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A PETITION FOR DIVINE GUIDANCE

"My prayer is prepared as incense before thee,
The lifting up of my hands as an evening oblation.

Set, O Jehovah, a watch over my mouth,

A guard at the door of my lips.

'Incline not my mind to evil,
Wickedly to commit foul deeds
With men who practice iniquity;

Let me never taste of their dainties,

"May the oil of the wicked not rest on my head,
But may my prayer be ever1 against their malice.

"May their rulers be hurled down beside the rock;
'As one splits open and bursts asunder on the ground,m
May their bones be scattered at Sheol's mouth.

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find the sentence, having no connection with its context, and they hear my words, for they are pleasMany reconstructions have been suggested, but, removing these obvious glosses, the thought and unity of the ps. become reasonably clear.

ant.

141 Or, interpreting the Heb. word as a verb, keep.

141 So Gk. and Syr., supported by the context, the meaning being let me not receive the hospitality of the wicked, which included pouring oil upon the heads of guests. It is closely parallel in thought to the last line of 4.

1141 Slightly revising the Heb., which is obviously corrupt.

m1417 Following Briggs (Pss., II, 509).

1418 Heb. adds Jehovah, and certain Heb. MSS. have the variant reading God, suggesting that both are secondary.

149 Slightly revising the Heb.

P141 Following the Gk. in correcting a scribal error.

414110 Following a suggestion of the Gk. in slightly revising the difficult Heb.

$141 This vigorous, impassioned ps. was originally individual rather than national. Vss. and imply that the author was in prison and deserted by his friends. He regards his vindication as the vindication of the cause of the righteous, whom he prominently represents. The data

are not sufficient to determine the exact period from which this ps. comes. It fits well in the mouth of the high priest Onias III, who was betrayed by his associates and driven into exile during the closing years of the Gk. period.

1421 Jehovah is apparently here addressed. Some commentators would interpret the verb in the first person, but there is no basis in the Heb.

Protect from evil act

Judge the wicked

Protect thy servant

Hear the cry

of thy servant

And deliver from prison

Forgive and

pardon

Deliver and guide

None is there who recognizeth me,
Nowhere is there a refuge for me,
There is none that careth for my life.

"To thee I cry, O Jehovah;

I say, 'My refuge art thou,

My portion in the land of the living.
"Give heed to my cry,"

For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my pursuers,
For they are stronger than I.
70 bring me forth from prison,

That I may give thanks to thy name,
That the righteous may recognize with me,t

That thou dealest kindly with me.'

§ 142. An Importunate Prayer for Speedy Help, Ps. 143

Ps. 143 1O Jehovah, hear my prayer, give ear to my supplications;

In thy faithfulness and righteousness answer me; enter not into judg

ment with me,"

Because in thy sight no man who liveth can be justified.

"The enemy pursueth my life, he stampeth me to earth;

He compelleth me to dwell in darkness, like those who have been long dead.

'My spirit within me fainteth, and my mind is numb.

'I remember the days of old, I meditate on all thy works,

I muse on the works of thy hands; I spread them forth to thee.

Like a land that is parched, my soul thirsteth2 for thee.

"Answer me quickly, O Jehovah; my spirit is failing;

Hide not thy face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the grave. Make me early hear of thy lovingkindness, for in thee do I trust; Show me the way in which I should walk, for unto thee is my longing. 'Deliver me, O Jehovah, from mine enemies, for unto thee do I flee." 10Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God;

May thy gracious spirit ever lead me in a wayb that is straight.

142 In this and the following vs. the intensity of the psalmist's thought leads him to fall into the strenuous two-beat measure.

1427 Slightly revising the Heb., which reads in me.

§ 142 This ps. is a mosaic of phrases and vss. taken from Lam., II Is., and especially from earlier pss. Like many of the pss. of this type, it was probably originally personal but was well adapted to express the feelings of the faithful in the Judean community during the latter part of the Gk, and the beginning of the Maccabean periods.

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1436 Adding the verb required by the context.

1439 So one Heb. MS. The readings of the VSS. vary.

b14310 Revising the traditional Heb. with the aid of certain Heb. MSS.

PRAYER FOR SPEEDY HELP

"For thy name's sake, O Jehovah, revive me, bring me out of trouble; 12In thy lovingkindness cut off my foes, and destroy all mine opposers; For I am thy servant.

§ 143. Jehovah the Warrior's Stay, Ps. 1441-11

Ps. 144 1Blessed be Jehovah my Rock,
Who traineth my hands to fight,
My fingers, likewise, to make war;
"My kindness, my fortress, my stronghold,
My deliverer," my shield, and my refuge,
Who subdueth peoples' under me.

"Bow the heavens, O Jehovah, and come down,
Touch the mountains" that they may smoke,
"Flash forth the lightning and scatter them,
Send forth thine arrows and terrify them.

What

he does for his people

May he now deliver them

"Stretch forth thy hand from on high,

Pluck me forth from the mighty waters,

Deliver me from the hand of foreigners,

Whose mouth doth speak deceit,

Whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

A new song will I sing to thee,

With a lyre of ten strings will I play to thee,

10Who giveth victory to kings,

Who saveth his servants from the hurtful sword.

"Deliver me from the hand of foreigners,

Whose mouth doth speak deceit,

And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⚫ 14311 Omitting in thy righteousness, which is not found in the Gk. and is not supported by the context.

§ 143 This ps., like the preceding, is a composite of lines taken from Pss. 8, 33, 104, and especially from 18. The metrical symmetry of the ps. and the close logical connection between the first and second stanzas are interrupted by the insertion of 85:

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

The son of man, that thou considerest him?

and another vs. taken from 394, 5. The warlike spirit that breathes through this ps. is clearly that of the Maccabean era.

d1441 Supplying the connective required to complete the measure.

• 1442 So four Heb. MSS. Trad. Heb. adds to me.

1144 So certain Heb. MSS. Lat., Syr., and Targ. Heb., my people.

#1445 So two Heb. MSS., Syr., and Targ. Heb., thy heavens.

b1447 A scribe, by mistake, has transferred this verb to the middle of the vs.

144 Omitting God, which destroys the measure of the vs. and from its position is, without reasonable doubt, a later addition.

i14410 A scribe has added David.

14410 A scribe, influenced by the reading in 7, has added here the verb pluck me forth.

Their tribute

of praise

Jeho-
vah's
deliver-
ances
of his
people
in the
past

Jehovah, Israel's only salvation

II

PETITIONS FOR DELIVERANCE FROM HEATHEN OPPRESSORS
Pss. 44, 59, 60, 74, 79, 80

§ 144. Prayer for Deliverance from Powerful Foes, Ps. 44

Ps. 44 10 Jehovah,a with our ears have we heard,
And our fathers have recounted to us

The work which thou didst do in their days,
Thy signs in the days of old:

"Nations thou didst dispossess and plant them,
Peoples thou didst afflict and spread abroad,d
For by their sword they did not possess the land,
Nor did their own arm give them the victory;
But it was thy right hand and thy arm,

And with the light of thy face didst thou favor them.

"It is thou who art my king,

Commanding the salvation of Jacob.
"Through thee we thrust down our foes,
In thy name we tread down our opponents,
"For not in my bow do I trust,'

And my sword doth not deliver me.

"But thou hast saved us from our adversaries,
And thou hast put to shame those who hate us.
In Jehovah have we boasted continually,
And praised thy name forever.

Petitions for Deliverance from Heathen Oppressors.-The pss. of this group are all national and the foes described are outside the Jewish community. Most of them come from the days of the Maccabean struggle.

5.

§ 144 This ps. is closely related to Ps. 22 and is full of echoes of II Is. Cf., e. g., 2, We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. The woes recounted are very similar to those described in Lam. The note of faith and hope, however, is much stronger. The psalmist is clearly speaking in behalf of the community, for he frequently passes from the sing. to the plural, e. g., 5, 7-10, 13, 14. In 12 he speaks of thy people in the same way as he refers to us in the next vs. The abrupt transitions from the first sing. and plural and then to the third person is one of the peculiarities of the ps. It is a good example of a collective national ps. Its date is evidently the earlier half of the Persian period. Pathetic, indeed, in this setting is the impassioned cry in the concluding stanza, 23-28, which presents a dramatic contrast to the recital of Jehovah's acts of deliverance for his people in the past.

441 Heb., God. The original reading Jehovah, which a later editor has changed throughout these pss. to God, has been restored in the above translation.

6441 This line is evidently corrupt. The present reading, Thou, thy hand, is unintelligible. A slight change in the Heb. letters, however, gives the above rendering, which is in harmony with the context. The initial word of 2 also belongs to the close of

442 The reference in this vs. seems to be to the period of the Judges, when Jehovah dispossessed the older Canaanite peoples in order that the chosen people might inhabit the land. Cf. Am. 29.

d442 Correcting the Heb. in accordance with the demands of the context. This interpretation of 2 is strongly supported by 3.

44 Dividing the Heb. letters differently from the accepted text and as suggested by Gk.A Heb., God of the commandment.

and Syr.

1446 Vss. 6-8 may be secondary, for they simply expand in the first person the thought of 3.

DELIVERANCE FROM POWERFUL FOES

"But thou hast cast off and put us to shame,
And goest not forth with our hosts.

10 Thouh makest us turn back from our adversary,
And our haters rob us at will.

"Thou hast given us up as sheep to be devoured,
And thou hast scattered us among the nations.
12Thou sellest thy people for nought,i

And hast not enriched thyself by their sale.
13Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors,
To be mocked and derided by those about us.
14Thou hast made us a byword among the nations,
A shaking of the head among the peoples.
15 My confusion is before me all the day long,

And shame doth cover my face,i

16At the voice of him who reproacheth and revileth,

Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

17Though all this hath come upon us, we have not forgotten thee,

Neither have we falsely broken' thy covenant.

18Our heart hath not turned backward,

And our steps have not turned aside from thy path,

19Though thou hast crushed us down in the place of jackals,

And with deep darkness thou hast covered us over.

20 Had we ever forgotten the name of our God,
Or spread forth our hands to an alien god,

21 Would not Jehovah have searched this out?
For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
22 For thy sake we are slain all the day long,"
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

23 Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?
Arise, cast us not off forever.

24Why dost thou hide thy face

Forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

25 For our life is bowed down to dust,o

And our body cleaveth to the ground.

Present calamities

Israel faithful in the

presence of calam

ity

Let

Jeho-
vah
speedily
arise
to de-
liver

26 Arise for our help,"

And redeem us for thy kindness' sake.

#44 Certain Gk. MSS. and Syr. add the pronominal suffix us.

h4410 Possibly, following certain MSS., God or Jehovah should here be added.

14412 Lit, for no wealth. The thought is that Jehovah had delivered the people into the hands

of the foes without seeming reason or compensation.

14415 Lit., shame of my face doth cover me.

4417 I. e., the calamity and disgrace that has overtaken the community.

14417 Lit., dealt falsely with.

m4419 I. e., the wilderness where jackals howl.

n44 I. e., our life is one prolonged tragedy.

044 I. e., hangs on the verge of the grave.

P44 The peril and distress of the poet is effectively expressed by the two-beat measure. The words are an echo of the ancient war-cry uttered when the Hebrews took up the ark, Nu. 10.

DorM

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