Psalms 31:1--33:22 
ContextFor the music director; a psalm of David.
31:1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter!
Never let me be humiliated!
Vindicate me by rescuing me! 2
Quickly deliver me!
Be my protector and refuge, 4
a stronghold where I can be safe! 5
31:3 For you are my high ridge 6 and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation 7 you lead me and guide me. 8
31:4 You will free me 9 from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
31:5 Into your hand I entrust my life; 10
you will rescue 11 me, O Lord, the faithful God.
31:6 I hate those who serve worthless idols, 12
but I trust in the Lord.
31:7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am. 13
31:8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand 14 in a wide open place.
31:9 Have mercy on me, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim 15 from suffering. 16
I have lost my strength. 17
31:10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan. 18
My strength fails me because of 19 my sin,
and my bones become brittle. 20
31:11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me; 21
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering 22 –
those who know me are horrified by my condition; 23
those who see me in the street run away from me.
31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; 24
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar. 25
31:13 For I hear what so many are saying, 26
the terrifying news that comes from every direction. 27
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
31:14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
31:15 You determine my destiny! 28
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
31:16 Smile 29 on your servant!
Deliver me because of your faithfulness!
31:17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you!
May evil men be humiliated!
May they go wailing to the grave! 30
31:18 May lying lips be silenced –
lips 31 that speak defiantly against the innocent 32
with arrogance and contempt!
31:19 How great is your favor, 33
which you store up for your loyal followers! 34
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter 35 in you. 36
31:20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks 37 of men; 38
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks. 39
31:21 The Lord deserves praise 40
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies. 41
31:22 I jumped to conclusions and said, 42
“I am cut off from your presence!” 43
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers 44 of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly. 45
31:24 Be strong and confident, 46
all you who wait on the Lord!
By David; a well-written song. 48
32:1 How blessed 49 is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven, 50
whose sin is pardoned! 51
32:2 How blessed is the one 52 whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, 53
in whose spirit there is no deceit. 54
32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, 55
my whole body wasted away, 56
while I groaned in pain all day long.
32:4 For day and night you tormented me; 57
you tried to destroy me 58 in the intense heat 59 of summer. 60 (Selah)
32:5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess 61 my rebellious acts to the Lord.”
And then you forgave my sins. 62 (Selah)
32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers 63 should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity. 64
Certainly 65 when the surging water 66 rises,
it will not reach them. 67
32:7 You are my hiding place;
you protect me from distress.
You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance. 68 (Selah)
32:8 I will instruct and teach you 69 about how you should live. 70
I will advise you as I look you in the eye. 71
32:9 Do not be 72 like an unintelligent horse or mule, 73
which will not obey you
unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit. 74
32:10 An evil person suffers much pain, 75
but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him. 76
32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!
Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright! 77
33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
33:2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!
33:3 Sing to him a new song! 79
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him! 80
33:4 For 81 the Lord’s decrees 82 are just, 83
and everything he does is fair. 84
33:5 The Lord promotes 85 equity and justice;
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth. 86
33:6 By the Lord’s decree 87 the heavens were made;
by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. 88
33:7 He piles up the water of the sea; 89
he puts the oceans 90 in storehouses.
33:8 Let the whole earth fear 91 the Lord!
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!
33:9 For he spoke, and it 92 came into existence,
he issued the decree, 93 and it stood firm.
33:10 The Lord frustrates 94 the decisions of the nations;
he nullifies the plans 95 of the peoples.
33:11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages. 96
33:12 How blessed 97 is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession. 98
33:13 The Lord watches 99 from heaven;
he sees all people. 100
33:14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
33:15 He is the one who forms every human heart, 101
and takes note of all their actions.
33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
33:17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory; 102
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, 103
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness 104
33:19 by saving their lives from death 105
and sustaining them during times of famine. 106
33:20 We 107 wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer 108 and shield. 109
33:21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
33:22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord, 110
for 111 we wait for you.
1 sn Psalm 31. The psalmist confidently asks the Lord to protect him. Enemies threaten him and even his friends have abandoned him, but he looks to the Lord for vindication. In vv. 19-24, which were apparently written after the Lord answered the prayer of vv. 1-18, the psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him.
2 tn Heb “in your vindication rescue me.”
3 tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”
4 tn Heb “become for me a rocky summit of refuge.”
5 tn Heb “a house of strongholds to deliver me.”
6 sn The metaphor of the high ridge pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.
7 tn Heb “name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the
8 tn The present translation assumes that the imperfect verbal forms are generalizing, “you lead me and guide me.” Other options are to take them as an expression of confidence about the future, “you will lead me and guide me” (cf. NASB), or as expressing a prayer, “lead me and guide me” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV).
9 tn Heb “bring me out.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form expresses the psalmist’s confidence about the future. Another option is to take the form as expressing a prayer, “free me.”
10 tn Heb “my spirit.” The noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) here refers to the animating spirit that gives the psalmist life.
11 tn Or “redeem.” The perfect verbal form is understood here as anticipatory, indicating rhetorically the psalmist’s certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer that he can describe his deliverance as if it had already happened. Another option is to take the perfect as precative, expressing a wish or request (“rescue me”; cf. NIV). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
12 tn Heb “the ones who observe vain things of falsehood.” See Jonah 2:9.
13 tn Heb “you know the distresses of my life.”
14 tn Heb “you cause my feet to stand.”
15 tn Or perhaps, “are swollen.”
16 tn Cf. Ps 6:7, which has a similar line.
17 tn Heb “my breath and my stomach [grow weak].” Apparently the verb in the previous line (“grow dim, be weakened”) is to be understood here. The Hebrew term נפשׁ can mean “life,” or, more specifically, “throat, breath.” The psalmist seems to be lamenting that his breathing is impaired because of the physical and emotional suffering he is forced to endure.
18 tn Heb “and my years in groaning.”
19 tn Heb “stumbles in.”
20 tn Heb “grow weak.”
21 tn Heb “because of all my enemies I am a reproach.”
22 tc Heb “and to my neighbors, exceedingly.” If the MT is retained, then these words probably go with what precedes. However the syntactical awkwardness of the text suggests it is textually corrupt. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 258) suggests that the initial mem (מ) on מְאֹד (me’od, “exceedingly”) be understood as an enclitic mem (ם) which was originally suffixed to the preceding form and then later misinterpreted. The resulting form אֵד (’ed) can then be taken as a defectively written form of אֵיד (’ed, “calamity”). If one follows this emendation, then the text reads literally, “and to my neighbors [I am one who experiences] calamity.” The noun פַחַד (fakhad, “[object of] horror”) occurs in the next line; אֵיד and פַחַד appear in parallelism elsewhere (see Prov 1:26-27).
23 tn Heb “and [an object of ] horror to those known by me.”
24 tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.
25 tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.
26 tn Heb “the report of many.”
27 tn Heb “the terror from all around.”
28 tn Heb “in your hand [are] my times.”
29 tn Heb “cause your face to shine.”
30 tn The verb יִדְּמוּ (yiddÿmu) is understood as a form of דָּמַם (damam, “wail, lament”). Another option is to take the verb from דָּמַם (“be quiet”; see BDB 198-99 s.v. I דָּמַם), in which case one might translate, “May they lie silent in the grave.”
31 tn Heb “the [ones which].”
32 tn Or “godly.”
33 tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”
34 tn Heb “for those who fear you.”
35 tn “Taking shelter” in the
36 tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”
37 tn The noun רֹכֶס (rokhes) occurs only here. Its meaning is debated; some suggest “snare,” while others propose “slander” or “conspiracy.”
38 tn Heb “you hide them in the hiding place of your face from the attacks of man.” The imperfect verbal forms in this verse draw attention to God’s typical treatment of the faithful.
39 tn Heb “you conceal them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.”
40 tn Heb “blessed [be] the
41 tn Heb “for he caused his faithfulness to be amazing to me in a besieged city.” The psalmist probably speaks figuratively here. He compares his crisis to being trapped in a besieged city, but the
42 tn Heb “and I, I said in my haste.”
43 tn Heb “from before your eyes.”
44 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
45 tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.
46 tn Heb “be strong and let your heart[s] be confident.”
47 sn Psalm 32. The psalmist recalls the agony he experienced prior to confessing his sins and affirms that true happiness comes when one’s sins are forgiven. He then urges others not to be stubborn, but to turn to God while forgiveness is available, for God extends his mercy to the repentant, while the wicked experience nothing but sorrow.
48 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
49 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15). Here it refers to the relief that one experiences when one’s sins are forgiven.
50 tn Heb “lifted up.”
51 tn Heb “covered over.”
52 tn Heb “man.” The word choice reflects the perspective of the psalmist, who is male. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender and age specific “man” has been translated with the more neutral “one.”
53 tn Heb “blessed [is] the man to whom the
54 sn In whose spirit there is no deceit. The point is not that the individual is sinless and pure. In this context, which focuses on confession and forgiveness of sin, the psalmist refers to one who refuses to deny or hide his sin, but instead honestly confesses it to God.
55 tn Heb “when I was silent.”
56 tn Heb “my bones became brittle.” The psalmist pictures himself as aging and growing physically weak. Trying to cover up his sin brought severe physical consequences.
57 tn Heb “your hand was heavy upon me.”
58 tc Heb “my [?] was turned.” The meaning of the Hebrew term לְשַׁד (lÿshad) is uncertain. A noun לָשָׁד (lashad, “cake”) is attested in Num 11:8, but it would make no sense to understand that word in this context. It is better to emend the form to לְשֻׁדִּי (lÿshuddiy, “to my destruction”) and understand “your hand” as the subject of the verb “was turned.” In this case the text reads, “[your hand] was turned to my destruction.” In Lam 3:3 the author laments that God’s “hand” was “turned” (הָפַךְ, hafakh) against him in a hostile sense.
sn You tried to destroy me. The psalmist’s statement reflects his perspective. As far as he was concerned, it seemed as if the Lord was trying to kill him.
59 tn The translation assumes that the plural form indicates degree. If one understands the form as a true plural, then one might translate, “in the times of drought.”
60 sn Summer. Perhaps the psalmist suffered during the hot season and perceived the very weather as being an instrument of divine judgment. Another option is that he compares his time of suffering to the uncomfortable and oppressive heat of summer.
61 tn The Hiphil of ידה normally means “give thanks, praise,” but here, as in Prov 28:13, it means “confess.”
62 tn Heb “the wrongdoing of my sin.” By joining synonyms for “sin” in this way, the psalmist may be emphasizing the degree of his wrongdoing.
63 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 18:25; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
64 tn Heb “at a time of finding.” This may mean, “while there is time to ‘find’ [the
65 tn The Hebrew term רַק (raq) occasionally has an asseverative force.
66 sn The surging water is here a metaphor for trouble that endangers one’s life.
67 tn Heb “him.” The translation uses the plural “them” to agree with the plural “every one of your faithful followers” in the first line of v. 6.
68 tn Heb “[with] shouts of joy of deliverance you surround me.”
69 tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the
70 tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”
71 tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the
72 tn The verb form is plural (i.e., “do not all of you be”); the psalmist addresses the whole group.
73 tn Heb “like a horse, like a mule without understanding.”
74 tn Heb “with a bridle and bit, its [?] to hold, not to come near to you.” The meaning of the Hebrew noun עֲדִי (’adiy) is uncertain. Normally the word refers to “jewelry,” so some suggest the meaning “trappings” here (cf. NASB). Some emend the form to לְחֵיהֶם (lÿkhehem, “their jawbones”) but it is difficult to see how the present Hebrew text, even if corrupt, could have derived from this proposed original reading. P. C. Craigie (Psalms 1-50 [WBC], 265) takes the form from an Arabic root and translates “whose gallop.” Cf. also NRSV “whose temper must be curbed.”
75 tn Heb “many [are the] pains of evil [one].” The singular form is representative here; the typical evildoer, representative of the larger group of wicked people, is in view.
76 tn Heb “but the one who trusts in the
77 tn Heb “all [you] pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the
78 sn Psalm 33. In this hymn the psalmist praises the Lord as the sovereign creator and just ruler of the world who protects and vindicates those who fear him.
79 sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the lives of his people in fresh and exciting ways.
80 tn Heb “play skillfully with a loud shout.”
81 sn For the
82 tn Heb “word.” In this context, which depicts the
83 tn Or “upright.”
84 tn Heb “and all his work [is] in faithfulness.”
85 tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the
86 tn Heb “fills the earth.”
87 tn Heb “word.”
88 tn Heb “and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” The words “were created” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons; they are understood by ellipsis (note “were made” in the preceding line). The description is consistent with Gen 1:16, which indicates that God spoke the heavenly luminaries into existence.
89 tn Heb “[he] gathers like a pile the waters of the sea.” Some prefer to emend נֵד (ged, “heap, pile”; cf. NASB) to נֹד (nod, “bottle”; cf. NRSV; NIV “into jars”), but “pile” is used elsewhere to describe water that the
90 tn Or “watery depths.” The form תְּהוֹמוֹת (tÿhomot, “watery depths”) is the plural form of תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “great deep”; see Gen 1:2).
91 tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the
92 tn That is, “all the earth” in the first line of v. 8. The apparent antecedent of the masculine subject of the verbs in v. 9 (note וַיֶּהִי [vayyehiy] and וַיַּעֲמֹד [vayya’amod]) is “earth” or “world,” both of which are feminine nouns. However, כָּל (kol, “all”) may be the antecedent, or the apparent lack of agreement may be explained by the collective nature of the nouns involved here (see GKC 463 §145.e).
93 tn Heb “he commanded.”
94 tn Heb “breaks” or “destroys.” The Hebrew perfect verbal forms here and in the next line generalize about the
95 tn Heb “thoughts.”
96 tn Heb “the thoughts of his heart for generation to generation.” The verb “abides” is supplied in the translation. The
97 tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).
98 tn Heb “inheritance.”
99 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal forms in v. 13 state general facts.
100 tn Heb “all the sons of men.”
101 tn Heb “the one who forms together their heart[s].” “Heart” here refers to human nature, composed of intellect, emotions and will. The precise force of יָחַד (yakhad, “together”) is unclear here. The point seems to be that the
102 tn Heb “a lie [is] the horse for victory.”
103 tn Heb “look, the eye of the
104 tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”
105 tn Heb “to save from death their live[s].”
106 tn Heb “and to keep them alive in famine.”
107 tn Or “our lives.” The suffixed form of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being, life”) is often equivalent to a pronoun in poetic texts.
108 tn Or “[source of] help.”
109 tn Or “protector.”
110 tn Heb “let your faithfulness, O
111 tn Or “just as.”
