TRANSLATIONS IN ENGLISH

Transcription

1 1 PSALMS OF DAVID TRANSLATIONS IN ENGLISH Paul AS Harvey Penname: Stean Anthony

2 Paul AS Harvey (Stean Anthony): Lectures on the Psalms in English versions [Revised Lecture Sept 2013] Psalm Twenty-Eight Text and Notes. Miles Coverdale 1535 Psalm Twenty-eight 1662 BCP (copy used from a PDF file modern-spelling edition of Psalms, the Coverdale translation edited by W. S. Peterson and Valerie Macys.) Ad te, Domine 1 Unto thee will I cry, O Lord, my strength; think no scorn of me, lest, if thou make as though thou hearest not, I become like them that go down into the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my humble petitions, when I cry unto thee, when I hold up my hands towards the mercy-seat of thy holy temple. 3 O pluck me not away, neither destroy me with the ungodly and wicked doers, which speak friendly to their neighbours, but imagine mischief in their hearts. 4 Reward them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their own inventions. 5 Recompense them after the work of their hands; pay them that they have deserved. 6 For they regard not in their mind the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands; therefore shall he break them down, and not build them up. 7 Praised be the Lord; for he hath heard the voice of my humble petitions. 8 The Lord is my strength, and my shield; my heart hath trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart danceth for joy, and in my song will I praise him. 9 The Lord is my strength, and he is the wholesome defence of his Anointed. 10 O save thy people, and give thy blessing unto thine inheritance; feed them, and set them up for ever. King James 1611 Psalm Twenty-eight 1 Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle. 3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. 4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. 5 Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up. 6 Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. 7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. 8 The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. 9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever. Sternhold and Hopkins H&S 1562 Psalm Twenty-eight 1 Thou art, O Lord, my strength and stay the succor which I crave. Neglect me not, lest I be like them that are laid in grave. 2 My voice and supplications hear, when unto thee I cry, When I lift up my hands unto thy holy ark most high. 3 Repute me not among those men in sin that take their fill, That speak right fair unto their friends, but think in heart full ill. 4 According to those wicked deeds which they did most regard, And after their inventions, Lord, let them receive reward. 5 Because they never mind the works of God, he will therefore, Instead of building of them up, destroy them evermore. 6 To render thanks unto the Lord, how great a cause have I, My voice, my prayer, and my complaint, that heard so willingly! 7 He is my shield and fortitude, my buckler in distress, My heart rejoiceth greatly, and my song shall him confess. 8 He is our strength and our defence, our foes for to resist, The health and the salvation of his own elect by Christ. 9 Thy people and thy heritage, Lord, bless, guide, and preserve. Increase them, Lord, and rule their hearts, that they may never swerve. 2

3 3 Tate and Brady T&B 1696 Psalm Twenty-eight 1 O Lord, my rock, to thee I cry, In sighs consume my breath. O answer, or I shall become Like those that sleep in death. 2 Regard my supplication, Lord, The cries that I repeat, With weeping eyes and lifted hands Before thy mercy seat. 3 Let me escape the sinner s doom Who make a trade of ill, And ever speak the person fair, Whose blood they mean to spill. 4 According to their crimes extent Let justice have its course; Relentless be to them, as they Have sinned without remorse. 5 Since they the works of God despise, Nor will his grace adore; His wrath shall utterly destroy, And build them up no more. 6 But I, with due acknowledgement, His praises will resound, From whom the cries of my distress A gracious answer found. 7 My heart its confidence reposed In God, my strength and shield; In him I trusted, and returned Triumphant from the field. As he hath made my joys complete, Tis just that I should raise The cheerful tribute of my thanks, And thus resound his praise. 8 His aiding power supports the troops That my just cause maintain; Twas he advanced me to the throne, Tis he secures my reign. 9 Preserve thy chosen, and proceed Thine heritage to bless; With plenty prosper them in peace; In battle with success. Philip Sidney Psalm Twenty-eight c To thee, O Lord, my cry I send; O my strength, stop not thine ear, Lest if answer thou forbear, I be like them that descend To the pit, where flesh doth end.

4 4 2 Therefore while that I may cry, While I that way hold my hands Where thy sanctuary stands: To thyself those words apply, Which from suing voice do fly. 3 Link not me in selfsame chain, With the wicked-working folk: Who their spotted thoughts to cloak, Neighbours friendly entertain, When in hearts they malice mean. 4 Spare not them, give them reward, As their deeds have purchased it, As deserves their wicked wit; Fare they, as their hands have fared; Even so be their guerdon shared. 5 To thy works they give no eye Let them be thrown down by thee; Let them not restored be. But let me give praises high To the Lord, that hears my cry. 6 That God is my strength, my shield; All my trust on him was set, And so I did safety get. So shall I with joy be filled, So my songs his lauds shall yield. 7 God on them his strength doth lay. Who his anointed helpèd have. Lord, then still thy people save; Bless thine heritage, I say, Feed and lift them up for aye. Isaac Watts Psalm 28: Omitted from the book. Samuel Wesley Psalm 28 (Interpreted as a Christian hymn) 1 To thee, my Lord, my Rock, I cry, Ah! do not reject my prayer; My prayer if thou reject, I die, Like those who perish in despair, The unbeliever s doom I meet, And sink into the burning pit. 2 The voice of my complaint attend, While earnest I implore thy grace, While at thy feet my soul I bend, And worship towards thy holy place, Lift up my heart, and humbly claim Thy pardoning love in Jesu s name. 3 With sinners sweep me not away, False workers of iniquity, Whose souls thou wilt for ever slay, Because thy works they will not see,

5 5 Or mercy at thy hands receive, Or timely come to thee, and live. 4 Blessed be the Lord! For he hath heard The voice of my continued prayer; I thought he would at last regard A soul that cast on him his care: On him I with my heart believed, And I am helped, and I am saved. 5 Wherefore my heart with joy is filled, And dances to the Saviour s name; He is my more than sevenfold shield; In songs my Helper I proclaim, The strength of all that trust in him, All-good, almighty to redeem! 6 Thou strength of thine anointed ones! Thine own persist to save and bless, Cherish, and raise us up, thy sons, To perfect power and perfect peace; Exalt us all on earth to prove Thine height of everlasting love. Scottish Psalter Twenty-eight (1650 revised 1880) 1 st version 1 To thee I ll cry, O Lord, my rock; Hold not thy peace to me; Lest like those who to death go down I by thy silence be. 2 The voice hear of my humble prayers, When unto thee I cry; When to thy holy oracle I lift my hands on high. 3 With ill men draw me not away That work iniquity; That speak peace to their friends, while in Their hearts doth mischief lie. 4 Give them according to their deeds And evil of their way; After the work of their own hands Do thou to them repay. 5 God shall not build, but them destroy, Who would not understand The Lord s own works, nor did regard The doing of his hand. 6 For ever blessed be the Lord, For graciously he heard The voice of my petitions, and My prayers did regard. 7 The Lord s my strength and shield; My heart upon him did rely, And I am helped; hence my heart Doth joy exceedingly.

6 6 8 And with my song I will him praise. Their strength is God alone He also is the saving strength Of his anointed one. 9 O thine own people do thou save. Bless thine inheritance; Them also do thou feed, and them For evermore advance. Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord my Rock. Psalm 28:1 Author unknown, music by William Henry Monk O Lord, to Thee I cry; Thou art my Rock and Trust; O be not silent, lest I die And slumber in the dust. 2 O hear me when in prayer Thy favor I entreat; Hear, while I lift imploring hands Before Thy mercy seat. 3 O draw me not away With those of evil will; With them who speak of peace indeed, But still are plotting ill. 4 Requite them for their wrong, Their evil deeds, O Lord; O give them then their just desert, And to their deeds reward. 5 Thy deeds they disregard, Thy handiwork despise; And therefore Thou wilt cast them down And never let them rise. 6 But blessèd be the Lord Who hearkens when I cry; The Lord, my Strength, my Help, my Shield, On Him will I rely. 7 His help makes glad my heart, And songs of praise I sing; Jehovah is His people s Strength, The Stronghold of their king. 8 Bless Thine inheritance, Our Savior be, I pray; Supply Thou all Thy people s need, And be their constant Stay. Psalms for All Seasons (Faith Alive, 2012). Psalm 28 (Martin Leckebusch 2002): 1 I call to you, my Rock, Lord hear my earnest prayer. If you ignore my plea, how can I not despair? As I reach out, make this the place, Of fresh encounters with your grace,

7 7 Of fresh encounters with your grace. 2 May I be spared the fate of those who cling to sin, Whose friendly words belie malicious thoughts within, Would ruin not be my reward If I should disregard you, Lord, If I should disregard you, Lord. 3 But you have heard my prayer, in you I will be strong, Since I rely on you my heart is filled with song. Yes, Lord, I sing to you, my Rock. Eternal Shepherd, guard your flock. Eternal Shepherd, guard your flock. Christopher L. Webber, A New Metrical Psalter (Church Hymnal Corp., 1986) Psalm 28: Missing from his book. New Revised Standard Version: Psalm Twenty-eight 1 To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me, for if you are silent to me, I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. 2 Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. 3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who are workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors, while mischief is in their hearts. 4 Repay them according to their work, and according to the evil of their deeds; repay them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. 5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, or the work of his hands, he will break them down and build them up no more. 6 Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. 7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. 8 The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. 9 O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever. 1 Notes: words and phrases & general interpretation & meaning TNIV: a prayer for deliverance from malicious and godless enemies. Reference to the Lord as shepherd connects this to Ps 23. Plea for mercy opposed to the pit. Rock as metaphor for God cp pit = grave lift up hands gesture meaning prayer. Deeds of the Lord: acts of salvation for Israel. Save and bless: formula for present and future salvation. Note also the two part structure of this psalm (as often) 1-5 cry for mercy 6-9 praise God. NAB: a lament by the psalmist, taking refuge in the temple, asking that he be not punished with the wicked who are heading for destruction. Statement of praise strong and vigorous, ending with a prayer. Holy place innermost part of the temple, holy of holies, i.e. where the ark of the covenant is kept, replicated in Synagogues and Churches (orthodox especially). Barnes: word used for Holy of holies used only here and Chronicles and Kings. The idea here is that he who prayed, stretched out his hands toward that sacred place where God was supposed to dwell. So we stretch out our hands toward heaven - the sacred dwelling-place of God. The Hebrew word is probably derived from the verb to speak; according to this derivation, the idea is that God spoke to His people; that He answered their prayers from that sacred recess - His special dwelling-place. For verse 6: Blessed be the Lord see Is Barnes: Feed them also - [transl as shepherd them]: The Hebrew word refers to the care which a shepherd extends over his flock. See Ps 32.1, where the same word, under another form - shepherd - is used. The prayer is, that God would take the same care of His people that a shepherd takes of his flock. Robert Alter: v.1-2 Possible pun or echo in the words chosen: teherash: be deaf tehesheh: be silent [with the negative do not be]. The Masoretic text The Lord is their strength but the Sept. The Lord is his people s strength a difference of one ayin can change the meaning, easily enough missed in transcription from ancient times. Comment about the ending: either it is an editorially introduced ending drawn from a repertory of stock phrases or there is a continuity of meaning (perhaps both in fact). James Mays: (1) emphasis on the silence of the pit, sheol, the grave. a place of silence where neither God s word nor the voice of praise is heard see Ps (2) in verse 6 praise for the Lord for hearing and helping, implies that the prayer has been answered. (3) the psalm holds the psalmist, the people, the anointed, and the purpose of God together in an inseparable unity (this is part of what the prayer-poem is intended for).

8 Craigie: [a good discussion of the Lord as Rock] the word rock designates permanence, strength and security. It is an old appellation for God in the Hebrew tradition, being used in the earliest poetry (cf. Gen stone Deut 32.4 rock) in early Israel the rock symbol was probably linked to the rocky Mount Sinai which symbolized the everlasting covenant but in the context of Ps 28 the rock may be linked to the most holy place, which was built on the rock foundation. [Comment on 28.5] the words are distinguished by the change in the form of address from second person to third person. [pash] Distinguishing the content, & also in some psalms this kind of anomaly is a hint as to how the psalms were assembled together. Spurgeon Treasury of David: nothing particular of note. Notes on words: Think no scorn: treat me not with scorn, cast me not away Make as though thou hearest: if you behave as though you hear not my pleas Mercy-seat: the ark of the covenant Buckler: small round shield, with a handle for warding Sleep in death: sleep was used as a euphemism for death in the Bible, Sleep in the Lord Suing: pleading, petitioning Guerdon: reward, recompense a word found in all the old European languages, from Old French Let us learn a couple of Hebrew words for each psalm. Transliteration: barak Phonetic Spelling: (baw-rak') Short Definition: bless Transliteration: ki Phonetic Spelling: (kee) Short Definition: conjunction, because Transliteration: shama Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-mah') Short Definition: heard Transliteration: qol Phonetic Spelling: (kol) Short Definition: voice Transliteration: tachanun Phonetic Spelling: (takh-an-un) Short Definition: supplications v. 7 Blessed is the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my prayer. Baruch hashem ki-sha ma kol tachanunai. 2 Notes: literary comparison & evaluation. Which of these versions communicates the Psalmist s feelings? Coverdale: Strongly phrased as usual but otherwise unremarkable. The phrasing of v. 8 is a good prayer-statement, a short poetic-phrase My heart danceth for joy, and in my song will I praise him. In KJV this is my heart greatly rejoiceth KJV: v 1 is a good verse, be not silent to me an eloquent phrase. Holy Oracle an unusual translation an error. v 3 strongly phrased speak peace but mischief in their hearts. v 9 reads better than Coverdale this is the better literary version today. S&H: Unusually the psalm is given a Christian interpretation (with a Calvinist emphasis) his own elect by Christ. Unremarkable version, ending rather weak. T&B: a rather dull version, lacking the elegance found earlier Sidney: rhyme as often v. ambitious abbaa. However it lacks Sidney s skill and wit. Not v. good. Wesley: a line here which is not written by Wesley?? Whose souls thou wilt for ever slay God does not destroy souls! He changes the original somewhat anointed ones at the end. Rather clumsy and ill-considered phrases I thought he would at last regard nuance implies that God may be tardy? Not a good version. Scottish Psalter: oracle used in this trans. Verses 6 & 7 clarity and simplicity of diction works well as is often best. Otherwise unremarkable Unto Thee will I cry, Psalm 28:1 smoothly phrased but otherwise unremarkable. Psalms for All Seasons (Martin Leckebusch 2002): a good song in a modern style with refrain. Psalm 28 口語訳 Japanese ダビデの歌 1: 主よ わたしはあなたにむかって呼ばわります わが岩よ わたしにむかって / 耳しいとならないでください もしあなたが黙っておられるならば おそらく わたしは墓に下る者と等しくなるでしょう 2: わたしがあなたにむかって助けを求め あなたの至聖所にむかって手をあげるとき わたしの願いの声を聞いてください 3: 悪しき者および悪を行う者らと共に / わたしを引き行かないでください 彼らはその隣り人とむつまじく語るけれども その心には害悪をいだく者です 8

9 4: どうぞ そのわざにしたがい その悪しき行いにしたがって彼らに報い その手のわざにしたがって彼らに報い その受くべき罰を彼らに与えてください 5: 彼らは主のもろもろのみわざと み手のわざとを顧みないゆえに 主は彼らを倒して 再び建てられることはない 6: 主はほむべきかな 主はわたしの願いの声を聞かれた 7: 主はわが力 わが盾 わたしの心は主に寄り頼む わたしは助けを得たので わたしの心は大いに喜び 歌をもって主をほめたたえる 8: 主はその民の力 その油そそがれた者の救のとりでである 9: どうぞ あなたの民を救い あなたの嗣業を恵み 彼らの牧者となって とこしえに彼らをいだき導いてください Psalm 28.9 A good song 28.9 u re 'em ve nas se 'em ad-ha 'o lam! 28.9 Feed and sustain them forever! NAB [thy people O Lord] 28.9 Feed them also and lift them up forever! KJV [thy people O Lord] 28.9 Be their shepherd and carry them forever! NIV [thy people O Lord] (shepherd metaphor Ps 23) Some words and phrases from the Orthodox Jewish Bible (this version incorporates Hebrew words as English text, many of these terms are central to an understanding of both the OT and the NT, translated into Greek they formed the Churches and the faith of Europe and the world) ḥ = ch (loch or german nacht) š = sh ḵ = kh Tachanun: supplications ta ḥă nū nay used in the Psalms Qodesh: holy qō ḏeš haq qō ḏeš Exodus onwards common word Shalom: peace šā lōm Genesis onwards common word Yad: hand (also power & metaphorical uses) yā ḏōw yāḏ bə yaḏ common word Baruk Adonai kîšā ma qōl taḥănūnay! Blessed be the Lord because heard my supplications (see above) Oz: strength ōz uzzeḵā uzzî used in the psalms Yə šū ō wṯ: saving, salvation, deliverance [12 occurences Psalms & Isaiah] (Yishi root) [see also Psalm 27] Mə šî ḥōw: the anointed one [6 occurences in Psalms and Samuel] christos Am: folk, people hā ām ammî Ure'em: [from ra'ah verb to pasture] be their shepherd (figurative meaning) Ve nasse'em: [from nasa verb to carry] and carry, sustain, bear Ad-: for Ha'olam: Ever, long duration [common term used with ref to God, etc important term everlasting covenant Gen 9.16 ] Septuagint (this is what Saint Paul read, for the early church a key is here) 28.8 κύριος κραταίωμα τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ ὑπερασπιστὴς τῶν σωτηρίων τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν. Soterion tou christou saving the anointed, here is Jesus Christ (saving = soterion = the Hebrew root Yishi = Yeshua = Jesus) For the earliest Church this is surely a holy key, a prophecy, eternal truth. 9 amen