Translation & Sermon by
Nate Wilson for Christ the
v
Jewish commentators suggest that
after David’s sin with Bathsheeba and Uriah, David’s enemies predicted that his
dynasty would not continue, but when he was prophetically informed that his son
Solomon would merit the task of buildn the
v Classic protestant commentator H.C. Leuphold, however, followed by others such as James Boice and Frank Barker suggest that this related to the events of 1 Chronicles 21, and that seems very likely to me, since it speaks of a plague of sickness that called for healing but which brought David to the verge of death, and it includes a direct threat against the mountain fortress of Jerusalem which nevertheless remained unharmed, and it resulted in David dedicating land to be a house for God.
v Shua’ – v.2 – “cut loose and holler for help – cry out to be saved.”
Ø This is an abandonment of preserving your dignity in light of your recognition that you are in a desperate situation and unless you are rescued, all is utterly lost.
Ø Now, this isn’t to say that God won’t pay attention unless you are panicking, but, if you are anything like me, when you find yourself in one of those situations, it’s o.k. to send up a flare-prayer like this.
v Qara – v.8a – “Call out”
Ø I would like to point out that the verbs in verse 8 are not in the Hebrew past tense (as they are translated in most English versions) but rather in the Hebrew tense that indicates future action or habitual action. Perhaps it was a way of making a story about a past event more vivid, but I also think this action of calling out to God and pleading for His mercy was something to which David recoursed time and time again throughout his life and which can also be the theme of our lives.
Ø Generally “calling out” indicates saying something out loud to somebody else in order to get them to respond to what you said. That is the Biblical view of prayer. Prayer is not just about saying words like it is for many Roman Catholics and Muslims; it’s not about performing a sacred action in order to earn “brownie points” no, prayer is about communicating to God and getting a response.
v Chanon – v.8b – “cried/pleaded for mercy/made supplication”
Ø Ex. 33:19c “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious”
Ø At the dedication of the temple, Solomon prayed “And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other.” (1 Kings 8:59-60 NKJV)
Ø Isa. 30:18 And therefore Jehovah will wait - to grace you, and therefore He will go up - to show mercy to you. Since Jehovah is a God of justice, happy are all who wait for Him…. You will certainly not weep; He will certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; as He hears, He answers you. 20 And the Lord will give to you bread of adversity and water of affliction, and your teacher will not be hidden anymore, and it will be that your eyes will see your teacher.” (NAW)
v
v.1 David
had “enemies.” Those enemies were expecting to be happy and gloating about
something bad happening to David.
v
David
pictures himself as being in a pit that he couldn’t climb out of; he needed to
be lifted/drawn/hauled out.
v
V.3 David
was in danger of going down the drain, as it were, and losing his kingdom and
his life.
Ø
The
Hebrew word for “pit” in v.3 usually means a pit dug in the ground to act as a water-holding
cistern, and it is used as a figure here and elsewhere being buried six feet
underground and entering the realm of the dead which the Hebrews called Sheol.
v He sought right away to get help from God, and He called upon God by name - Yahweh (the LORD in all caps). Verse 8 emphasizes that it was to the one true God that David immediately went, not to anybody else first.
v This Psalm uses a lot of the same words we saw at the beginning of Psalm 6: “Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am sagging; heal me, Yahweh, for my bones are in a panic. And my soul is in a major panic, but You are Yahweh. How long will it be? Return, Yahweh! Snatch away my soul; save me because of Your lovingkindness. For in death there is no remembering You; in the grave, who responds to You?” (vs. 2-5, NAW)
v Verse 9 gives us a record of what David actually prayed:
Ø “What profit is there in my death – in me going down to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it tell of Your truth?”
Ø The Shachat-Pit is a synonym for Sheol/the place of the dead in Psalm 16:10[1], and thus also a synonym for the Boor-pit of verse 4.
Ø David starts by asking God what’s in it for God if David dies. David knows that God wants His truth and faithfulness proclaimed on earth and that God enjoys the praises of His people, so David argues that he can’t do either if he’s dead. If his body returns to dust, that dirt is just going to lie there on the ground. It can’t write Psalms or lead worship or tell others about the good news of God’s lovingkindness like David can do while he’s alive on this earth, so he makes this point to lay out his case before God.
Ø Now, we must be careful not to assume we know better than God about what’s best for us, but when we encounter difficulties and we pray to God for help, it is Biblical to try to look at the situation from God’s perspective and pray for something good to happen that we have reason to think He actually wants to happen rather than just praying for something we want because we want it.
Ø For instance, every week I go into a bit of a panic over my sermon. I feel like I have nothing to say to begin with, and all my other duties seem to conspire against giving me any time to study the next passage that I want to preach on, and as it gets getting later and later in the week, I get this sinking feeling that I’m going to have to stand up Sunday morning and say I have no sermon prepared - and probably get fired and have to live on the streets and dive into dumpsters for food for my family. So I start praying, and God gives me stuff to share,
§ but I could lay out a case in terms of, “God, give me words to share so that I don’t make a fool of myself in front of everybody and so our church can get big and make me a famous preacher.” How motivating is that going to be to God? It’s not going to fly.
§ So I try to think of what God wants: He wants the people in our church to grow in their faith and love for Him; He wants them to be equipped to fight sin and to do works of ministry; and He wants to get the credit for it, so I try to pray, “Lord, for the sake of your people, would you give me something to edify them? Would you uphold the glorious riches of Your word by giving me enthusiasm for something in this passage so I can glorify You?” When I start praying like that, I am lining up with God’s purposes and I see results.
v Now, most English versions follow the Masoretic text from 1000AD which makes verse 10 a continuation of David’s prayer, “Hear, O LORD and be gracious to me to be my helper.” That stands as a fine example of how to pray.
Ø
However,
all the older manuscripts of this Psalm, including the Septuagint, Dead Sea
Scrolls, and Vulgate, spell the verbs not as imperatives but as indicatives,
“Yahweh listened and Yahweh was gracious to me to become a helper to me.” This
makes a fine example of a testimony; this is how David can declare and
proclaim God’s faithfulness in a way that dirt can’t.
v To begin with, God was responding before David ever started crying out.
Ø It appears that before his troubles in v.6, when David was “at ease/prosperous/secure,” He wasn’t crying out to God; he was oriented around himself – all the pronouns in v.6 are “me” and “I” starting with an emphatic ani (which the NASB translated well “as for me”) - no mention of God. David had an “I” problem, and God did what it took to cure him of it; God brought in hardship that would turn David’s eyes back to God. You see, God is at work behind the scenes maturing David and bringing more glory to Himself.
Ø God did the same thing to Job: “I was at ease… but God had taken me by the neck and shaken me… It is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has dismayed me” (16:21 & 23:16, NKJV)
Ø Now, of course, Psalm 15:5 and 16:8 (and others[2]) promise that the righteous “will never be shaken/overthrown,” but that’s when they “set the LORD always before them” and “hold fast to [God’s] ways.” When we loose sight of the LORD and think, like King Nebuchadnezzar did, that our prosperity is merely the result of our own hard work, we can’t claim that promise never to be shaken – any more than the wicked man in Psalm 10:6 did before he perished in God’s judgment.
Ø The Lord disciplines those He loves, and so God organized events to take David down a notch so that he would rediscover passionate worship of God the Savior. God “hid His face” as it says in v.7 so that David would panic and call out to the Lord for help and mercy.
Ø And once David was in the right place again, recognizing the centrality of God in his life and calling God his “Lord/Master,” then God delivered David from whatever the trouble was.
§ Verse 7 speaks of a “mountain standing strong,” so perhaps it refers to King David’s city of Jerusalem (which was situated on a hill) being threatened – perhaps by the angel of the Lord whose hand was stretched in that direction to send a plague that would cause many people to die, yet that hand was stayed and God mercifully did not hit Jerusalem with the plague, so it stayed strong.
§ This Psalm doesn’t say for sure, but however it was that David was delivered, he saw God again as his Master and Savior!
v God acted on those prayers and “had mercy/showed grace” toward David and “helped” him, as v.10 says.
v God turned the tables of history so that, as v.1 says, instead of giving David’s enemies cause to be happy/rejoice/gloat, God instead clothed David, as it says in v.11, with happiness/joy/gladness - same Hebrew word simchah in both verses 1 & 11.
v v.2 “you healed me”
Ø God’s response was not one of mere rescue; God’s response was comprehensive and went as far as healing the injuries David had sustained.
Ø Note also that God’s response was not to yank David out of this world into eternal bliss, but rather to re-empower David to pick back up with life where he left off and keep living in faith – “healed, cured, repaired, made whole” (Strong) so that he could face with success whatever next challenges lay before him in life.
v V.3 “Yahweh, you brought my soul up from the realm of death; you revived me from going down the drain.” God is not only a healer of our physical bodies, He is also the Lord of Life, and He has the power to resurrect what was dead. That is His custom, to take what was dead and bring it to life – everlasting life. He did it with Jesus, and He’ll do it with you!
v V.11 “You turned my mourning into dancing… You untied/loosed/put off my sack-cloth (mourning clothes) and girded me with gladness”
Ø It is entirely appropriate to mourn over evil like God called His people to do in Isaiah 22:12.
Ø
I think of another time when God
turned mourning into dancing, and that is the story of Purim. Around the time
of the Babylonian captivity, Queen Esther got all the Jews in
v God saved David in order that David would give glory to Him in return. This is God’s goal.
Ø That’s why the last verse in this psalm starts with the Hebrew word lema’an “to the end that/in order that my glory [or perhaps more properly “myself as one of the glories of God’s creation”] will make music for you and not sit still [like it would otherwise do if David had died – cf. Psalm 31:17] but will rather be responsive to God and give Him thanks forever.”
Ø David recognizes that his body (He often calls his physical body his “glory” in the Psalms – 7:5, 16:9, 57:8) was made to “respond” to God in worship and “thanksgiving/praise,” so he purposes to spend his energies in this way for as long as he is alive.
Ø Do you understand that this is the purpose of the body God has given you? It was made to respond to God with worship that will bring glory to Him.
v One thing that David mentions in verse 11 is an emotional response of happiness/joy/gladness that results in dancing (he also mentions playing music and singing in vs. 4, 5, and 12).
Ø
Last week I experienced a small
answer to prayer that almost brought me to dancing. I was trying to record
myself singing a song with my guitar for Grace Anne’s wedding, but one of my
recording channels was messed up and it was making my recordings sound awful,
plus I wanted bell chimes in the recording, but I was having a hard time
figuring out how to get my hands on some bell chimes that I could record. I
prayed and prayed and finally figured out a way to work around the recording
problem, and then
Ø When God brings happy answers to prayer, do you take the time to let your emotions respond in joy rather than stoically figuring that these breakthroughs are “just what should be” and moving on to worry about the next challenge in life? Let us, like David, be people who give ourselves to expressions of joy over God’s salvation.
v v.1 I will exalt/extol/lit. lift You up because You lifted/drew/hauled me up - Dilleet is the Hebrew word for lowering a bucket into a well with the intent of drawing water up (Ex. 2:16-19). Notice the parallel vertical motions going on here: God let a rope down, as it were, into the pit that David was drowning in, and hauled him up and out, so David purposes to lift God up in return, to push God to the top of his respect list.
v Then David mobilizes other people toward worshipping God in v.4 “Play music for Yahweh, you His godly ones, and respond to [the] remembrance of His holiness.”
Ø perhaps He began with the temple musicians – the Hebrew word zimmru, translated “sing” in most English versions, has the same root as the word “Psalm” in the title, a word which means to strum a stringed instrument, so I suspect David ran over to tabernacle musicians with this psalm in hand and said, “Hey guys, I need some accompaniment!”
Ø but he wasn’t just trying to get them to play his song; he was trying to get them to join him in exalting God our Savior and leading others (including us) in responding to God with worship every time we remember who God is, what kind of reputation His name carries, and how holy He deserves to be treated.
Ø
What
is your response every time you think of God or His name, His reputation, &
His holiness?
v David goes on in v.5 to explain that it’s only a matter of time before those who are godly will see God’s favor and rejoice in it:
Ø His anger is only momentary – the first times this word “moment” occur in the Bible were instances of God’s judgment on His people:
§ Ex. 33:5, when 3,000 Hebrews were put to death in 1 day for worshipping the golden calf
§ Num. 16:21 when God swallowed up Korah, Dathan and Abiram in the earth and then consumed by fire their 250-man congress who tried to overthrow the government God had instituted through Moses
§
Num. 16:45 when the congress that Moses
and the Hebrew tribes had legitimately appointed for the government of
Ø What are believers to do in such circumstances?
§
Isaiah
used the same Hebrew word “moment” in his instructions to the faithful under
the circumstances of an apostate nation about to be overrun by king
Nebuchadnezzar. He wrote: “Come, my people, proceed into your bedrooms, and
shut your doors behind you; hide for a moment until the fury shall pass
over. For look, Jehovah is coming out from His place to visit the iniquity of
the inhabitants of the land upon them.” (Isa, 26:20-21, NAW)
§ That’s also what the faithful Hebrews did during the first Passover in Ex.12. They hid behind a door with the lamb’s blood on it for a night until the death angel passed by.
§
Today,
what door do we Christians hide behind? Jesus! John 10:7-“I am the door of the
sheep.”
Ø V.5 “for it’s ‘a moment in His anger; a lifetime in His favor.’ During the evening weeping may be company, but by the morning there will be singing!”
§ Ps. 5:12 “Because You Yourself really bless a righteous [person]; like a big shield, Yahweh, you encircle him with favor.” (NAW)
§ Ps. 23: 6 “It is goodness and lovingkindness that will certainly pursue me all the days of my life, and I will settle down in Yahweh’s house for extensive days.” (NAW)
§
I can’t help but think of the
weeping that must have come the night Herod’s soldiers slaughtered the children
of
§
The apostle John saw so many
Christians slaughtered by Roman soldiers; how many nights must he have spent
weeping at
§ No matter what is going on now, if you will cry out for Jesus to save you, the end of your story will be songs of joy!
As with most of the Psalms, we can
look at the text not only from the perspective of David, but also from the
perspective of Jesus.
|
LXX |
Brenton |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
|
1 Εἰς τὸ τέλος[B]· ψαλμὸς ᾠδῆς τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τοῦ οἴκου· τῷ Δαυιδ. 2 Ὑψώσω σε, κύριε, ὅτι ὑπέλαβές[C] με καὶ οὐκ ηὔφρανας τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου ἐπ᾿ ἐμέ. |
1 For the
end, a Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. I will exalt
thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and not caused mine enemies to rejoice over me. |
1 A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David.
I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes
to rejoice over me. |
1 A
psalm-song about the dedication of the house by David. |
א מִזְמוֹר
שִׁיר
חֲנֻכַּת
הַבַּיִת
לְדָוִד.ב אֲרוֹמִמְךָ
יְהוָה כִּי
דִלִּיתָנִי
וְלֹא שִׂמַּחְתָּ
אֹיְבַי לִי. |
|
3 κύριε ὁ θεός μου, ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σέ, καὶ ἰάσω με· |
2 O Lord my
God, I cried to thee, and thou didst heal
me. |
2 O LORD my
God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast
healed me. |
2 Yahweh my
God, I hollered for You, and You healed
me. |
ג יְהוָה
אֱלֹהָי שִׁוַּעְתִּי
אֵלֶיךָ
וַתִּרְפָּאֵנִי. |
|
4 κύριε, ἀνήγαγες ἐξ ᾅδου τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἔσωσάς με ἀπὸ τῶν καταβαινόντων εἰς λάκκον. |
3 O Lord,
thou hast brought up my soul from Hades, thou hast delivered
me from among them that go down to the pit. |
3 O LORD,
thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, |
3 Yahweh,
you brought my soul up from the realm of death; you revived me from going
down the drain. |
ד יְהוָה
הֶעֱלִיתָ
מִן שְׁאוֹל
נַפְשִׁי חִיִּיתַנִי מִיָּרְדִי[D]
בוֹר. |
|
5 ψάλατε τῷ κυρίῳ, οἱ ὅσιοι αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῇ μνήμῃ τῆς ἁγιωσύνης αὐτοῦ· |
4 |
4 |
4 Play
music for Yahweh, you His godly ones, and respond
to [the] remembrance of His holiness, |
ה זַמְּרוּ
לַיהוָה
חֲסִידָיו
וְהוֹדוּ
לְזֵכֶר
קָדְשׁוֹ. |
|
6 ὅτι ὀργὴ ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτοῦ, [καὶ] ζωὴ ἐν τῷ θελήματι[E] αὐτοῦ· τὸ ἑσπέρας αὐλισθήσεται κλαυθμὸς καὶ εἰς τὸ πρωὶ ἀγαλλίασις. |
5 For anger[F]
is in his wrath, [but] life in his favour:
weeping shall tarry for the evening, but |
5 For his
anger endureth but a moment; in his
favour is
life: weeping may endure[G]
for a night, but |
5 for it’s a
moment in His anger; a lifetime in His favor.
During the evening weeping may be company,
but by the morning there will be singing! |
ו כִּי
רֶגַע
בְּאַפּוֹ
חַיִּים בִּרְצוֹנוֹ
בָּעֶרֶב יָלִין
בֶּכִי
וְלַבֹּקֶר
רִנָּה. |
|
7 ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπα ἐν τῇ εὐθηνίᾳ μου Οὐ μὴ σαλευθῶ[H] εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. |
6 And I said
in my prosperity, I shall never be moved X. |
6 And in my
prosperity I said, I shall never be moved X. |
6 Now, as
for me, I said when I was at ease, “I will never ever be overthrown.” |
ז וַאֲנִי
אָמַרְתִּי
בְשַׁלְוִי
בַּל אֶמּוֹט
לְעוֹלָם. |
|
8 κύριε, ἐν τῷ θελήματί σου παρέσχου τῷ κάλλει μου δύναμιν· |
7 O Lord, in
thy good pleasure thou didst add strength
to my beauty[I]:
[but] thou didst |
7 LORD, by
thy favour thou hast made my mountain to
stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and
I was troubled. |
7 Yahweh,
during Your favor You caused my mountain to
stand strong. You hid your face; I became panicky. |
ח יְהוָה
בִּרְצוֹנְךָ
הֶעֱמַדְתָּה
לְהַרְרִי
עֹז
הִסְתַּרְתָּ
פָנֶיךָ
הָיִיתִי
נִבְהָל[K]. |
|
9 πρὸς σέ, κύριε, κεκράξομαι καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεόν μου δεηθήσομαι |
8 To thee, O
Lord, will I cry; and to my God will I make
supplication. |
8 I cr |
8 It was to
You, Yahweh, that I call out - indeed to the Master that I seek mercy for myself: |
|
|
10 Τίς ὠφέλεια ἐν τῷ αἵματί μου, ἐν τῷ καταβῆναί με εἰς διαφθοράν; μὴ ἐξομολογήσεταί σοι χοῦς ἢ ἀναγγελεῖ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου; |
9 What
profit is there in my blood, when I go down to destruction? Shall the
dust give praise to thee? or shall it declare thy truth? |
9 What
profit is there in my blood, when I
go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? |
9 “What profit
is there in my death – in me going down to the Pit? Will the dust praise You?
Will it tell of Your truth?” |
י מַה
בֶּצַע
בְּדָמִי
בְּרִדְתִּי
אֶל
שָׁחַת הֲיוֹדְךָ
עָפָר
הֲיַגִּיד
אֲמִתֶּךָ. |
|
11 ἤκουσεν κύριος καὶ ἠλέησέν με, κύριος ἐγενήθη βοηθός μου. |
10 The Lord
heard, and had compassion upon me; the
Lord is become[M] my
helper. |
10 Hear, O
LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be
thou my helper. |
10 Yahweh,
listened and Yahweh was gracious to me
to became a helper to me. |
יא שְׁמַע
יְהוָה
וְחָנֵּנִי
יְהוָה הֱיֵה
עֹזֵר לִי. |
|
12 ἔστρεψας τὸν κοπετόν μου εἰς χορὸν[N] ἐμοί, διέρρηξας τὸν σάκκον μου καὶ περιέζωσάς με εὐφροσύνην, |
11 Thou hast
turned my mourning into |
11 Thou hast
turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put
off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; |
11 You
changed my mourning into a circle-dance for me! You untied
my sack-cloth and girded me with happiness, |
יב הָפַכְתָּ
מִסְפְּדִי
לְמָחוֹל
לִי
פִּתַּחְתָּ
שַׂקִּי
וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי
שִׂמְחָה. |
|
13 ὅπως ἂν ψάλῃ σοι ἡ δόξα [μου] καὶ οὐ μὴ κατανυγ |
12 that [my]
glory may sing praise to thee, and |
12 To the end
that my glory may sing praise to
thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give
thanks unto thee for ever. |
12 in order
that what has been glorified may make music for You and not sit still.
Yahweh my God, I will be responsive to you
forever! |
יג לְמַעַן
יְזַמֶּרְךָ
כָבוֹד
וְלֹא
יִדֹּם
יְהוָה אֱלֹהַי
לְעוֹלָם
אוֹדֶךָּ. |
[1] Ps.16:8. “I have kept Yahweh
dead-level in front of me always, because I will never be overthrown
from my right hand. 9. Therefore my heart has been happy and my glory
has been rejoicing. Moreover, my flesh will settle down confidently, 10.
because you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; you will not destine Your
godly man to the Pit. 11. You will cause me to know the path of life;
fullness of happinesses is with Your presence; endless pleasures are in Your
right hand!” (NAW)
[2] Cf. Psalm
46:5 “God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her,
just at the break of dawn.” Psalm 62:1-2 “Truly my soul silently waits
for God; From Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I
shall not be greatly moved.” Psalm 125:1 “Those who trust in the LORD Are like
[A] When a
translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has
done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in
[square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from
all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a
translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning
of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original
Hebrew, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the
Hebrew text, I insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I occasionally use
colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and
versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word.
Hebrew text that is colored purple matches the Dead Sea Scrolls, and variants
between the DSS and the MT are noted in endnotes with the following exceptions:
When a holem or qibbutz pointing in the MT is represented in the
DSS by a vav, when a hireq pointing in the MT is represented in
the DSS by a yod (the corresponding consonantal representation of the
same vowel), or when the tetragrammaton is spelled with paleo-Hebrew letters, I
did not record it a variant. Dead Sea Scrolls which contain Psalm 30 are: Nahal Hever Psalms (Verse 2) and 4Q98a (vs. 8-12).
[B]
[C] Note Greek synonyms used: anebibasaV (
[D] Targums, Jerome’s translation of the Psalms from
Hebrew, and first-second century Jewish translations into Greek by Aquila and
Symmachus agree with the Masoretic text here, and that’s what the KJV, NASB,
and NIV use, but the Syriac, the Septuagint, and Theodotion’s Greek translation
render it according to the Kere (alternative reading in the Masoretic text),
which is plural and construct in form (and which is used in 28:1), and that’s
what the ESV uses “those who go down.” This variant does not make a theological
difference except perhaps in refuting universalism in recognizing that there
will be some who are condemned.
[E] Note Greek synonyms: eudokia
(“goodwill” -
[F] The Syriac apparently agrees with the LXX here.
Kittel suggests they read the Masoretic רֶגַע as רׄגֶז, and
Symmachus’ Greek translation agrees with the MT with ep' oligoston (“for a little”). Aquilla’s translation aqroismosV (collection) and that of Eusebius (sunteleia – “consummation”) seem to be somewhere inbetween.
[G] ESV = “tarry”
[H] Note Greek synonyms: sfalw
(“slaughtered” -
[I] The LXX apparently misread להררי as להדרי. Acquila
and S? corrected it to esthsaV
tw orei which is in line with the MT.
(Curiously, Symmachus translated “mountain” as “forefathers” propatori.)
[J] Aquilla corrected the LXX to “hid” (apekruyaV), which is more in line with the MT.
[K] The mountain may have been literal, as in
Cf. Job 23:16 "It
is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has dismayed
me”
Ps. 6:2 “Have mercy on
me, Yahweh, for I am sagging; heal me, Yahweh, for my bones are in a panic.”
(NAW) The point of this verse seems to be the sovereign control of God over
David’s life as the central reason why things are good or bad. The emphasis in
the next verse on the Lord God being the one to whom David looked for help
carries on this point.
[L] The KJV follows the reading of DSS 4Q98a and the
Cairo Geniza manuscript which read Yahweh instead of Adonai
(“lord”), meanwhile, the Septuagint diverges with Elohai (“my God”) –
all refer to the same person, however.
[M] The difference between the imperative forms (“Hear…
be merciful… be”) contained in the Masoretic text and followed by most English
versions and the indicative forms followed by the Septuagint and DSS4Q98a (“He
heard… He had compassion… He became”) is only in the vowel pointing (except
with the vav consecutive “and he had compassion” of the DSS), so it is a
legitimate matter of interpretation at least for the first and last verb,
seeing as the vowel pointing wasn’t added until a thousand years after the
Septuagint was translated. All the other known Greek translations besides the
LXX translate this word in the imperative like the English translations do.
[N] Coron (“dancing”) is the reading
of the Vaticanus and of Aquilla, Symmachus, Eusebius and S?, but most
manuscripts of the LXX apparently read caran (“rejoicing”),
and Theodotion rendered it aulon (“piping-music”). The
general idea is the same, but the various expressions of rejoicing are
interesting.
[O] Aquilla and Symmachus go with a little gentler word
“untied.” perielusaV/apelusaV.
[P] All the other Greek translations agree with the MT
“it shall be silent” with variations of the root siwpaw. Only
the Syriac agrees with the 1st person interpretation of the LXX.