Psalm 55:16-23 – Cast Your Burden Upon the LORD

1Dan. 6:10 “...Daniel... went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” (NKJV)

2Acts 10:9 “The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour… 30 Cornelius said, ‘Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing….’” (NKJV)

3This is a synonym to the word “evening” in Psalm 55:17, cf. 141:2.

4Spurgeon said it was speaking of what had happened in the past; Cohen called it a “prophetic perfect,” indicating it was yet to happen. Calvin wrote that the tense was not something to get hung up over: “… either he was so confident of being delivered that he speaks as if he actually were so already, or he inserts what was the substance of his meditations at different times; it being sufficiently common, when mention is made of prayers, to subjoin a statement of the event which followed from them...”

5The Greek word behind this is a synonym of the Greek word behind the word “redeemed” in Psalm 55:18.

6Calvin and Spurgeon were similarly ambivalent about translating this phrase. Calvin’s editor noted other commentators who were less ambivalent: Walford (and we can add Fausset) arguing for “against” and Bishops Horsley and Manton (following Ibn Ezra, to whom we can add Matthew Henry) arguing for “with,” furthermore interpreting the “many” as angels a la 2 Kings 6:16 and 1 John 4:4.

7Many commentators (Rashi, Calvin, Walford, Williams, Henry, Spurgeon, Fausset, and Cohen) instead interpreted this “no change” as them having experienced no downturns or punishment for their sinful lifestyle, which led them to have no fear of God. However, Targums, Gesenius, Dathe, Delitzsch, and G. Wilson interpreted it along the lines I did.

8Augustine was the only commentator who really had a different interpretation (see endnotes on this verse).

9Proverbs 10:30 “The righteous will never be removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the earth... 24:16 For a righteous man may fall [נפל] seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.” (NKJV) Psalm 34:19 “Some amount of evils happen to one who is righteous, but Yahweh will give him deliverance from all of them.” (NAW) John 10:28 “And I give them [my sheep] eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” (NKJV) Hebrews 12:26-29 “‘Once more I myself am shaking [σείσω] not only the earth but also heaven.’ Now, the 'Once more' shows the replacement [μετάθεσιν] of the things being shaken (in this case, of things which have been created) such that the things which are not being shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakeable kingdom, let us continue to be grateful…” Matthew 7:24-25 “Everyone therefore who is hearing these words of mine and doing them will be likened to a smart man who built his house upon the rock, and the rain came down and the rivers went [up] and the storm-wind blew and dropped down before that house, and it did not fall down, for it had been founded upon the rock.” (NAW) 1 Corinthians 10:4 “... and the rock was Christ.” (NAW)

AMy original chart includes the NASB, NIV, and ESV, but their copyright restrictions force me to remove them from the publicly-available edition of this chart. (NAW is my translation.) 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 text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original 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. There are no known Dead Sea Scrolls containing Psalm 55. Where the DSS is legible and reads the same as the MT, the Hebrew text is colored purple. Where the DSS and ancient versions support each other against the MT in such a way that I suspect they are the original reading, I have highlighted them with yellow.

BJerome's Latin Vulgate w/ Deuterocanon using Gallican Psalter, 405 AD. As published electronically by E-Sword.

CThis Greek New Testament (GNT) is the 1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, and UBS editions are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era as a break from the traditional Greek Bible by compiling just a few of the oldest-known manuscripts, but even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.

DEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851, “based upon the text of the Vaticanus” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published electronically by E-Sword.

E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword.

FFrom the Wiki Hebrew Bible https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8_%D7%AA%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D.
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com

GThe Leiden Peshitta, Copyright © 2012 by The Peshitta Foundation c/o Leiden University Institute for Religious Studies, as published electronically in BibleWorks.

H“In verses”

IAquilla: nikopoiw, Symmachus: epinikion (“victory”)

JAquilla: en yalmoiV, Symmachus: dia yalthriwn (in Psalms/psalters)

KAquilla: episthmonoV (“understanding?”)

LThe cohortative he- suffix here and on the opening verb of v.2 are a way to express urgency and/or respect while making a request. The imperatives in v.9 do not have these cohortatives.

MThis Hitpael form is only here and Deut. 22:1, 3-4; Job 6:16; and Isa. 58:7. With the exception of the Job passage (the subject of which is “ice”), all the other passages describe a person seeing another person or animal in need, but doing nothing to help, pretending not to have been aware of the need.
LXX, Vulgate, and Peshitta have a slightly-different word which means “despise/reject.”

Ncf. David’s assertion that God did hear in Psalm 6:9, and Solomon’s plea for God to hear in 1 Kings 8:28 || 2 Chron 6:19. The root of this noun is the Hebrew word for grace/mercy. LXX and Vulgate omit the mem prefix (“from”) which is in the MT, Peshitta, and Targums, and NIV follows that omission.

O“reject” is the translation of both Lamsa and of Bauscher. It is more like the translations of the LXX and Vulgate (“despise”) than of the MT, which raises the question of whether a synonym crept into the MT.

PSymmachus translated with kathnecqhn (“dragged down/depressed/brought low”).

QLiddel & Scott’s Lexicon entry for this Greek word is “idle talk.” Symmachus’ translation was a close synonym to that (proslalwn). Aquilla translated it with omilia (“associates”).

RNote paragogic he. Cf. other psalms where David opens with the same request: 5:2, 17:1, 61:1, 86:6, 142:7.

SThere are only three other instances of this verb in the O.T. : Gen. 27:40, Jer. 2:31, and Hos. 12:1. In those passages it is translated variously: have dominion, be restless, be lords, be free, roam, rule, be unruly, and walk.
Here LXX & Vulgate = “grieved/pained,” Peshitta = “turn,” Targums = “roar,” Symmachus = kathnecqhn (“depressed”), and Jerome’s later edition of the Psalms = humiliatus, KJV = “mourn,” NASB = “restless,” NIV = “troubled,” AJV = “distraught,” Rashi/Kimchi = “lament.” Delitzsch: “The Hiph. חֵרִיד, which in Gen. 27:40 signifies to lead a roving life, has in this instance the signification to move one's self backwards and forwards, to be inwardly uneasy; root רד, Arab. rd, to totter, whence râda, jarûda, to run up and down...”
In the Greek NT, Jesus was thus “grieved” in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37), and thus “troubled” over being betrayed by Judas (John 12:27 & 13:21), which gives Psalm 55 some typological fulfillment in Christ. Christians are also promised such “grief” (John 16:20 "Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” ~NKJV), but Christians are instructed not to be “troubled” (John 14:1 & 27).

TLXX, Vulgate, and Targums read like the stem is Hophal (“I am troubled”) instead of Hiphil (“I am causing vibrations”). NASB and NIV follow that passive reading. Peshitta seems to be out in left field with “hear.”
Delitzsch: “The cohortative not unfrequently signifies ‘I have to’ or ‘I must’ of incitements within one's self which are under the control of outward circumstances.”
Augustine’s commentary on this section focuses on not hating your enemies. It is an edifying message, but not exegetical.

UPeshitta reads “and turn to my cry and heed me,” but the Hebrew is “I am rambling in my complaint and I am making noise.”

VAquilla and Symmachus both started this verse with και (“and”) instead of the MT “[resulting] from” and added a word “the sound of the voice” instead of the MT “voice.”

WAquilla = anagkhV (“force”), Symmachus = enoclhsewV (“trouble”).

XAquilla and Symmachus both corrected the LXX to a word closer to the meaning of the MT with asebouV (“ungodly/impious”), although the meaning is not that much different.

YSymmachus = eperriyan (“they dash upon”)

ZSymmachus corrected to hnantiwqhsan (“opposed themselves”), which is closer to the MT.

AAThe Greek word behind this carries a more complex meaning than simply “brought” – literally it is “leaned out.”

AB“By the ‘voice’ some understand such a noise as is occasioned by a multitude of men; as if he had said, that the enemy [Absalom] was mustering many troops against him: but he rather alludes to the threatenings which we may suppose that Saul was in the habit of venting upon this innocent prophet… Our greatest comfort under persecution is conscious rectitude, the reflection that we have not deserved it; for there springs from this the hope that we will experience the help of the Lord, who is the shield and defense of the distressed.” ~Calvin

ACLXX, Peshitta, and Vulgate all add an “and” here.

ADHapex legomenon. Delitzsch: “...pressure or constraint of the evil-doer which he is compelled to feel... עָקָה is a more elegant Aramaizing word instead of צָרָה.”

AECohen: “‘they burden me with guilt,’ charging me with crimes of which I am innocent (Hirsch).”
cf. Psalm 13:3-4 “Look this way; answer me, Yahweh my God, cause there to be light toward my eyes, otherwise I will sleep the [sleep of] death. Otherwise my enemy will say, ‘I have bested him!’ My adversaries will rejoice that I am overthrown.” (NAW, cf. 38:17) This root is repeated in v.22.

AFThis Hebrew root only occurs 5 other times in the O.T., all before the Psalms: Gen. 27:41 (Esau resenting Jacob for getting Isaac’s blessing); Gen 49:23 & 50:15 (rivalries between Joseph and his brothers), and Job 16:9 & 30:21 (speaking of God bringing affliction to Job).

AGThis word is translated “devised” by Lamsa and “prayed” by Bauscher. This is a little different from the word in the MT, which has more to do with “casting,” but still isn’t inimical to the general meaning.

AHLamsa = “reproached,” Bauscher = “regarded with malice”

AIAquilla translated with a Greek word wdinhsen (“writhed in pangs”), closer in meaning to the Hebrew, while Symmachus translated with a word further away in meaning: diestrofato (“misled/perverted”).

AJAquilla (egkatw) and Symmachus (endon) preserved the Hebrew word קרב (“inner part”) omitted by the LXX.

AKSymmachus used a synonym for “fear” and pluralized it foberai to match the MT. The MT, however, used a more specialized word here in v.4 than the generic Hebrew word for “fear.” (The generic Hebrew word for fear is what opens v.5, but clearly it is synonymous, so this is not a significant change in meaning.)

ALOther instances of “my heart” + “in my inward part” = Ps. 39:4, Jer. 23:9, and Lam. 1:20.

AMKimchi explained this as the fear that they were trying to kill him.
The first few instances of this word in Genesis and Exodus describe proper fear when encountering God. The Sons of Korah, for instance in Psalm 88:14-16 “LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off.” (NKJV, cf. Isaiah 33:18).
LXX, Vulgate, and Peshitta are all singular, whereas the MT and Targums and Symmachus are plural.
The only instance in the New Testament of the Greek word for this word in the MT is 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear[timidity], but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (NKJV)

AN “darkness” – but that is not what the Hebrew says. A. = eilindhsiV (“wrap”?), S. = frikh (“shuddering”) – the latter is a good translation of the MT word.

AOThis word for “trembling” is not common. It is only found here and in Exodus 15:15, Psalms 2:11 & 48:6, and Isaiah 33:14. This “fear and trembling” is considered together so closely that, despite the compound subject, the verb “comes in” is singular. These words, however, are more frequently used to describe a proper response to God than they are used to describe dismayed believers.
The Greek words for “fear and trembling” here are found in the GNT in
1 Cor. 2:3 “And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.”
2 Cor. 7:15 “And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.”
Eph. 6:5 “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;”
Php. 2:12 “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (KJV)

APLXX and Vulgate (followed by KJV, NASB, and ESV) read “upon” instead of the MT “in,” and NIV & NLT omit the preposition altogether. Cohen and Fausset affirmed that the MT is “enter into me,” Cohen explaining it as “take possession of me.”

AQLit. “covers,” but English translations chose a figurative meaning.

ARThis word for “trembling” is not common. It is found only here and in Job 21:6, Isa. 21:4, and Ezek. 7:18. It appears that the LXX and Vulgate translators saw this word as stemming from a different Hebrew word with two of the same letters:אפלה (“darkness/dusk”), whereas the Peshitta translators saw it as stemming from צלמות (“shadow of death”).

ASA. metafrena – possibly a more-specific word for “pinions” (like the MT word is), or possibly a non-standard form of metaphorew, in which case the basic meaning would be “transfers.”

ATSymmachus = edrasqhnai (“to sit myself down”) This is a little more literal translation of the Hebrew.

AUThis word for “pinion-feather” is used only here, in Eze. 17:3, and in Isaiah 40:31 “But Yahweh's attendants will exchange strength; they will take wing like the eagles; they will run and not tire; they will walk and not grow faint.” (NAW)

AVInstead of the LXX “I went far, fleeing,” Symmachus rendered it porrw an epoihsa thn anacwrhsin mou “I would make distant my evacuation.” Neither is inimical to the MT.

AWThe only use of this Greek word in the New Testament is in the Gospels (Matt. 21:17; Lk. 21:37), describing Jesus camping out on the Mount of Olives near Bethany during Holy Week.

AXThe MT uses a word for “fleeing,” but the Peshitta just uses the same basic verb for “fly” that it did in the previous verse.

AY2^nd century Greek translators Aquilla, Theodotion, and Symmachus favored the MT reading with speusw/exaifnhV epoihsa (“I will hurry/make haste”).

AZCf. synonyms from Aquilla & Theodotion: diaswsmon (“safety” – this form of sozw is used to denote “healing” in the gospels {Matt. 14:36; Lk. 7:3}, and to denote safety from drowning in the rest of the NT {Acts 23:24; 27:43-44; 28:1, 4; 1 Pet. 3:20}), and Symmachus: ekfeuxin (“refuge”). In the N.T., this passive participle of sozw is used exclusively of persons who are saved by Jesus (Lk. 13:23; Acts 2:47; 1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15).

BAA.Q. = lailapwdouV (“waterspout?”), S. epairontoV (“sweeping” close to the meaning of the Targum’s word – this was the meaning Tate preferred in his commentary on the Psalms).

BB2^nd Century Greek versions all used the practical synonym lailapoV (“hurricane”).

BCHapex Legomenon, but the root is common as a verb, meaning “escape.” LXX renders it “salvation.”

BDHapex Legomenon. BDB suggested a meaning of “rushing” (as of “wind”), Holladay suggested a meaning of “slander” (as in a “spirit of slander”?), LXX & Vulgate suggest a meaning of “small/weak,” Targum suggests נטלא (Which seems to be translated “sweeping” in the Hebrew Union College Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, and translated “shelter” in Edward Cook’s translation of the Targums), and the Peshitta ignores it.
This word rhymes with the next, containing the same first two root letters and ending with a guttural.

BE“cast down” – somewhere in-between the meanings of the LXX and Peshitta (“drown”) and that of the MT (“swallow”).

BFSymmachus rendered this verb with the synonymous phrase asumfwnon poihson (“make so as not to be unified in voice”).

BGSymmachus was less accurate to the MT with oti eqewrhsa biaion adikian kai diadikasian en th polei. (“because I marveled that they were violently unrighteous and perverted? in the city.”)

BHLiterally “put under water” i.e. “drown”

BIAJV = “Destroy,” but Cohen vouched for “confuse.”
This verb appears somewhat abruptly, but perhaps it appears because it was in the message that David had just received from Hushai, his spy in Jerusalem in 2 Sam. 17:16. (This might also be an allusion to Moses’ song of God’s deliverance at the Red Sea in Exodus 15:10-13.)The only other instance of this word in Israel’s history was when the earth “swallowed up” Korah, Dathan, and Abiram when they rebelled against Moses. Jesus used the LXX’s verb when He said, “...whoever shall scandalize one of these little ones who believe in me, it bears together for him that a donkey-millstone might be hanged about his neck and that he might be drowned in the deep part of the lake.” (Matt. 18:6, NAW)

BJAs is often the case, this Hebrew word is pointed to indicate a 1^st person singular pronominal ending “my,” but no versions translate it that way.

BKTwo of the three other times this verb is used in the Old Testament refer to the division of tongues at the tower of Babel (Gen. 10:25; 1 Chr. 1:19, the third being the political division of land at a river in Job 38:25), so this could be an allusion to another one of God’s interventions in judgment. 2 Sam. 15:31 could be considered a specific answer to this prayer.

BLThis Hebrew word can mean “strive” in terms of “military warfare” or in terms of “courtroom litigation.” The mention of “division of tongues” earlier in the verse suggested to the ancient translators that this word should be translated in terms of verbal disputes, thus the Vulgate and LXX “gain-saying” and Peshitta “judgment.” In the NT, Jude and Hebrews use this word to denote controversies, but there is one passage which is Christological: Hebrews 12:3 “...He who persevered through such antagonism under the agency of sinners toward Himself...” (NAW)

BMInstead of “divide” like the MT, LXX, Vulgate, and Peshitta read “the conversation of.”

BNAquilla added “and harm” (anwfeleia), supporting the LXX and some editions of the Peshitta over the shorter reading of the MT.

BOSymmachus instead reads with a list of only two synonyms: odunhn kai talaipwrian (“pain and misery”).

BPLXX & Vulgate read singular “he/it,” but Targums and Peshitta support the MT with plural “they.”
Calvin and Henry interpreted the subject as the crimes of the treacherous persons inside the walls, whereas Delitzsch and G. Wilson interpreted it of the people themselves inside the walls.

BQLXX & Vulgate = hard labor, English versions: sorrow^KJV, mischief^NASB, abuse^NIV, trouble^ESV, Aramaic Targums & Peshitta = lies. Cf. the same two nouns in reverse order in Psalm 10:7 “It is a curse that fills His mouth – also deceit and oppression; under his tongue are trouble and iniquity.” (NAW)

BRBauscher’s translation of the Peshitta seems to be following a different edition with three nouns like the LXX and a different versification scheme. Lamsa’s translation reads like the Leiden Peshitta I have.

BSAquilla (epiboulh – “plotting”) and Symmachus (ephreiaV endon authV – “insurrections are in her”) made closer translations to the MT.

BTcf. Symmachus’ synonym acwriston (“did not vacate”).

BUThis is actually a transliteration of the Hebrew word, but the LXX translators equated it with the Hebrew terms for usury and interest neshek and tarbit.

BVcf. Symmachus’ synonyms zhmian kai epiqesin (“damage/loss and laying-it-on”).

BWcf. use of this noun in Psalm 5:9, 38:12, and 52:2&7. Cohen suggests “treacherous plots.”

BXLXX, Vulgate, and Leiden Peshitta do not repeat this word which was at the end of the previous verse, as the MT and Targums do. Since the word is already in the text in the previous verse, the meaning does not change by omitting it.

BYThe only other use of this verb in the Psalms is translated “feel/handle” (Psalm 115:7 “They have hands, but they cannot feel…” NASB), but in most other uses in the O.T., it is translated in terms of movement away from a place.

BZAlthough this word is singular in the MT, it is plural in the LXX, Vulgate, Targums, and Peshitta, as well as in the English versions. Cohen cites Kimchi describing this as “The public square where civic business is transacted.” G. Wilson also suggested “plaza.”

CAThis word occurs only 3 other places in the Hebrew O.T.: Psalm 10:7 (which also contains three other words from this verse and the previous); Psalm 72:14, and Prov. 29:13. It is generally translated “oppression,” although the LXX and Vulgate specify “usury” as the form of oppression.

CBLamsa does not omit “in the midst of her,” so perhaps there is another edition of the Peshitta he was following.

CCSymmachus used the synonym proephlakise (“forced”). The LXX verb is found in Matt. 5:11, Rom. 15:3, & 1Pet. 4:14

CDSymmachus used the synonym bastaxw (“I could bear”).

CELXX & Vulgate read “if” instead of the MT/Peshitta/Targum “not.” Peshitta, however omits the “for.” NIV follows the Peshitta instead of the MT or LXX or Vulgate.

CFThis verb is found earlier in Goliath’s taunts of David in 1 Samuel, as well as in the Psalms of Korah: 42:10 & 44:15-16.

CGLXX and Vulgate substitute “if” for “not,” but the Peshitta and Targums support the MT.

CH“was raised up” (instead of MT “he increased”)

CISymmachus used the synonym ‘omotropoV (“same type as”), which is closer to the MT. The only other instance of this word in the Greek Bible is Philippians 2:20, referring to Timothy.

CJSymmachus used the alternate translation sunhqhV (“habitual/customary/friend”), rejecting the valid interpretation of the MT which the LXX had made for “leader” for the other possible meaning of the Hebrew word in the MT. This was also Delitzsch’s approach.

CKTargums add “Ahithophel” here and “counselor” at the end.

CLIn the NIV Application Commentary, G. Wilson notes, “The use of ‘enosh (‘vulnerable human/man,’ 55:13) in this context emphasizes the openness and vulnerability of the relationship between these two.”

CMThe root meaning of arok is “order/arrangement/value,” not “equality,” and in none of its 32 other occurrences in the O.T. do English versions translate it “equal.” However, in this context, “my equal” ends up meaning the same thing as “according to my rank.”
“What heart-piercing significance this word obtains when found in the mouth of the second David, who, although the Son of God and peerless King, nevertheless entered into the most intimate human relationship as the Son of man to His disciples [Hebrews 2:11], and among them to that Iscariot!” ~Franz Delitzsch, 1891 AD

CNThis word has two meanings: 1) “Man of a thousand” – that is, commander of 1,000 troops, generally: the same as a clan leader, chief (“governor” in the N.T. Roman civil scheme), 2) “docility/friendship/association” thus a term for domesticated cattle. Most contemporary English versions translate along the lines of the second meaning, but the older versions translate according to the former (LXX & Vulgate = “leader,” Targums = “teacher,” KJV = “guide.” Peshitta is the exception with “neighbor”). It seems to me that the first applies better to Ahithophel. 61 out of the 69 times that this noun occurs in the NT, it uses the first meaning, and 100% of the instances in the Bible previous to Psalm 55 use the first meaning. Delitzsch however advocated for the latter meaning: “...from אָלַף, Arabic alifa, to be accustomed to anything, assuescere, signifies one attached to or devoted to any one...”

COThe root of this word is “know.” Targums instead = “imparted wisdom to me.” The LXX word, when used in the NT Gospels, seems to indicate a relative (Lk. 2:44; 23:49; Jn. 18:15-16).

CPAquilla: aporrhton (“partings?”), Symmachus ekoinologoumeqa (“made small talk?”).

CQSymmachus: anestrefomeqa sundiaitoumenoi (“habituated ourselves to dieting together?”).

CRThis verb only occurs 5 other times in the Bible: Exod. 15:25 (“sweet water”); Job 20:12 (“evil” in the “mouth” – the only other Hiphil); 21:33 (dirt “clods” to a buried body); 24:20 (a “worm” eating a dead body); Prov. 9:17 (“stolen water”), but its adjective form is more common, and is compared to “honey” (Judges 14:18; Psalms 19:10; Prov. 16:24; 24:13; 27:7; Ezekiel 3:3), “words” (Prov. 16:24), “light” (Eccl. 11:7), and “sleep” (Eccl. 5:12), and is the opposite of “bitter” (Prov. 27:7, Isa. 5:20). LXX and Vulgate = “sweetened, Peshitta = “ate,” Targums (ntritz) & 2^nd century Greek versions translated in terms of “talk.”
Regarding the verb tense, Delitzsch commented, “because the principal clause has a retrospective meaning that the futures נַמְתִּיק and נְהַלֵּךְ describe what was a custom in the past.”

CSThis word is not used in historical books in the O.T., so it is hard to pin down to a particular occasion. After this word comes disjunctive cantillation, separating the two strophes, so, “in the house of God” goes with “walked,” not with “made sweet counsel.” However, all the ancient versions translate this as some kind of food. Targums translates it rza = mystery/sacrament.

CTLike John the Baptizer’s parents whom Luke 1:6 says, “...were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” (NKJV)

CUPossibly Hapex legomenon, lexicographers define it in terms of “tumult,” with only about 5 other forms of the same root in the O.T. : Ps. 2:1 (the heathen “rage”); 64:2 (council of the wicked); and Dan. 6:6,11,15 (perhaps the gatherings of Daniel’s antagonists were ribald). Targums = srhwbiia (“haste”), but the ancient versions all read instead consensus^Latin, concord^LXX, harmony/agreement^Peshitta.

CVBoth Aquilla (epaxei “come upon”) and Symmachus (aifnidiwV epelqoi “suddenly come upon”) interpreted the Hebrew verb as more complex than the LXX “come,” but all interpreted the last part of this verb as “death.”

CWAquilla and Symmachus both translated with the synonym sustrofh (“seditious gathering”).

CXHapex Legomenon assumed to mean “desolation” (from the root ישם found in Gen. 47:19 and Ezek. 6:6, 12:19, and 19:7), requiring the verb to be an understood verb of being, which is not unusual. Alternately, the Qere (Masoretic margin note) suggests putting a space in the middle of this word (יַשִּׁי מָוֶת), changing it to a verb with an object “let death destroy,” using a verb only found here and in Ps. 35:17 & 89:23 (where it is translated “destruction, ravages, attacks, exact, outwit, deceive, get the better of, defeat,” among the KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, ESV, and NLT). LXX and Vulgate and most English versions which include the word “death” support the Qere. Bauscher’s translation of the Peshitta (“plague upon them”) appears to support the original MT, but the Leiden Peshitta, and Lamsa’s translation of it “Bring death upon them” supports the Qere. Targums also support the Qere – with added commentary (“He will condemn them to the judgement of death, and he will decree for them evil things, for Doeg and Achitophel” ~http://targum.info/pss/ps2.htm). Medieval Jewish commentators also supported the Qere: Rashi “may He incite death against them,” Kimchi “May He command that death overtake them.”

CYAn allusion to Korah, Dathan, and Abiram’s judgment in Numbers 16. Concerning the meaning of “alive”:
Cohen cites Metsudath David explaining, “Let them perish suddenly, while in good health, so that it be made obvious... that their death is… Divine visitation.”
Augustine: “What is ‘living’? knowing that they are perishing, and yet perishing… therefore unto the lower places living they go down, because the evil which they do, they know evil to be.”
Calvin: “...imprecating sudden and unexpected ruin upon them...”
Henry: “The souls of impenitent sinners go down quick, or alive, into hell, for they have a perfect sense of their miseries, and shall therefore live still, that they may be still miserable.”
Spurgeon: “While in the rigour of life into sheol let them sink, let them suddenly exchange the enjoyment of the quick or living of the dead.”
Delitzsch: “like the company of Korah, while their life is yet vigorous, that is to say, let them die a sudden, violent death”
G. Wilson: “abrupt and unexpected”

CZTargums translate this “pray” instead of its literal meaning “call,” and then translate the last verb in the verse “redeem” instead of its literal meaning “make safe.” In neither case is it a hostile edit, but not the most accurate.

DACuriously, the Peshitta does not use “Lord” like the MT and LXX, but substitutes “God.”

DBThis follows the Targum ‎ אצלי (“I bow”) rather than the MT technically, but I think it is the best translation of the standard English versions.

DCThis is the only time in the Bible that these three time words occur in the same verse, but “morning and evening” frequently occur together to indicate creation days, mealtimes, and times of sacrifice and incense, and “morning and midday” shows up in three other places, two of which describe vain calling upon a god (1 Ki. 18:26; Jer. 20:16).

DDThe ongoing nature of this sort of verbalization is the focus of this Hebrew root, not the negativity of it. The idea is more “running commentary, praying without ceasing, incessant talking or muttering.”

DEAlthough the MT (followed by the Targums ארגישׁ “I rage”) uses a specialized word for verbalizing, the LXX, Vulgate, and Peshitta all read as though they were translating the simple Hebrew word for speaking.

DFSyriac reads “I will make myself heard” instead of “He will hear,” which does not change the overall meaning.

DGSymmachus offered another preposition that could interpret the Hebrew: proV “toward,” but the LXX “with” is a better translation of the MT.

DHMT is 3ms perfect tense. Peshitta reads as though it were 2ms imperative, and LXX & Vulgate (followed by the NASB) reads as though it were future tense. Cf. Psalm 49:15.

DILXX (and Symmachus) & Vulgate (followed by AJV) translate as though it were the homonym “be near,” but this form meaning “battle” is found in 2 Sam. 17:11; Job 38:23; Ps. 55:19, 22; 68:31; 78:9; 144:1; Eccl. 9:18, and Zech. 14:3. Targums adds the word “evil” to describe what is assaulting David, whereas Peshitta has a rather outlier translation “those who are wise.” This word occurs again in v.21. Delitzsch wrote a paragraph on this, but it doesn’t seem to actually make any assertions as to what the text means.
The following Hebrew word (li) can mean “against me,” or “belonging to me;” the ESV is quite alone in the latter interpretation. It doesn’t make sense for David to be claiming a battle as his own and then have God “redeem” him from it.

DJ“Beth essentiae serves here, as it does frequently, e.g., Ps. 39:7, to denote the qualification of the subject. “ ~Delitzsch

DKOut of 41 instances of this word, only three (all in the book of Job) are translated “against me” in any of the standard English versions. BDB allows for “against” with adversative verbs, but there is no adversative verb here. Holladay doesn’t even list “against” as a definition in his lexicon.

DLThe Peshitta is imperative (“redeem”), but the MT is indicative (“he redeemed”).

DM“those who are wise” - compare with MT “in peace from battle”

DN“contending” – different from the MT “with multitudes”

DOEither Lamsa mistook ‘imi for tamid, or he was translating another edition of the Peshitta which reads “continuously” instead of “against me.”

DPSymmachus (though apparently not Aquilla) edited from the LXX reading (“existing”) to the MT reading (“sitting”).

DQSymmachus rendered with the synonymous phrase ap’ archV, aei (“from the beginning, eternal”).

DRThere are two Hebrew roots which are spelled the same with ענה, one of which means “make low” and one of which means “answer.” Calvin commented, “There seems no doubt that the word signifies here to afflict or punish, although this is rather its signification implicitly and by a species of irony; for, most commonly anah means to answer.” (Delitzsch quotes Hengstenberg in agreement with what Calvin wrote.) The NASB, however, followed the Targums (יקבל “receive”) in interpreting it in the latter sense, until its 2011 revision, which joined all the other ancient and modern versions that used the former. The “them” which is the indirect object of this verb, and which would have to refer to the unrepentant men who had no fear of God, makes the translation “He will answer them” untenable, for David’s enemies aren’t asking God for anything. (Another interpretation is “testify” – held by Saadia and Ibn Ezra, but Delitzsch rightfully dismissed it.)

DSAlthough the Targums agree with the MT, the Vulgate, LXX, and Peshitta all read as though they were translating the verb of being rather than the word for “sit/dwell.”

DTOf the 10 times this word occurs outside of this passage, 7 (Gen. 45:22; Jdg. 14:12-13, 19; 2 Ki. 5:5, 22-23) are combined with the word בגדים (“changes of garments”), 2 indicate a project where workers changed shifts (1 Ki. 5:28, Job 10:17), and 1 along the lines of personal renewal/resurrection (Job 14:14).

DUThis appears to be a verb of being rather than the MT verb “sit/dwell.”

DVAquilla translated with a synonym apesteile (“sent”) closer to the MT word.

DWAquilla and Symmachus translated along the lines of “those at peace” (eirhnikoiV/eirhneuontaV) rather than the LXX “to pay back” although either meaning (plus the meaning of “friend”) can be gotten out of the Hebrew word.

DXLXX, Symmachus, Vulgate, and Syriac all render this verb plural, which would require an extra letter in the Hebrew.

DYAugustine applied these words to the heretic Donatus for trying to say that only his followers in Africa were the true church. To counter this, Augustine said that Donatus was denying the Abrahamic covenant of Gen. 12 which says, “In thy seed shall be blessed all nations.”

DZSymmachus corrected to the reading of the MT: leiotera bouturou ta stomata (“smoother than butter the mouths”) – although curiously, he turned the MT singular into the plural “their mouths.”

EASymmachus interpreted along the lines of the Peshitta and Targums with polemei (“he fights”).

EBSymmachus = apalwteroi (“more tender”)

ECAquilla = logcai (“spears”), Symmachus = anatmhtikoi (“meat-cleavers”) but these are synonyms.

EDThe Hebrew root carries a wide range of meaning, including “disperse, divide, allot, share equally, smooth, flatter.” The LXX, Vulgate, and Peshitta interpreted it according the first two meanings, whereas the Targums and English versions interpreted it according to the latter meanings. The latter meaning brings the two halves of the verse together in synonymous parallelism, so it is to be preferred. Revelation 6:16 is the only NT passage that I could marshal in support of the ancient versions (“and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!’” NKJV) – and nowhere else does a “heart” “draw near” (although Isaiah 29:13 states the converse).

EEHapex Legomenon interpreted by Symmachus (bouturou) and Targums (shemen) (and by all English versions) as based on the Hebrew word for “butter” (חמאה), but the LXX, Vulgate, and Peshitta all interpreted it as based on the Hebrew word for “wrath” (חמא). Delitzsch explained, “מ belongs to the noun itself, and the denominative מחמאות (from חֶמְאָה), like מַֽעֲדַנֹּות (from עֵדֶן), dainties, signifies articles of food prepared from curdled milk; here it is used figuratively of “milk-words” or “butter-words” which come from the lips of the hypocrite softly, sweetly, and supplely as cream.”

EFThere is a minor punctuation here in the Masoretic cantillation. The LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac all translated it as though it were spelled פָּנָיו (“his face/presence”), whereas the Targums support the MT with “his mouth.”

EGThis Hebrew root (which occurred earlier in vs.10, 15, and 18 and is colored the same) can mean “battle/war/attack” or it can mean “near/close/within.” The LXX and Vulgate interpreted it with the latter meaning while the Aramaic and English versions interpret it with the former meaning. A problem with interpreting it in that former sense is that there is no preposition to legitimize the translation “war in his heart” and “war IS his heart” is an odd assertion.
Augustine interpreted God as the subject in this verse and applied this passage by stating the principle that heretical teachings are often the stimulus for the faithful to clarify doctrines better than ever before, and that if you find some orthodox doctrines hard to understand, godliness will make it easier to accept them. “Behold by the division of heretics many hard things have been softened: His discourses that were hard have been softened above oil, and they are themselves darts.” But I am not aware of any other Bible scholar who took the position that God was the subject of this verse.

EHThere is a major punctuation in the Masoretic cantillation here, forming the division between the two lines of poetry in this verse.

EIAnother Hapex Legomenon, this one based on the word for “open,” traditionally translated “drawn swords.”

EJBauscher = “they were troubled,” Lamsa = “they were afraid”

EKPeshitta misinterpreted the Hebrew pronoun “they” for a verb “sharp/effective.”

ELAquilla, Symmachus, and “E” all translated this word as agaphsei (“love”) instead of the LXX “anxieties.”

EMNot used in the NT, but common in the LXX for “keep alive/nourish.” It also occurs in Psalms 22:2; 30:4; 32:19 (add 1 to the chapter numbers and subtract 1 from the verses to get the English Bible references).

ENAccording to the standard Hebrew lexicons, this word has more to do with “what comes to you” than with “cares” (a point which Calvin argued definitively, and his editor supported with citations from “Williams” and from “Rogers” who preferred the translation “allotment.”), but the ancient versions are pretty uniform in supporting “cares.” Kittel suggested that the Hebrew word could mean “cares” if pointed differently יְחֻבְּךָ. Delitzsch explained, “Rabba bar-Chana, B. Rosh ha-Shana, 26b, and elsewhere, ‘I was walking with an Arabian (Nabataean?) tradesman, and happened to be carrying a heavy pack. And he said to me, שׁקיל יהביך ושׁדי אגמלאי, Take thy burden and throw it on my camel.’ Hence it is wiser to refer יְהָב to יָהַב, to give, apportion, than to a stem יָהַב = יָאַב, Ps.119:131 (root אב, או), to desire; so that it consequently does not mean desiring, longing, care, but that which is imposed, laid upon one, assigned or allotted to one (Böttcher).”

EOSame root occurs in v.4 (where I have given it the same color).
Calvin: “the righteous for a time are left to stagger, and almost to sink under the storms by which they are beset. From this distressing state David here declares, that they shall be eventually freed, and blessed with a peaceful termination of all their harassing dangers and cares.” And in a footnote is added “Fry reads, ‘He will not permit for ever the displacing, moving, tossing, or slipping of the righteous.’” Cohen objected to this interpretation, however. Cf. Psalm 15:5, 16:8, 21:7

EPLamsa = “fear want” (which is basically the same as the Targums chosrna), Bauscher = “terror” – closer to the root meaning of the MT “shaking/displacement.” Lamsa and Bauscher may have been looking at two different editions of the Peshitta.

EQSymmachus translated with a synonym for “pit” (lakkon).

ERSymmachus = miaifonoi (“defiled voices?”) The LXX is a better translation of the Hebrew.

ESAquilla = epiqesewV (“laying on [of hands]”) The LXX is a better translation of the Hebrew.

ETTargums = “Gehenem” “Pit of destruction” occurs nowhere else in the Bible, but the Greek word for “pit” is the same as the one in Revelation 9:1-2 in the phrase “bottomless pit,” and the Greek word for “corruption/destruction” is found in the NT only in the book of Acts to describe the physical process of decay of a dead person’s body (Acts 2:27, 31; 13:34-37).
“The ‘pit of corruption’ is the darkness of sinking under. ‘When blind leadeth blind, they both fall into a ditch’ (Matt. 15:14).” ~Augustine
Matthew Henry and Charles Spurgeon saw it more as “hell.”
Calvin: “The ruin which awaits their enemies is here declared to be deadly, as God will cast them into the grave, that they may rot there.” (Gerald Wilson, in the NIV Application Commentary, also equated it with “the grave.”)

EU“[L]et them not suppose that we thus wrongly understand ‘men of bloods,’ of them that kill souls… who slay souls by leading astray, spiritually…” ~Augustine

EVLit. “not divide” This figure of speech occurs nowhere else in the Bible, but Aramaic versions explain as “not complete” (Peshitta) or “not view parts” (Targums). Only 14 other occurrences of this verb in the MT (Gen. 32:8; 33:1; Exod. 21:35; Num. 31:27, 42; Jdg. 7:16; 9:43; 2 Ki. 2:8, 14; Job 40:30; Isa. 30:28; Ezek. 37:22; Dan. 11:4).
Augustine interpreted it in terms of Jeremiah 17:11 and 2 Tim. 3:9-12: “For he is that partridge, whereof hath been said, ‘In the half of his days they shall leave him, and in his last days he shall be an unwise one.’ They make progress, but for a time. For what saith the Apostle? ‘But evil men and seducers shall make progress for the worse, themselves erring, and other men into error driving... But further they shall not make progress,’ that is, ‘shall not halve their days.’”

EWLXX and Vulgate add “O Lord,” and Targums instead add “word.” Neither are essential changes to the meaning.

EX“complete” – this explains better what the MT means by “half.”

10