Mazmur 23:6
Konteks23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness 1 will pursue 2 me all my days, 3
and I will live in 4 the Lord’s house 5 for the rest of my life. 6
Mazmur 27:4-6
Konteks27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –
this is what I desire!
I want to live 7 in the Lord’s house 8 all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor 9 of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
27:5 He will surely 10 give me shelter 11 in the day of danger; 12
he will hide me in his home; 13
he will place me 14 on an inaccessible rocky summit. 15
27:6 Now I will triumph
over my enemies who surround me! 16
I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy! 17
I will sing praises to the Lord!
[23:6] 1 tn The noun חֶסֶד (khesed; v. 6) has been the subject of several monographs. G. R. Clark concludes that חֶסֶד “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.” He explains that an act of חֶסֶד is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him- or herself.” (See G. R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267.) HALOT 336-37 s.v. defines the word as “loyalty,” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate meanings might be “commitment” and “devotion.”
[23:6] 2 tn The use of רָדַף (radaf, “pursue, chase”) with טוֹב וָחֶסֶד (tov vakhesed, “goodness and faithfulness”) as subject is ironic. This is the only place in the entire OT where either of these nouns appears as the subject of this verb רָדַף (radaf, “pursue”). This verb is often used to describe the hostile actions of enemies. One might expect the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 5) to chase him, but ironically God’s “goodness and faithfulness” (which are personified and stand by metonymy for God himself) pursue him instead. The word “pursue” is used outside of its normal context in an ironic manner and creates a unique, but pleasant word picture of God’s favor (or a kind God) “chasing down” the one whom he loves.
[23:6] 3 tn Heb “all the days of my life.”
[23:6] 4 tn The verb form וְשַׁבְתִּי (vÿshavtiy) is a Qal perfect (with vav [ו] consecutive), first common singular, from שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) and should be translated, “and I will return.” But this makes no sense when construed with the following phrase, “in the house of the
[23:6] 5 tn Heb “the house of the
[23:6] 6 tn The phrase אֹרֶךְ יָמִים (’orekh yamim, “length of days”) is traditionally translated “forever.” However, this phrase, when used elsewhere of people, usually refers to a lengthy period of time, such as one’s lifetime, and does not mean “forever” in the sense of eternity. (Cf. Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20.) Furthermore, the parallel phrase “all the days of my life” suggests this more limited meaning. Psalm 21:4, where the phrase is followed by “forever and ever,” may be an exception, though the juxtaposition of the phrases may be an example of intensification, where the second phrase goes beyond the limits of the first, rather than synonymity. Even if one takes both expressions as referring to eternal life, the language is part of the king’s hyperbolic description of the
[27:4] 8 sn The
[27:5] 10 tn Or “for he will.” The translation assumes the כִּי (ki) is asseverative here, rather than causal.
[27:5] 11 tn Heb “he will hide me in his hut.”
[27:5] 14 tn The three imperfect verb forms in v. 5 anticipate a positive response to the prayer offered in vv. 7-12.
[27:5] 15 tn Heb “on a rocky summit he lifts me up.” The
[27:6] 16 tn Heb “and now my head will be lifted up over my enemies all around me.”
[27:6] sn In vv. 1-3 the psalmist generalizes, but here we discover that he is facing a crisis and is under attack from enemies (see vv. 11-12).
[27:6] 17 tn Heb “I will sacrifice in his tent sacrifices of a shout for joy” (that is, “sacrifices accompanied by a joyful shout”).