22:14 My strength drains away like water; 1
all my bones are dislocated;
my heart 2 is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
Book 2
(Psalms 42-72)
For the music director; a well-written song 4 by the Korahites.
42:1 As a deer 5 longs 6 for streams of water,
so I long 7 for you, O God!
66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place. 8
For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” 10 by David.
69:1 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck. 11
69:2 I sink into the deep mire
where there is no solid ground; 12
I am in 13 deep water,
and the current overpowers me.
69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!
Deliver me 14 from those who hate me,
from the deep water!
78:20 Yes, 15 he struck a rock and water flowed out,
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”
84:6 As they pass through the Baca Valley, 16
he provides a spring for them. 17
The rain 18 even covers it with pools of water. 19
106:9 He shouted at 20 the Red Sea and it dried up;
he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.
109:18 He made cursing a way of life, 21
so curses poured into his stomach like water
and seeped into his bones like oil. 22
1 tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”
2 sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.
3 sn Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew
4 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.
5 tn Since the accompanying verb is feminine in form, the noun אָיִּל (’ayyil, “male deer”) should be emended to אַיֶּלֶת (’ayyelet, “female deer”). Haplography of the letter tav has occurred; note that the following verb begins with tav.
6 tn Or “pants [with thirst].”
7 tn Or “my soul pants [with thirst].” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
8 tc The MT reads רְוָיָה (“saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (rÿvakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).
9 sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.
10 tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.
11 tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.
12 tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”
13 tn Heb “have entered.”
14 tn Heb “let me be delivered.”
15 tn Heb “look.”
16 tn The translation assumes that the Hebrew phrase עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא (’emeq habbakha’) is the name of an otherwise unknown arid valley through which pilgrims to Jerusalem passed. The term בָּכָא (bakha’) may be the name of a particular type of plant or shrub that grew in this valley. O. Borowski (Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 130) suggests it is the black mulberry. Some take the phrase as purely metaphorical and relate בָּכָא to the root בָּכָה (bakhah, “to weep”). In this case one might translate, “the valley of weeping” or “the valley of affliction.”
17 tc The MT reads “a spring they make it,” but this makes little sense. Many medieval Hebrew
18 tn This rare word may refer to the early (or autumn) rains (see Joel 2:23).
19 tc The MT reads בְּרָכוֹת (bÿrakhot, “blessings”) but the preceding reference to a “spring” favors an emendation to בְּרֵכוֹת (bÿrekhot, “pools”).
sn Pools of water. Because water is so necessary for life, it makes an apt symbol for divine favor and blessing. As the pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem, God provided for their physical needs and gave them a token of his favor and of the blessings awaiting them at the temple.
20 tn Or “rebuked.”
21 tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”
22 tn Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” to a conjunctive vav and interpret the prefixed verb as a jussive, “may it come!”