Translation and Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan KS, 24 Aug 2014
1. An inscription belonging to David.
God, protect me, for I have taken refuge in You.
2. You said to Yahweh, “You are My Master. No way does my goodness exceed yours.”
3. Concerning holy ones on the earth, it is they who are also magnificent ones – all my delight is in them.
4. Their sorrows will be many; they hurried after another. Never will I pour their libations of blood, and never will I take up their names upon my lips.
5. Yahweh is the allotment of my inheritance and my cup. You Yourself are holding onto my lot;
6. property-lines have fallen for me comfortably. Moreover, as for [my] inheritance, it shines over me!
· In his book, Baby Boom Believers: Why We Think We Need It All and How To Survive When We Don’t Get It, author Mike Bellah wrote, “Baby boomers are not very content. Because our expectations are so much higher than our reality, we tend to be discontent, restless, and bored.” [endquote]
· However, I think the same goes for the Gen-X’ers who followed the Boomers and have experienced the growing realization that most people in my generation will not experience as much wealth as our parents did.
· Into this context of discontentment, the Snickers company introduced a clever advertisement. They claim that their candy bar will bring satisfaction to all who eat it. Man, wouldn’t you like to be satisfied?
· I must say I have become skeptical of anything that promises to make me satisfied. The companies that sell products with customer satisfaction guarantees don’t actually guarantee that you will be satisfied; they merely say they will give you your money back if you’re not satisfied, and usually they make that process so difficult that it’s easier to give up and accept that satisfaction is not possible. In that regard, I think I’d agree more with the Rolling Stones[1] than with Snickers.
· But in this Psalm, David talks about being satisfied in a relationship with God, and I am convinced that this is the only context in which we can be truly satisfied.
The first two verbs here are logically related to one another. Starting with the second one, which is Perfect tense, so is conceived of as happening earlier: David says to God, “I took refuge in you,” or, as the older translations put it, “I ‘put my hope(LXX) / trust(KJV) in you,’ so now I expect You to fulfill Your end of the relationship and ‘protect/preserve’ me – keep me safe(NIV)!” This paradigm of security which comes from entering into a trusting relationship with God governs the whole Psalm.
From our human perspective, we who are Christians have become convinced that Jesus is God and that He is capable of saving us from all that is wrong in this world[3], so we entrust our life to Him, asking Him to be our saviour and following His leadership as our Lord. And in that relationship we can find tremendous satisfaction and security. “Jesus, I have taken refuge in You, now be for me the refuge You promised You would be.”
In verse one, the prayer is addressed to “God,” which, in Hebrew, is the word “el”. Now in v.2, we see two more Hebrew names for God: “Yahweh” and “adonai.”
The tradition of translating the personal name for God as LORD (in all caps) makes this a little confusing, but here, David addresses God using the Old Testament personal name for God (“Yahweh/Jehovah”) and says that this personal God is not only his refuge but also his Lord and Master, the One who would tell him what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false, what to do with his life, and how to be saved.
Now the question arises, “Who is saying this?”
This variety of translations seems to come from the fact that in Hebrew, the subject “you,” in “you said,” is feminine, whereas the Hebrew pronouns for “you” which come before and after it are spelled in the masculine gender and refer to God. Since this feminine “you” is saying something to God, translators have felt the need to insert a subject into the text that is different from God in order to create a referent for this feminine “you” who is talking to God.
Now, the second half of this verse is also translated a few different ways. Let me try to explain and reconcile them:
How does this apply to us? I think that all the different ways of translating this verse point to the same application: This Psalm is talking about what happens when we take refuge in God and His Son Jesus and experience His protection and salvation. “Taking refuge” means entering into a subordinate relationship to the one you are trusting to preserve you. Jesus Himself set the standard for us by submitting Himself to God the Father, and we, in turn, submit ourselves to Jesus and His Father (together with the Holy Spirit) and trust them to be our refuge.
Part of submitting ourselves to God like this is allowing God to tell us what is right and what is wrong – to say, “You set the standard for goodness; I don’t. My behavior does not define what is good; it is Your behavior, God, which defines what is good, and I will submit to Your standard,” – or, in the words of this Psalm, “My goodness does not exceed yours because you are My God.”[10]
But there is a further application brought out by the more modern translations: if our salvation requires goodness (which indeed it does), our Lord Protector and Savior is the only One who can provide enough goodness for us; we do not have the goodness that it takes to be safe when Jesus returns and punishes all that is evil. Part of being secure in a right relationship with God is having undergone a transaction where all your badness has been placed upon Jesus so that He is punished for it instead of you, and all the goodness of Jesus is placed on you so that God looks upon you with complete favor and welcomes you into a position of honor in His heavenly kingdom forever. Indeed our “goodness is nothing;” we “have no good besides” the righteousness of Jesus, Who alone can make us good! This is a crucial reason why we place our faith in Him.
Now, as if the goodness of Jesus and the favor of God were not enough, we look around in this “rock” of righteousness that we have taken refuge in, and we discover to our joy that we have even more good company! These companions are described in v.3 with two words: קְדוֹשִׁים (“saints” or “holy ones”) and אַדִּירֵי (“magnificent/excellent ones”).
1. As for the first, who are the “saints in the land?” The phrase does not occur anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible, so we are left to determine its meaning from the immediate context. I think it clarifies that David is talking about believers on earth as opposed to the saints and angels in heaven[11]. He equates the “saints” later on in Psalm 34 with men who fear God and take refuge in Him[12], so these are not super-spiritual people or angels, they are ordinary fellow believers who have also taken refuge in God.
2. Now for the second word: these people are called “magnificent,” “excellent,” “majestic,” or “glorious,” depending on the translation you’re reading[13]. Tell me, is that the way you think about other Christians? It relates back to what we saw in Psalm 15:4, where, for the one who will live in the mountain of God’s holiness, “A reprobate is considered dishonorable in his eyes, but the ones who respect Yahweh he considers honorable” (NAW).
We have also encountered the word for “delight” before in the very first Psalm: “His delight is in the law of the Lord…” Now we see a second source of delight for those who have taken refuge in God’s salvation, namely the people of God[14].
· The people of God cannot be separated from God relationally by God (Rom. 8:35-39) or by us. So many Christians nowadays think they can have a personal relationship with God but not with other Christians in a church. This is a theologically-impossible distinction. The man who finds his delight in the Lord and the Bible also finds – not just a small amount but – “all [his] delight” in others whom Jesus has made holy for Himself by dying on the cross to forgive their sins.
· You know, when the Apostle Peter saw glorified versions of Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, he was so impressed with them that he impulsively wanted to build a shrine for both of them as well as for Jesus. When we get to heaven, we are going to be glorified (Rom. 8:17 & 30), and we will be really impressive, but can we, even now, when we see genuine humility in a Christian friend, or hear a piercingly-true word from them, or receive the benefit of a very practical act of service, can we say, “Wow, that was beautiful! It is such a delight to have you as a brother or sister in Christ!”
Now, both of these attributes of holiness and glory are attributes which belong first and foremost to God:
· It is God who is called qadosh in Psalm 22:3, “You [my God] are holy, enthroned upon the praises of Israel,” (NKJV),
· and it is God who is called adir in Psalm 8:1, “Yahweh our Master, how magnificent is Your name within all the earth” (NAW).
· It is only by hiding ourselves in God that humans can begin to take on these attributes, and then, as we see the holiness and glory of God beginning to characterize our fellow believers, we take delight in fellowship with them.
· Now, some Christians get jealous and offended when they see other church folk growing in holiness and glory. They say, “Oh, they’re just being legalistic goodie-goodies.” You know, maybe they are; maybe they’re not. But when you see a spiritual fruit in another Christian’s life, consider how to think the best of them and recognize that fruit as the character of God rubbing off on them. Let it challenge you to seek more of the character of God to rub off on you as you take refuge in the same God!
Next, verse four gives us the flipside of the thesis of Psalm 16. When you take refuge in the one true God, you find security and fellowship, but if you try to take refuge in anything else, your sorrows will only increase.
The word “God” is added in most English versions after the word “another” because, although the word “God” is not there in the Hebrew, the context does seems to imply that the other entity which is “run to/hastened after” (or “bartered for” if you’re reading the NASB[16]) is the opposite of what David and the saints are doing: “We are taking refuge in the LORD/Yahweh; they are chasing other so-called gods.”
· The Hebrew wording even implies that these other gods are just the “latest” fads[17],
· But David vows never to worship – or pray to – any other god but the one true God.
The phrase about “offering blood” indicates pagan worship:
· Isaiah 57:6 uses similar wording to describe Israelites engaging in idol worship.
· Pagans have long used blood as a power-symbol in worship and have devised various ceremonies which involve pouring out blood[18],
· but in the worship of God prescribed in the first five books of the Bible, the drink offering was about a quart of wine, not blood, that was poured on the altar along with the grain offering.
· Furthermore, when blood was handled in the Old Testament sacrifices, it was never “poured” out; it was always “sprinkled” (2 Ki. 16:13; Heb. 9:13-12:24).
· The stark contrast between pagan blood ceremonies and God’s covenantal instructions concerning blood, I believe, is a reason why abstaining from blood was one of the few things required of Gentile Christians in the New Testament (Acts 15).
· And why would you take up another god’s name on your lips except to worship and pray to that god? Maybe that’s the reason that David omits even the word for “god” earlier in the verse when he refers to those other gods.
Psalm 16:4 teaches us that we need to assiduously avoid idolatry! Even while we are standing in the cleft of the rock, enjoying the security of God’s salvation, the temptation is to grab onto things (and people) here and there that offer a little bit more comfort, a little bit more security, a little bit more happiness.
Verses 5-6 describe this attitude of contentment simply in what you have in the Lord:
The vocabulary in this verse (and the next) of “portion” “cup,” “lot,” and “lines” sounds like words we use nowadays – we serve ourselves a “portion” of dinner – maybe it’s a little portion, or maybe it’s a “lot” if we’re hungry, and if we’re in a large family, maybe we have to stand in a “line” to wait to get served, and then we fill a “cup” with water and sit down at the dinner table to eat. But as you read this psalm, you get the sneaking suspicion that these words are being used in a different way than we normally use them. So let’s look at these words to see how each one of them is an expression of satisfaction in God’s protection and see what we can learn from them:
· We have already seen two of these words before in Psalm 11:6, speaking of what the wicked have coming to them: “[The LORD] will rain upon the wicked men net-snares, fire and brimstone, and [the] allotment of their cup will be a raging wind.”
· As for this menat “allotment,” or “Chosen” or “assigned” “portion,” it is used throughout the Hebrew Bible to speak of the pay that you get for playing a certain role in God’s economy:
o for instance, the tithes of the Israelites were the menat portion for Levites for their spiritual leadership role in the nation (2 Chron.31:4, Neh. 12:47, 13:10).
o Psalm 11 tells us that the wicked’s “portion” or “allotment” is fire and emptiness – which sounds like hell to me!
o but Psalm 16:5 tells us that having possession of the LORD is the allotment for those who put their trust in Him and submit themselves to His lordship.[19]
· This is borne out in the use of the word Chaleq “inheritance” elsewhere in the Bible:
o In the Penteteuch: The LORD said to Aaron: “…I am your portion and your inheritance …” (Numbers 18:20 NKJV, cf. Deut. 10:9, 32:9).
o It’s also what the Psalms say over and over again, “The Lord is my inheritance” (Psalm 73:26, 119:27, 142:5).
o And it worked both ways, not only was the LORD the inheritance of His people, the people were the inheritance of the LORD too! “For the LORD's portion is His people; Jacob is the line of His inheritance” (Deut 32:9, NKJV).
o In the prophets, Jeremiah affirms this over and over too, “The Portion of Jacob is … the Maker of all things, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance...” (Jer. 10:16, NKJV, cf. Jer. 51:19, Lam. 3:24 , Zech. 2:12)[20]
o Moving into the New Testament, that inheritance is also talked about frequently:
§ The Gospels speak of inheriting “eternal life,”
§ and the epistles speak even more specifically of the “inheritance” being Jesus and us mutually possessing each other:
§ Col. 1:12 “…the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints” … 3:24 “… from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”
§ Eph. 1:18 “…know… the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,”
§ Rev. 21:7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” (NKJV)
o Do you realize what an awesome privilege this is to have the right to eternal life and to the person of Jesus Himself? When you get to heaven, He will be there saying, “All right; I’m all yours! Let’s have a blast!” (And when you want to rest, it will be more refreshing than any vacation you’ve ever had.)
· Another one of the familiar-yet-unfamiliar words in verse five is the word “cup.”
o I have noted before that the Hebrew word kosam can mean a cup that you drink out of, or it can figuratively refer to the experiences which a person will have in life. When we say, along with David and the Messiah, that the Lord is our cup, we are saying that God fills our life experiences. What happens to us is centered around our relationship with God!
o Can you see how this symbolism of the LORD being our cup is played out in the Lord’s Supper? As we drain the cup at the Lord’s Supper, we are saying, “Lord, you are my cup; I want You to fill my life with experiences of relating to You!”
· The last word in this verse is “My lot.” It is something that God “holds onto,” “keeps secure,” and “maintains.”[21] Now the Hebrew word garal means “lot” as in “lottery” or “dice” that you throw to get a random result. What is significant about God holding the dice?
o Before the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, God gave instructions to divide up the Promised Land among the families of Israel by casting lots – or throwing dice (Num. 26:55-56[22]), so, when the tribes crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, Joshua cast lots to determine where each tribe would live. (You can see the details in the book of Joshua ch. 14-21.)
o Joshua 18:11ff records the lot that fell to David’s ancestors, the Benjamites. They got the area from Jericho over to Jerusalem [Show map]. In fact, David had been part of the army campaign that finally seized control from the Canaanites of the hill of Jerusalem, and that is where David made his capitol city. I believe David is attributing that success to God’s power. He says that God had seized and was firmly holding onto that land which he received by lot.
o So Bethlehem and Jerusalem were part of what David and his family got as a result of that roll of the dice, and God had secured David’s family in that part of the country all these years and would continue to maintain it for them.
· In v.6, we see a similar pattern with the Hebrew word for “lines.”
o The first three uses of this word in the Bible all occur in Deuteronomy 3, describing property boundaries in the Promised Land,
o Then in Joshua 17-19, the word is used again to describe the property boundaries for the tribes of Israel distributed in Joshua’s land lottery, and
o David refers to this again in Psalms 78 & 105[23], so we’re talking about property lines here[24].
o David is saying, “I love it here in Jerusalem. It’s so pleasant. The Judean hill country is perfect for me!”[25]
o He has trusted in God, just like Abraham and Joshua did, and God has provided a place for him to live, just as He promised to Abraham’s descendents through Israel, and he is satisfied with what God provided.
· The last thing in this lineup is the word nachal “inheritance/heritage,” a synonym for the words for “portion” and “inheritance” from v.5.
o It is used to mean what we would normally mean by “inheritance,” namely stuff what is handed down to the heirs upon the death of their ancestor.
o However it is often used in the Old Testament to speak of anything granted by God, such as the Promised Land given to Israel (Joshua 18:20 “…This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin…”) or the “nations” granted as an “inheritance” for the Messiah in Psalm 2, and even of the people of Israel which were also called God’s inheritance .(Ps. 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance. NKJV, cf. 1 Sam 10:1).
· David, and later Jesus Himself, who also fits the speaker of this Psalm, are Kings, and therefore they have a special responsibility to take care of God’s inheritance, the people of God, who in David’s time were basically the Israelites, and in our time is the Church.
· The Hebrew word shaphar describing this inheritance is a third-person verb which literally means “it glitters” or “it shines.” Other translators render it “delight” “beautiful” and “good,” but I do not understand why they turn it into an adjective and change the subject to first person, because all the lexicographers agree it is a third person verb.
· Remember that the inheritance is not ultimately land or people but rather the LORD Himself. I think that the psalm-writer is looking beyond the earthly land and people to the inheritance which is literally “above” him, and that is, as the Apostle Peter phrased it, “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5, NKJV). It is my opinion that this final inheritance which literally “shines” over him is a heavenly inheritance, eternal life in heaven in the presence of God, which waits for him in the future. That is your future inheritance too, if you in this life take refuge by faith in Jesus to save you.
· And with that glimpse of the streets of gold and the glory of God I must close for now. I guarantee you will be satisfied with heaven!
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PSALM 16 |
NAW |
KJV |
NKJV |
ESV |
NASB |
NIV |
LXX |
Brenton |
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(א) מִכְתָּם לְדָוִד שָׁמְרֵנִי אֵל כִּי חָסִיתִי בָךְ. |
1. An inscription belonging to David. God, protect me, for I have taken refuge in You. |
1 Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. |
1 A Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust. |
1 A Miktam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. |
1 A Mikhtam of David. Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. |
1 A miktam of David. Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. |
1 Στηλογραφία τῷ Δαυιδ. Φύλαξόν με, κύριε[26], ὅτι ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισα. |
1 A writing of David. Keep me, O Lord; for I have hoped in thee. |
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(ב) אָמַרְתְּ לַיהוָה אֲדֹנָי אָתָּה טוֹבָתִי בַּל עָלֶיךָ. |
2. You said to Yahweh, “You are My Master. No way does my goodness exceed yours.” |
2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; |
2 O my soul, you have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You." |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 εἶπα τῷ κυρίῳ Κύριός μου εἶ σύ, ὅτι τῶν ἀγαθῶν μου οὐ [χρείαν ἔχεις[27]]. |
2 |
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(ג) לִקְדוֹשִׁים אֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ הֵמָּה וְאַדִּירֵי כָּל חֶפְצִי בָם. |
3. Concerning holy ones on the earth, it is they who are also magnificent ones - all my delight is in them. |
3 But to [the] saints that are in the earth, and to [the] excellent, in whom is all my delight. |
3 As for [the] saints who are on the earth, "They are X [the] excellent ones, in whom is all my delight." |
3 As for [the] saints in the land, they are [the] excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. |
3 As for [the] saints who are in the earth, They are X [the] majestic ones in whom is all my delight. |
3 As for [the] saints who are in the land, they are X [the] glorious ones in whom is all my delight. |
3 τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς ἐν τῇ γῇ |
3 On behalf
of[31]
the saints that are in [his] land, he
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(ד) יִרְבּוּ עַצְּבוֹתָם אַחֵר מָהָרוּ בַּל אַסִּיךְ נִסְכֵּיהֶם מִדָּם וּבַל אֶשָּׂא אֶת שְׁמוֹתָם עַל שְׂפָתָי. |
4. Their sorrows will be many; they hurried after another. Never will I pour their libations of blood, and never will I take up their names upon my lips. |
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. |
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied [who] hasten after another god; Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, Nor take up their names on my lips. |
4 The sorrows of those [who] run after another [god] shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. |
4 The sorrows of those [who] have bartered for another god will be multiplied; I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, Nor will I take their names upon my lips. |
4 The sorrows of those will increase who run after other [gods]. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips. |
4 ἐπληθύνθησαν αἱ ἀσθένειαι[33] αὐτῶν, μετὰ ταῦτα ἐτάχυναν· οὐ μὴ |
4 Their
weaknesses have been multiplied; afterward they hasted. I will by no means |
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(ה) יְהוָה מְנָת חֶלְקִי וְכוֹסִי אַתָּה תּוֹמִיךְ גּוֹרָלִי. |
5. Yahweh is the allotment of my inheritance and my cup. You Yourself are holding onto my lot; |
5 The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. |
5 O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. |
5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. |
5 The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. |
5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. |
5 κύριος ἡ μερὶς τῆς κληρονομίας μου καὶ τοῦ ποτηρίου μου· σὺ εἶ |
5 The
Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou art |
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(ו) חֲבָלִים נָפְלוּ לִי בַּנְּעִמִים אַף נַחֲלָת שָׁפְרָה עָלָי. |
6. propety-Lines have fallen for me comfortably. Moreover, as for [my] inheritance, it glitters over me. |
6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I [have] a goodly heritage. |
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, [I have] a good inheritance. |
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, [I have] a beautiful inheritance. |
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, [my] heritage is beautiful to me. |
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely [I have] a delightful inheritance. |
6 σχοινία ἐπέπεσάν μοι ἐν τοῖς κρατίστοις[36]· καὶ γὰρ ἡ κληρονομία μου κρατίστη μοί [ἐστιν]. |
6 The lines have fallen to me in the best places, yea, I have[37] a most excellent heritage. |
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(I_Can't_Get_No)_Satisfaction
[2] Mictam is, according to Strong, a participle form of the verb catam, a cognate of catab “to write,” and thus the Septuagint translators understood it, translating it Stylographia – a writing with a stylus (cf. Vulgate & Chaldee, and Plumer). Curiously, Hellenistic Jews who translated this psalm into Greek after the time of the Septuagint used a couple of other words: tapeinofronoV “a humble thought of David” (Aquil. & Symm.) or macqam a “fight-song(?) of David” (E. and S.), meanwhile Rashi thought it was a musical arrangement (cf. Calvin), and Kimchi thought it was a sort of instrument, still others thought it meant something made of gold… The broadness of speculation is perhaps why most English translations have not ventured to translate the word Mictam, but rather transliterate it.
[3] Delitzsch attached significance to the Psalmist’s choice of the word אל, which focuses on the power of God, which is unlimited, and therefore sufficient to save from every evil.
[4] Perhaps following Rashi’s commentary, which, in turn, follows the Targums.
[5] Delitzsch took exception, writing, “The reading אָמַרְתְּ as addressed to the soul… is opposed by the absence of any mention of the thing addressed. It rests upon a misconception of the defective form of writing, אָמַרְתִ… [which assumes that a final yod (indicating first person) has been dropped from the end of the word. However] if David wrote it so, אמרת is not intended to be read otherwise…”
[6] and this indeed is what Augustine does, although Plumer and Boice objected to that interpretation.
[7] and the American Jewish Version
[8] In a similar manner, Augustine added “require” (“Thou requirest not my goods”)
[9] Although Delitzsch did not deny the validity of the other translations of this verse, he support the translation I have given, “David gives expression to his confession of Jahve, to whom he submits himself unconditionally, and whom he sets above everything else without exception.... The preposition עַל frequently introduces that which extends beyond something else…”
[10] I have explained this concept in depth in the third chapter of my book, The Functions of Deity.
[11] Delitzsch and Plumer affirmed this position, but Augustine inferred the opposite because the Septuagint adds the pronoun “His” before “earth,” but “His” is not in the Hebrew Masoretic text.
[12] “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.” (Psalms 34:8-9 NKJV)
[13] Here again the Septuagint is divergent, rendering the adjective as a verb “He has done wonders,” which, I think, skews Augustine’s application about Christians believing in Jesus’ divinity and humanity in His death and resurrection.
[14] The Septuagint text reads rather differently from the Hebrew text of this verse. Augustine has done a fine job of commenting on it with Christian theology, so let me just quote him, “Accordingly after infirmities multiplied they made haste, that they might be healed. I will not gather together their assemblies by blood. For their assemblies shall not be carnal, nor will I gather them together as one propitiated by the blood of cattle. Nor will I be mindful of their names within My lips. But by a spiritual change what they have been shall be forgotten; nor by Me shall they be any more called either sinners, or enemies, or men; but righteous, and My brethren, and sons of God through My peace.”
[15] Curiously, the AJV reads “idols” instead of “sorrows” but Cohen prefers “sorrow.” The Hebrew word for “sorrow” only occurs four other times in the Bible. It seems to be a consequence of sin – painful judgments from God for sin, such as Job experienced (Job 9:28 “I am afraid of all my sufferings; I know that You will not hold me innocent.” NKJV) and which God promises elsewhere in the Psalms that His saving power can heal (Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” NKJV).
[16] Which seems to me an odd translation, but appears to be supported by Jewish commentators Cohen and Delitzsch.
[17] The Hebrew word achar can denote not only that which is “other” in kind, but also that which is “later” in time.
[18] Alternately, Delitzsch suggests, “They are not called מִדָּם as actually consisting of blood… but…because they are offered with blood-stained hands and blood-guilty consciences,” (cf. Plumer), but he is asserting confidently something which is not actually asserted by the Hebrew text, and I think it is a bit of a stretch.
[19] Boice interprets this allotment as a ration of food that goes with the “cup” and says that v.6 begins talking about a different topic of land grants, but I don’t think the distinction is that hard-and-fast.
[20] Delitzsch noted, “all Israel is [a kingdom of priests] Ex. 19:6, towards which even קדושׁים and אדרים [“saints” and “glorious ones”] in verse 3 pointed; so that, therefore, the very thing represented by the tribe of Levi in outward relation to the nation, holds good, in all its deep spiritual significance, of every believer[cf. 1 Pet. 2:9]. It is not anything earthly, visible, created, and material, that is allotted to him as his possession and his sustenance, but Jahve and Him only; but in Him is perfect contentment.”
[21] The Hebrew word tomic is labeled by Davidson as a Qal Participle which means grabbing and holding in a powerful grip. Pro 11:16b “strong men seize and hold onto their riches.” Amos 1:5-8 also uses this word to speak of kings holding onto their scepters. It is used three other places in the Psalms to speak of God upholding a believer: Ps. 17:5 “Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip.” Ps. 41:12 “As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.” Ps. 63:8 “My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me” (NKJV). Delitzsch, however, thought it should be interpreted as a Hiphil from יָמַךְ (וָמַךְ), meaning, “Thou makest broad my lot, i.e., ensurest for me a spacious habitation, a broad place…”
[22] “But the land shall be divided by lot; they shall inherit according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. According to the lot their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller.” (NKJV)
[23] Recalling the Abrahamic Covenant where God promised to give a land to Israel, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the line of your inheritance” (Ps. 105:11), and in another psalm recalling how God fulfilled that promise in Joshua’s time: “And [the LORD] drove out the nations before [Israel], Allotting them an inheritance by line” (Ps. 78:55)
[24] Admittedly, the Hebrew word chaval means other things such as “chorus line” or “rope” or “army front” in other parts of the Bible, but when used together with synonyms like “inheritance,” “lot” and “portion” it always refers to property boundaries. The prophets also do this in Ezekiel 47:13 and Micah 2:4-5.
[25] “Even the water of his own city seemed to him better than that of any other place, 2 Sam. 23:15;1 Chr. 11:17.” Plumer
[26] Aquilla and Theodotion translated this word iscure, perhaps to undercut Christians applying the LXX reading “lord” to Jesus, but Symmachus’ translation was more literal: QeoV.
[27] Aquilla and Symmachus again diverged from the Septuagint with a more literal reading (which is more like my translation), indicating that the Masoretic text we have today for this verse is the same as what was used by Jews at least as late as the second century AD.
[28] This is plural nominative in the Hebrew Masoretic text.
[29] This is a noun in Hebrew, as well as in the Greek translations of Symmachus and Theodotian, but some ancient translations, including the Septuagint turn it into a verb. It doesn’t subvert the overall meaning of the verse, though.
[30] 1st person in Hebrew.
[31] Brendon is a little paraphrastic here in his English translation of the Septuagint. A more literal rendering of the Dative case would be “Toward…”
[32] The Masoretic text reads “my” instead of “his;” it is but the difference of the length of a pen-stroke on the first letter of of the Hebrew word.
[33] cf. Aquilla diaponemata “evil”, Theodotian (and AJV) eidwla “idols,” Symmachus kakopatheiai “bad passions”
[34] cf. Aqilla and Symmachus speisw [tas] spondas “spill out the drink-offering,” which is closer to the Masoretic Hebrew
[35] Kittel indicates that there are some Hebrew manuscripts which spell this verb with different vowels as a participle (תוׄמֵךְ) and that the Septuagint reading took its cue from them. It doesn’t make for a significant difference in meaning, though.
[36] cf. Aquilla euprepesi, Symmachus=kallistois
[37] Or, more literally, the Septuagint reads, “There is for me a…”