Mazmur 114:1--115:18
Konteks114:1 When Israel left Egypt,
when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind, 2
114:2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his kingdom.
114:3 The sea looked and fled; 3
the Jordan River 4 turned back. 5
114:4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs. 6
114:5 Why do you flee, O sea?
Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?
114:6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,
like lambs, O hills?
114:7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord –
before the God of Jacob,
114:8 who turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard rock into springs of water! 7
115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us!
But to your name bring honor, 9
for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness. 10
115:2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
115:3 Our God is in heaven!
He does whatever he pleases! 11
115:4 Their 12 idols are made of silver and gold –
they are man-made. 13
115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
115:6 ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell,
115:7 hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats. 14
115:8 Those who make them will end up 15 like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
115:9 O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their deliverer 16 and protector. 17
115:10 O family 18 of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their deliverer 19 and protector. 20
115:11 You loyal followers of the Lord, 21 trust in the Lord!
He is their deliverer 22 and protector. 23
115:12 The Lord takes notice of us, 24 he will bless 25 –
he will bless the family 26 of Israel,
he will bless the family of Aaron.
115:13 He will bless his loyal followers, 27
both young and old. 28
115:14 May he increase your numbers,
yours and your children’s! 29
115:15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the creator 30 of heaven and earth!
115:16 The heavens belong to the Lord, 31
but the earth he has given to mankind. 32
115:17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death. 33
115:18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
[114:1] 1 sn Psalm 114. The psalmist recalls the events of the exodus and conquest and celebrates God’s kingship over his covenant people.
[114:1] 2 tn Heb “the house of Jacob from a nation speaking a foreign language.” The Hebrew verb לָעַז (la’at, “to speak a foreign language”) occurs only here in the OT.
[114:3] 3 sn The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).
[114:3] 4 tn Heb “the Jordan” (also in v. 5). The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[114:3] 5 sn The psalmist recalls the crossing of the Jordan River (Josh 3:13, 16).
[114:4] 6 sn The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. This may recall the theophany at Sinai when the mountain shook before God’s presence (Exod 19:18).
[114:8] 7 sn In v. 8 the psalmist recalls the event(s) recorded in Exod 17:6 and/or Num 20:11 (see also Deut 8:15 and Ps 78:15-16, 20).
[115:1] 8 sn Psalm 115. The psalmist affirms that Israel’s God is superior to pagan idols and urges Israel to place their confidence in him.
[115:1] 10 sn The psalmist asks the
[115:3] 11 sn He does whatever he pleases. Such sovereignty is characteristic of kings (see Eccl 8:3).
[115:4] 12 tn The referent of the pronominal suffix is “the nations” (v. 2).
[115:4] 13 tn Heb “the work of the hands of man.”
[115:7] 14 tn Heb “they cannot mutter in their throats.” Verse 5a refers to speaking, v. 7c to inarticulate sounds made in the throat (see M. Dahood, Psalms [AB], 3:140-41).
[115:8] 15 tn Heb “will be.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a prayer, “may those who make them end up like them.”
[115:8] sn Because the idols are lifeless, they cannot help their worshipers in times of crisis. Consequently the worshipers end up as dead as the gods in which they trust.
[115:9] 16 tn Or “[source of] help.”
[115:9] 17 tn Heb “and their shield.”
[115:10] 19 tn Or “[source of] help.”
[115:10] 20 tn Heb “and their shield.”
[115:11] 21 tn Heb “[you] fearers of the
[115:11] 22 tn Or “[source of] help.”
[115:11] 23 tn Heb “and their shield.”
[115:12] 24 tn Or “remembers us.”
[115:12] 25 tn Another option is to translate the prefixed form of the verb “bless” in vv. 12-13 as a jussive, “may he bless” (see v. 14).
[115:13] 27 tn Heb “the fearers of the
[115:13] 28 tn Heb “the small along with the great.” The translation assumes that “small” and “great” here refer to age (see 2 Chr 15:13). Another option is to translate “both the insignificant and the prominent” (see Job 3:19; cf. NEB “high and low alike”).
[115:14] 29 tn Heb “may he add to you, to you and your sons.” The prefixed verbal form is jussive, indicating this is a prayer.
[115:16] 31 tn Heb “the heavens [are] heavens to the
[115:16] 32 tn Heb “to the sons of man.”
[115:17] 33 tn Heb “silence,” a metonymy here for death (see Ps 94:17).