You sons of man, how long will my [d]honor be treated as an insult? How long will you love what is worthless and strive for a lie? Selah Psalm 4:2 NASB Worthless – “How long will you love what is worthless?” asks God. What does He mean? It’s rather important to know, don’t you think? Don’t we all need a catalog of those…
Answer me when I call, God [b]of my righteousness! You have [c]relieved me in my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer. Psalm 4:1 NASB Relieved – You will recall the Chabad translation of the prior verse (Psalm 3:8). Following Rashi, Chabad interprets Psalm 3:8 as: It is incumbent upon the Lord to save, and it is incumbent…
It is incumbent upon the Lord to save, and it is incumbent upon Your people to bless You forever. Psalm 3:8 Chabad after Rashi Upon the LORD – You will recall the recent discussion of this verse regarding YHVH’s saving character. The NASB translation added the copula, suggesting the salvation is an attribute of God. …
Salvation belongs to the Lord; May Your blessing [h]be upon Your people! Selah Psalm 3:8 NASB To the LORD – It goes without saying that the Psalms consistently ascribe salvation to YHVH. So do the prophets. No one would argue this point. Therefore, we are pressed to ask, “If the Tanakh views YHVH as the source of salvation, why does Christianity…
Arise, Lord; save me, my God! For You [d]have struck all my enemies on the [e]cheek; You [f]have shattered the teeth of the wicked. Psalm 3:7 NASB Have struck – If you wanted to rid yourself of all your enemies, would you be satisfied to simply strike them each on the cheek? I don’t think so. You and I would probably want…
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Psalm 3:6 NASB Not be afraid – The verb is familiar– yārēʾ. Perhaps that’s because we find it in the phrase “fear of the Lord.” But, of course, “fear of the Lord” doesn’t mean emotional trepidation or potential physical…
I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. Psalm 3:5 NASB Awoke – There are times, perhaps too often, when I just can’t sleep. I lay down and the memories of past actions creep into my consciousness, reminding me of my failures, my guilt, my remorse. I can’t shove them aside. They pursue me…
I was crying out to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me from His holy [b]mountain. Selah Psalm 3:4 NASB Crying out – There’s not much debate about the sense of this verse. The psalmist feels his desperate situation and voices his concerns to God. God answers. Hallelujah! We get it. But there is a bit of grammatical mystery…
But You, Lord, are a shield around me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. Psalm 3:3 NASB Shield – You wouldn’t know it from the English, but the Hebrew word translated “shield” evokes something primeval. The root is gānan, “ to defend.” Its derivative is first found in Genesis 2:8. That derivative is, of course, găn,…
