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Sunday, June 6. 2010

From today's Lectionary

Psalm 30


30:1 I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.

30:2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.

30:3 O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

30:4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.

30:5 For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

30:6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved."

30:7 By your favor, O LORD, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.

30:8 To you, O LORD, I cried, and to the LORD I made supplication:

30:9 "What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?

30:10 Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me! O LORD, be my helper!"

30:11 You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

30:12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Posted by Bird Dog at 05:26 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

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This psalm opens the daily morning service in synagogue.

Overall a pretty good translation.
Notice the use of the names "Lord" (=G-d as merciful parent) and "G-d" (= G-d as judge)

In the Hebrew canon, this starts with "For the choirmaster, a song of David".

1) "extol" in Hebrew literally means "I will elevate you" - relevant to the imagery of the verse.

2) "cried" comes from the root meaning "salvation" - so it's a yearning for help, a cri de couer.

3) "sheol" is not a place, it just means "the grave". The word "pit" is general, not necessarily a grave.
"restored me to life" is one word that means "resuscitated"

4) Original just says "sing to the Lord..."

5) The first part is actually a rhyming couplet that reads "For a moment in His anger, is a lifetime in his favor..."
The word for "favor" means "desiring, being pleased with" - an intimate relationship, rather than a kingly notion. This is the same word as in "accept with favor" or "Be pleased, oh Lord, with our prayers" that repeats in the Jewish prayer book.
The second part can be interpreted as referring to a person: "one goes to sleep in tears" but wakes "to joy in the morn."

6) "prosperity" is better translated as "serenity" and here it means "complaisance"

7) "By your favor" = "it was your will"- meaning, not by dint of my own efforts. This is what the author has learned from their (temporary) trouble.
"dismayed" is the much stronger "confused" or "confounded" in the original.

8) The first "Lord" is the tetragrammaton, the second one is literally spelled as "Lord". Implying two different acceptances of G-d - as creator, and master.

9) Different word for "pit" is used here - more specific to a grave. Second phrase can also be rendered as "does dust praise you, or tell your truths"

10) "be gracious" can also mean "pardon".
"Be my helper" is literally "be an aid to me"

11) "Clothed me with joy" is literally "girded me with joy".

12) "My soul" is literally "my honor" - a secondary meaning
rarely used outside the Psalms, but relevant to the speaker's new understanding following their troubles - see verses 6-7.
#1 Ben David on 2010-06-07 03:14 (Reply)
Sorry - in verse 6 should be "complacence" not "complaisance"
#1.1 Ben David on 2010-06-07 03:17 (Reply)

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