23:4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, 1
I fear 2 no danger, 3
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff reassure me. 4
42:9 I will pray 5 to God, my high ridge: 6
“Why do you ignore 7 me?
Why must I walk around mourning 8
because my enemies oppress me?”
43:2 For you are the God who shelters me. 9
Why do you reject me? 10
Why must I walk around 11 mourning 12
because my enemies oppress me?
89:50 Take note, O Lord, 13 of the way your servants are taunted, 14
and of how I must bear so many insults from people! 15
138:7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger, 16 you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies, 17
and your right hand delivers me.
1 tn The Piel of נָחַם (nakham), when used with a human object, means “comfort, console.” But here, within the metaphorical framework, it refers to the way in which a shepherd uses his implements to assure the sheep of his presence and calm their nerves. The underlying reality is the emotional stability God provides the psalmist during life threatening situations.
tn The Hebrew term ????????? (tsalmavet) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun meaning “shadow of death” (??? [tsel] + ????? [mavet]; see BDB 853 s.v. ?????????). Other scholars prefer to vocalize the form ???????? (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root ?????, tsalam) meaning “darkness.” An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. If the word does indeed mean “darkness,” it modifies ????? (gay’, “valley, ravine”) quite naturally. At the metaphorical level, v. 4 pictures the shepherd taking his sheep through a dark ravine where predators might lurk. The life-threatening situations faced by the psalmist are the underlying reality behind the imagery.
2 tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 4, as in vv. 1-3, highlight what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.
3 tn The Hebrew term ??? (ra’) is traditionally translated “evil” here, perhaps suggesting a moral or ethical nuance. But at the level of the metaphor, the word means “danger, injury, harm,” as a sheep might experience from a predator. The life-threatening dangers faced by the psalmist, especially the enemies mentioned in v. 5, are the underlying reality.
4 tn The Piel of ????? (nakham), when used with a human object, means “comfort, console.” But here, within the metaphorical framework, it refers to the way in which a shepherd uses his implements to assure the sheep of his presence and calm their nerves. The underlying reality is the emotional stability God provides the psalmist during life threatening situations.
5 tn The cohortative form indicates the psalmist’s resolve.
6 tn This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28; Pss 18:2; 31:3.
7 tn Or “forget.”
8 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar idea.
9 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.
10 tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).
11 tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress.
12 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
13 tc Many medieval Hebrew
14 tn Heb “remember, O Lord, the taunt against your servants.” Many medieval Hebrew
15 tn Heb “my lifting up in my arms [or “against my chest”] all of the many, peoples.” The term רַבִּים (rabbim, “many”) makes no apparent sense here. For this reason some emend the text to רִבֵי (rivey, “attacks by”), a defectively written plural construct form of רִיב (riv, “dispute; quarrel”).
16 tn Or “distress.”
17 tn Heb “against the anger of my enemies you extend your hand.”