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    How long will you threaten a man so that you may kill him? Like a crumbling wall shall you be and as a tottering fence.

Septuagint (Greek)                How long will you assault a man? You are all slaughtering as with a bowed wall and a broken hedge.

Significant differences:           We do not know the exact meaning of this first verb, so the various ancient languages became rather imaginative at this point. However, we can reasonably assume, based upon the context, that we are speaking of aggressive action of those to whom David is speaking.

In the second phrase, the Pual is used, which is the passive of the Piel (intensive stem); so those to whom David is addressing are recipients of the action of the verb. It certainly means to murder, to kill; but they are recipients of that (unlike the Latin, Syriac or Greek).

The Qal passive participle found in the third phrase is used as an adjective, and, there seems to be a slight difference in the Syriac (crumbling instead of bowing). The Latin adds a completely new phrase to this. The targum has crooked rather than bowing; however, the use of this word in this instance may be somewhat different than its normal usage.

The final phrase seems to enjoy some agreement, except for the Greek, where it is called a broken hedge.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           How long will all of you attack others;

how long will you tear them down [Correction; MT kill them]

as if they were leaning walls or broken-down fences?

Contemporary English V.       I feel like a shaky fence or a sagging wall. How long will all of you attack and assault me?

Easy English                          How long will you shout at a man?

You all attack (as if he was):

· a wall that is breaking

· a *fence that is falling down.

Easy-to-Read Version            How long will you attack me?

I am like a leaning wall,

a fence ready to fall.

Good News Bible (TEV)         How much longer will all of you attack someone who is no stronger than a broken-down fence?

The Message                         How long will you gang up on me? How long will you run with the bullies? There's nothing to you, any of you-- rotten floorboards, worm-eaten rafters,...

New Berkeley Version           How long will you assail a person to break him down, all of you,

like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

New Century Version             How long will you attack someone?

Will all of you kill that person?

Who is like a leaning wall, like a fence ready to fall?

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          How long will You pile so much upon man? For, we are all like leaning walls, or fences that have many gaps. and then You bring death to each one.

Beck’s American Translation How long will you assail a man;

how long will you be intent on murder?

You are like a leaning wall, a sagging fence.

Christian Community Bible     How long will you assail with your threats,

all of you, to bring someone down—

as you would pull a wall or smash a fence?

God’s Word™                         How long will all of you attack a person? How long will you try to murder him, as though he were a leaning wall or a sagging fence?

New American Bible              How long will you set yourself against a man?

You shall all be destroyed,

Like a sagging wall

or a tumbled down fence!

NIRV                                      How long will you enemies attack me?

Will all of you throw me down?

I'm like a leaning wall.

I'm like a fence that is about to fall.

New Jerusalem Bible             How much longer will you set on a victim, all together, intent on murder, like a rampart already leaning over, a wall already damaged?

New Simplified Bible              How long will all of you attack a man? How long will you try to murder him, as though he were a leaning wall or a sagging fence?

Revised English Bible            How long will you assail with your threats,

all beating against your prey

as if he were a leaning wall, a toppling fence?

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Unto where do all of you assail and murder a man? From a fixed wall to a collapsing hedge?

Bible in Basic English             How long will you go on designing evil against a man? running against him as against a broken wall, which is on the point of falling?

Complete Jewish Bible           How long will you assail a person in order to murder him, all of you, as if he were a sagging wall or a shaky fence?

Ferar-Fenton Bible                                    How long will you sit on a man?

You all like a wall will be broke,—

Like a fence bulging out to its fall!

HCSB                                     How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you attack as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering stone fence?

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               How long will all of you attack [Meaning of Hebrew uncertain] a man,

to crush [Meaning of Hebrew uncertain] him, as though he were

a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

Judaica Press Complete T.    How long will you plan destruction to man? You shall be murdered, all of you, as a leaning wall, a tottering fence.

New Advent Bible                  How long do you rush in upon a man? You all kill, as if you were thrusting down a leaning wall, and a tottering fence.

NET Bible®                             How long will you threaten [The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means "shout at."] a man?

All of you are murderers [The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.],

as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence [Heb "like a bent wall and a broken fence." The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).].

NIV – UK                                How long will you assault me?

Would all of you throw me down -

this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

The Scriptures 1998              How long would you assail a man? You crush him, all of you, Like a leaning wall, a tottering fence.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Albert Barnes (updated)         How long will you [all] assail a man, that you [all] may put him to death? All of you shall be as a bowing wall or a fence broken down.

John Calvin (updated)            How long will you [all] meditate evil against a man, and persist in mischievous devices for accomplishing his ruin?

Concordant Literal Version    How long shall you foes be hostile against a man, All of you, that you may murder him, As though he were a slanting sidewall Or a foundering stone dike?

A Conservative Version         How long will ye set upon a man, that ye may kill, all of you, like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

Context Group Version          How long will you { pl } set on a man, That you { pl } may kill [ him ], all of you {pl}, Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

Darby updated Translation     How long will you assail a man; will you [seek], all of you, to break him down as a bowing wall or a tottering fence?

Emphasized Bible                  How long will ye shout at a man? Ye shall be crushed all of you,—Like a wall that bulgeth,—a fence pushed in!

English Standard Version      How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

exeGeses companion Bible   Until when assail you against a man?

you are murdered - all of you

- as a wall spread - a wall overthrown.

Updated Geneva Bible           How long will you imagine mischief against a man [David means himself, being the man whom God had appointed to the kingdom.]? You will be slain all of you: as a bowing wall [Though you seem to be in honour, yet God will suddenly destroy you.] [will you be, and as] a tottering fence.

King James 2000 Version      How long will you imagine evil against a man? you shall be slain all of you: as a leaning wall shall you be, and as a tottering fence.

LTHB                                     Until when will you break in against a man? You will shatter him, all of you, like a bowing wall, a tottering fence.

Professor Alexander              Will you [all] murder (that is, seek to murder him) all of you (combined against a single person, who is consequently) like wall inclined (or bent by violence), fence (or hedge) crushed (broken down).

Spurgeon (updated)               How long will you [all] press on one man, that you [all] may crush him in a body, like a toppling wall, a sinking fence?

Syndein                                  {David's Message to the Men of Keilah Continues}

How long will you 'attack a man unjustly'? {hathath' 'iysh} You shall be violently killed . . . {sin unto death for reversionists - reversionists are vulnerable to death at all times} all of you. You are as a bulging wall {a bulging wall is destroyed by its own weight. A reversionist is destroyed by his own sins} and as a tottering/'pushed in' fence {David is saying a little more pressure and the men of Keilah are dead!}.

A Voice in the Wilderness      How long will you assail a man? You shall be slain, all of you, like a bowing wall and a tottering fence.

World English Bible                How long will you assault a man, Would all of you throw him down, Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

Young’s Updated LT             Till when do you devise mischief against a man? You are destroyed all of you, As a wall inclined, a hedge that is cast down.

The gist of this verse:          David asks his attackers how long will they continue to assail him as if he were a wall about to topple over.

Translation: How long will you [all] assail anyone? The biggest problem with this portion of v. 3 is the meaning of the verb, which is used only at this juncture. Therefore, the various uses are imaginative, but the context certainly suggests provocative and aggressive action from those to whom David is speaking. Who the person that they are assailing (shouting at, overwhelming) is uncertain at this point. From the introduction, we know that most exegetes believe this to be Absalom and those who have followed him, although R. B. Thieme, Jr. believes that this represents one of the times that Saul was after David (probably during David’s long period of time out of Benjamin-Judah proper (he did spend some time in southern Judah, and finally gave up and left Israel altogether and stayed in southern Philistia). However, this is not dramatically important, as this psalm applies to us when we deal with our own enemies in life. And, even if you do nothing in this life intentionally to gain enemies, you will have them—particularly as a believer in Jesus Christ.

Translation: All of you will be slain—... The Pual is the passive of the Piel (intensive) stem, so we would expect the intensive uses of this verb applied to the subject (which is all of you). David simply tells his opposition that they will be killed; they will be slain in battle—all of them. Whomever David is speaking of here is not going to get a pass.

Interestingly enough, David seems to be able to compartmentalize, which is not out of the ordinary for a military man. When it comes to Saul, David twice had the chance to kill Saul himself, and he chose not to. When Absalom was killed, David was quite upset over that. So, somehow, if the psalm represents either of those time periods, David separated out Saul and Absalom in his mind and exempted them from being destroyed in battle.

The very evil they have designed against David will fall upon them.

Translation: ...like a wall bowing out... The idea here is simple enough, although the Qal passive participle used as an adjective is moderately difficult to translate. In the Syriac above, we have the adjective crumbling, which sounds great, but does not quite match this Qal passive participle. But, around a city is a wall that has been built up for protection; and this wall is spreading out or bowing or turning to one side. So, the picture is that of attacking a city, and causing enough problems to a wall to where it begins to fail.

What David is writing here is, How long will you [all] assail anyone? All of you will be slain—like a wall bowing out... With a wall bowing out, the eventual destruction of that wall is certain, and everyone knows it, although it may take time before the wall fully collapses. So, David knows that the days of his enemies are numbered. However, he is speaking here from confidence and not necessarily from observation.

David’s enemies think that they are protected; they think that they are surrounded by a wall (in context, it is their wall of deception); but that wall is bowing out; that wall will be smashed and they will die.

Translation:...[and like] an [outer] wall being thrust aside. Although many translations refer to a fence at this point, there does not appear to be anything used to protect a city like a fence. They tended to use great heavy walls. Two books on manners and customs had nothing on ancient fences; ZPEB has a very short article on it, suggesting that we are really looking at a wall of stone and not a fence as we might imagine a fence. I took a stab at this and have imagined that walls for a city would be built both from the outside and from the inside. Even though the result would be one wall, 9–15 feet thick, there might be different materials employed and a different approach to the walls, the outer walls being more difficult to ascend for an outside force, but the inner walls being designed for easy access up and down. There may have been different materiels used on the inside and outside as well. So, let us assume that these words can be particularly applied to the outer or inner walls of a city; and David’s enemies are about to be thrown down and killed, just as walls are ready to fall in a city almost breached.

Barnes suggests: The evident idea is, that they [David’s enemies] themselves would be as a falling wall; that is, that they would be defeated or disappointed in their purpose, as a wall that has no solid foundation tumbles to the ground.

John Calvin on the wall: A wall, when poorly built, bulges out in the center, presenting the appearance of nearly twice its actual breadth; but, as it is hollow within, it soon falls to ruins. The wicked, in like manner, are dilated with pride, and assume, in their consultations, a most formidable appearance; but David predicts that they would be brought to unexpected and utter destruction, like a wall badly constructed, and hollow in the interior, which falls with a sudden crash, and is broken by its own weight into a thousand pieces.

The entire verse reads: How long will you [all] assail anyone? All of you will be slain—like a wall bowing out [and like] an [outer] wall being thrust aside. David’s enemies continue to attack him, although he does not say that in this psalm. David speaks of their attacks in a general way, suggesting that they are attacking him personally, but not stating it outright, suggesting that he barely notices it. It is as if they are attacking or assailing someone, who is not named. David promises, based upon his confidence in God, that these unidentified men will be killed, but it will be like a wall being torn down, bit by bit.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        Truly when they swear to do good, they take counsel to attack; they will tell lies; with their mouth they will bless and with their heart they will curse forever.

Latin Vulgate                          But they have thought to cast away my price; I ran in thirst: they blessed with their mouth, but cursed with their heart.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Surely from his majesty they have taken counsel to thrust [him] out.

They delight [in] deception;

in his mouth, they bless;

and in their midst, they curse.

Selah!

Peshitta (Syriac)                    For you have thought to cast him down from his excellency; you delight in lies; you bless with your mouths, but curse with your hearts.

Septuagint (Greek)                They only took counsel to set at nought my honor. I ran in thirst; with their mouth they blessed, but with their heart they cursed. Pause.

Significant differences:           The word but that begins this verse in the English translation from the Latin is reasonably close to the word used here. However, for, as found in the English translation from the Syriac is not. Perhaps have thought (the English translation from the Latin and the Syriac) is reasonably close to take counsel. However, the Syriac appears to have a different person in the first phrase. To set at naught (Greek) does not quite match the Hebrew.

The problem with the use of the word heart in The Latin, Syriac and Greek is, there is a Hebrew word typically translated heart that is not used here. However, since the word found here means midst, then heart is a “C” translation.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           The only desire of this people

is to bring others down low;

they delight in deception.

With their mouths they bless,

but inside they are cursing. Selah

Contemporary English V.       You want to bring me down from my place of honor. You love to tell lies, and when your words are kind, hatred hides in your heart.

Easy English                          They only want to push him off his high place.

They love to tell a *lie.

They say good things with their mouths

but (think) bad things in their *hearts. *SELAH.

Easy-to-Read Version            In spite of my important position,

those people are planning to destroy me.

It makes them happy

to tell lies about me.

In public, they say good things

about me,

but in private, they curse me.

(SELAH) SELAH This word is for the musicians. It probably means the singers should pause here or the music should be louder here.

Good News Bible (TEV)         You only want to bring him down from his place of honor; you take pleasure in lies. You speak words of blessing, but in your heart you curse him.

The Message                         Anthills plotting to bring down mountains, far gone in make-believe. You talk a good line, but every "blessing" breathes a curse.

New Berkeley Version           They consult only to cast him down from his height;

they cherish falsehood [He is not fooled by appearances; godlessness is sham; it is illness.];

                                               with their mouth they bless, but at heart they curse.                       Selah

New Century Version             They are planning to make that person fall.

They enjoy telling lies.

With their mouths they bless,

but in their hearts they curse. Selah

New Life Bible                        They have talked only about throwing him down from his high place. They find joy in lies. They pray with their mouth that good will come. But inside they hope that bad will come instead.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          They've conspired to remove all my honor; so, from them, I ran away. For, though they bless with their mouths, in their hearts they just cursed me.

Beck’s American Translation Yes, they plan trickery,

and bring disaster by delighting in lies.

They bless with their mouths

but curse in their hearts.

(Music)

Christian Community Bible     Indeed they plan to topple me.

They take pleasure in telling lies;

with their mouths they bless,

but in their hearts they curse.

God’s Word™                         They plan to force him out of his high position. They are happy to lie. They bless with their mouths, but in their hearts they curse. Selah

New American Bible              Even highly placed people

plot to overthrow him.

They delight in lies;

they bless with their mouths,

but inwardly they curse. Ps 12:3; 28:3; 55:22; Prv 26:24-25.

NIRV                                      You only want to pull me down

from my place of honor.

You take delight in telling lies.

You bless me with what you say.

But in your hearts you call down curses on me. Selah

New Jerusalem Bible             Trickery is their only plan, deception their only pleasure, with lies on their lips they pronounce a blessing, with a curse in their hearts.Pause

New Simplified Bible              They plan to force him out of his high position. They are happy to lie. They bless with their mouths, but in their hearts they curse.

Revised English Bible            They aim to topple him from his height.

They take delight in lying;

they bless him with their lips,

but curse him in their hearts.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      However, they advise to outcast him for his swelling. They bless with their mouth, but curse and accept lies in their center. Selah.

Bible in Basic English             Their only thought is to put him down from his place of honour; their delight is in deceit: blessing is in their mouths but cursing in their hearts. Selah.

Complete Jewish Bible           They only want to shake him from his height, they take delight in lying with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. (Selah)

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 They only advise by their lips,

Their lying mouth loves to deceive,

They bless, —with a curse in their heart!—

HCSB                                     They only plan to bring him down from his high position. They take pleasure in lying; they bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly. Selah

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               They lay plans to topple him from his rank;

they delight in falsehood;

they bless with their mouths,

while inwardly they curse.

Judaica Press Complete T.    Only because of his loftiness have they plotted to topple him; they delight in lies; with his mouth they bless, but inwardly they curse forever.

New Advent Bible                  But they have thought to cast away my price; I ran in thirst: they blessed with their mouth, but cursed with their heart.

NET Bible®                             They10 spend all their time planning how to bring him [That is, the generic "man" referred to in the previous verse.] down [Heb "only from his lofty place [or perhaps, "dignity"] they plan to drive [him] away."].

They love to use deceit [Heb "they delight [in] a lie."];

they pronounce blessings with their mouths,

but inwardly they utter curses [The enemies use deceit to bring down their victim. They make him think they are his friends by pronouncing blessings upon him, but inwardly they desire his demise]. (Selah)

NIV – UK                                Surely they intend to topple me

from my lofty place;

they take delight in lies.

With their mouths they bless,

but in their hearts they curse. The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 8.

The Scriptures 1998              They plotted to topple him from his high position; They delight in lies; They bless with their mouth, But in their heart they curse. Selah.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                They only consult to cast him down from his height [to dishonor him]; they delight in lies. They bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Concordant Literal Version    They intrigue only to trip him up from his dignity; They approve of lies; With their mouth they bless, Yet within them, they are maledicting. Interlude

Context Group Version          They only consult to thrust him down from his dignity; They delight in lies; They esteem with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.

English Standard Version      They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. Selah

exeGeses companion Bible   Surely

they counsel to drive him from his exaltation;

they lie to please:

with their mouth, they bless;

but inwardly, abase.

Selah.

Green’s Literal Translation    Surely, they plotted to cast him down from his excellent dignity; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse in their inward parts. Selah.

LTHB                                     Surely, they plotted to cast him down from his excellent dignity; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse in their inward parts. Selah.

NASB                                     They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position;

They delight in falsehood;

They bless with their mouth [Lit his],

But inwardly they curse. Selah. Selah may mean: Pause, Crescendo or Musical interlude

New RSV                               Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.

They take pleasure in falsehood;

they bless with their mouths,

but inwardly they curse.

Selah

Syndein                                  {Operation Two-Faced Men of Keilah - and All Reversionists}

Only/ dogmatically {ak} from his {David's} exalted status {his honor in SuperGrace status}, they {the men of Keilah} plot/consult together to overthrow him. They take great pleasure in 'lying'/'saying deceptive things' {kazab} {Operation Strap-on}. They bless {David} with their mouth {say nicey nice to his face}, but they curse/revile {him} inwardly {plot to betray him over to King Saul behind his back}. Selah {Selah means singers rest and instruments play on - it is a picture of you resting while the Grace of God continues on}.

A Voice in the Wilderness      Surely they have plotted to cast him down from his high position; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.

World English Bible                They fully intend to throw him down from his lofty place. They delight in lies. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.

Young’s Updated LT             Only—from his excellency They have consulted to drive away, They enjoy a lie, with their mouth they bless, And with their heart they revile. Selah.

The gist of this verse:          They plot to bring David down, using lies if it gets them closer to their goals. On the outside, they seem friendly, but inwardly they are cursing David.

Translation: No doubt, on account of his majesty, they took counsel to thrust [him] out. It appears that the clues lead us to assume that David is the man, the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix which is occasionally used. They consider his high position—his eminence and his majesty—and they plot together to bring him down, to thrust him out of that position.

Perhaps the use of the 3^rd person here is to emphasize the office that David holds, his kingly office. It is to be respected not because of him, but because of the office itself.

David’s enemies do not have a high position like this. People do not look up to them as they do to David; so they have to plot against David, to remove him from this position. It is for this reason, in part, that I identify this psalm with the revolution of Absalom.

There are always people who rank above us in authority, and for many of us, this is a difficult thing to cope with. This seems to be the problem herein described: David has majesty here—he is seen as majestic—and that just rubs people the wrong way. In the United States, we have recently (as a nation) become angry with the rich and the CEO’s and it is not unusual for someone to post a graphic of some CEO who has a golden parachute or awards himself some great parting salary or perhaps he just makes too much money, and people working for him are working for minimum wage; and the graphic will indicate that the poster (the one who posts this anti-CEO graphic) has taken offense at the CEO or does not like that he is making more money in a minute than the poster will make in his entire life.

Application: There are large groups of people who think that, if they can just take this stuff away from the rich, that will make everything all better. If they can prevent a greedy CEO from taking a golden parachute, from making too much money or living in too nice of a house, that will fix everything. Many want to just plunder such people; but most just want the government to take stuff away from them. However, this is completely wrong. Now, let’s just assume for a moment that some CEO is making too much or does something which is greedy—do you not think that God can deal with this? Do you think that God is caught unawares? Furthermore, whether a CEO is wrong or not, getting the government to take away some of his stuff is not going to make you happy nor will it balance the federal budget. More importantly, this is not going to end up in your pocket nor will it make you any happier. I have known dozens of people who have lived off the government dole, and I can guarantee you, they were not happy. In fact, several of them seemed to be lost with the free time that they had because they did not work.

Application: At some point in time, we have to grow up and realize that, no matter how nice our house is or how nice our car is, there is someone out there—probably who lives next door to—who has a nicer house or a nicer car or a nicer this or that. And, even though we may rule the roost here or there; there is someone who exercises authority over us from time to time and we don’t like that. It just rubs us the wrong way. This is why the 10^th commandment reads, You will not covet (inordinately desire that which does not belong to you). It is highly unlikely that you will have the best of anything; and not only will there be those out there who have more than you, but have a lot more than you; and you have to keep yourself from inordinate lusts (i.e., stay in fellowship).

No doubt, on account of his majesty, they took counsel to thrust [him] out. This describes those who were opposed to David’s authority and the pomp of his office. When a person has authority, riches, or something that is really nice; there will be those who are jealous of him and/or who disparage him.

Barnes: They only consult to cast him down from his excellency - This is the object of all their counsels and plans. They aim at one high in rank - and their purpose, their sole purpose, is to bring him [David] down.

John Calvin: Nothing will satisfy the enemies of God but setting themselves above the heavens.

Application: It is also somewhat humorous. I can guarantee you that David would have loved what the middle class person in the United States has today by way of housing and food and locomotion. In his time, he was the big cheese of Israel in many ways; and people were jealous of him. But, wealth is just relative as are people’s feelings about wealth. Today, it is not unusual for a single mother of 3 to have her food and rent paid for, nor is it unusual for her to own a big screen tv and a cellphone. However, she may find herself to be much less satisfied with her possessions when compared to, say, a struggling working class family in the 1920's or 30's who worked hard day after day just to put a meal on the table.

Application: I know tons of liberals who focus on the inequities in the United States and this burns them no end. But, they would never in a million years consent to evening out their own lifestyle so that everyone in the world had an equivalent lifestyle, because, quite frankly, we here in the United States lead very good and prosperous lives (I write this in 2012–2013; things may change by the time that you read this). But the kinds of houses and amenities that we enjoy—this is not typical of what is found in the world. Yet, these jealous liberals would not want to give away the lifestyle they have achieved for themselves if this meant that they had to live like most people in the world live (on about a tenth of what they live on right now—or less). If we were to even things out world-wide, the average American might find himself trying to live on a fifth of what he used to live on—no liberal will agree to that. They want people who make more money than they do, to give most of this money to them or to those who make less than they do. A liberal believes in equal outcomes unless this means they are going to lose what they have personally worked for.

So, these enemies of David, upset over his majesty, conspire against him. They gather together and have worked out a plan to depose him (this psalm again seems to comport better with the Absalom revolution rather than with David being on the run from Saul).

Application: Do you remember one way that Absalom appealed to the people? And whenever anyone approach Absalom to pay homage to him, Absalom would reach out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him (2Sam. 15:5). “You don’t need to bow down to me,” is the essence of what Absalom was saying. “We’re equals.” What other ideology tries to sell this? Communism and socialism. Everyone even wears the same kind of peasant clothing, including the leaders, to make it seem as if everyone is equal; but those leaders don’t starve and those leaders decide who starves and who does not.

Application: What other movement tries to sell itself in the same way? The social justice movement of today; the so-called 99% movement, who bitch and rail against the 1% (and, what a coincidence, our current president only wants to raise taxes on the top 1%). Those lousy CEO’s and those bank managers and those wall street hedge fund managers, with their fancy cars and their big houses—the 99% movement railed against their majesty and their pomp, somehow excluding movie stars, Hollywood moguls and rich sports figures. So you see, there really is no new thing under the sun (Eccles. 1:9).

So far, this verse reads: No doubt, on account of his majesty, they took counsel to thrust [him] out. Now, who put David in a position of authority? God did. God chose David way back in 1Sam. 16, so when these revolutionaries seek to remove David from office, they are acting against God. When Saul was king, David knew better than to try to remove him (1Sam. 26:7–11). David knew this was acting against God (1Sam. 26:9–11). In fact, in that narrative, that is what is key to David’s thinking—what is God’s will? Can he legitimately act against Saul without divine repercussions? And David determined that he could not. If you will recall this time period, although Saul began as a good king, he degenerated into mental illness, opening him up to demon-influence. Therefore, Saul sought on many occasions to kill David, although David was Saul’s most loyal and patriotic subject.

My point in this is, these revolutionaries that David is facing in 2Sam. 15–17 are anti-God because revolution is anti-God. See the Doctrine of Revolution (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Translation: They delight in deception;... Just like their father, the devil, they enjoy deceiving others; they enjoy the whole notion of putting something over on someone else. They revel in this; it is part of what makes their life enjoyable.

Barnes: They delight in lies - In false pretenses; in secret plans of evil; in hypocritical assurances. This was eminently true of Absalom, who made use of these arts to seduce the people from allegiance to his father.

Gill: [David’s enemies], in making and spreading lies, do so in order to hurt his character, and give his subjects an ill opinion of him; and thereby alienate their affections from him, and weaken their allegiance and obedience to him.

Application: We saw this exact thing in the 2012 election, where millions upon millions of dollars of advertising were spent on destroying the character of Mitt Romney, with the intention of hurting his character and alienating the affections of the public toward him (whereas, Romney is actually a nice, honorable guy). However, Romney also spent millions (with his SuperPAC’s) against Obama and against Romney’s original primary opponents. It is very likely that these negative ads depressed voter turnout, people being very discouraged about both candidates.

Application: Today, this is the ends justifying the means. Even liberals know that their own politicians lie and distort the truth, and one day, saying one thing, and the next day, say the exact opposite. This is okay, because the idea is, to achieve the final ends of the liberal utopia. Deception is merely a tool to get them where they want to go. If a little deception gets their candidate elected, then the deception was good. If the news is slanted in a particular way or if stories are not covered because it makes a liberal candidate look bad, this is okay, because it gets their candidate elected.

Application: You need to look at your politicians carefully, if you live in a democracy. Part of our responsibility in a democracy is electing candidates. When a candidate clearly lies (which is different than making a misstatement or having some of his words taken out of context), that needs to be a major part of your decision-making process. You do not want a leader who delights in deception. Even if their espoused views agree with yours.