יד כִּי שָׁמַעְתִּי, דִּבַּת רַבִּים-- מָגוֹר מִסָּבִיב:בְּהִוָּסְדָם יַחַד עָלַי; לָקַחַת נַפְשִׁי זָמָמוּ.

For I have heard the whispering of many, terror on every side; while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life. (Psalm 31:13)

Careful hearing, attending, noting...
Inaccuracies, untruths, slanders...
Abundant, large, amazing...
Fear, anxiety, wait, to leave the path...
All around, circling, sorrounding;
Consulting, meeting, talking...
Alike, at once, united...
Plan, cause, consider...
Receive, accept, seize...
Breathing, soul, potential...

Hearing great untruths all about I left the path considering urgently how to redeem my soul.

יג נִשְׁכַּחְתִּי, כְּמֵת מִלֵּב; הָיִיתִי, כִּכְלִי אֹבֵד

I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a useless vessel. (Psalm 31:12)

Ignore, neglect, wither...
Perish, execute, murder...

Mind, will, heart, understanding;

Coming, arising, becoming...

Confuse, lose, eliminate...

Practical and purposeful use.

Verb-verb-noun; verb-verb-noun. I am not so much translating as attempting to uncover a meaning within the poetic imagry.

The noun kelee - translated above as vessel - is very context sensitive. It is also translated as armor, baggage, clothing, goods, utensil, weapons, yoke, and more. It is a thing fulfilling a practical purpose.

To neglect is to murder what is essential, becoming lost and useless.

Above is taken from Les Belles Heures.

יב מִכָּל-צֹרְרַי הָיִיתִי חֶרְפָּה, וְלִשְׁכֵנַי מְאֹד-- וּפַחַד לִמְיֻדָּעָי:רֹאַי בַּחוּץ-- נָדְדוּ מִמֶּנִּי.

Because of all mine adversaries I am become a reproach, yea, unto my neighbours exceedingly, and a dread to mine acquaintance; they that see me without flee from me. (Psalm 31:11)

Emerging from, through, out of...

the whole, totality, each-and-every...

of my constraints, distress, boundedness...

has come, been established, continued..

Scorn, shame, contempt, humiliation...

Specifically, in particular, strongly...

by those with whom I abide, live, work;

I am fearful, intimitating, unnerving...

to those who know, learn, perceive;

Those who see, regard, observe, give attention...

to the outside, outward appearance, exterior...

Depart, are chased away, retreat.

The psalms are full of adversaries -tsarar - which is to be bound, constrained, besieged. The tsarar in my life are more often self-created.

יא כִּי כָלוּ בְיָגוֹן, חַיַּי-- וּשְׁנוֹתַי בַּאֲנָחָה:כָּשַׁל בַּעֲו‍ֹנִי כֹחִי; וַעֲצָמַי עָשֵׁשׁוּ.

For my life is spent in sorrow, and my years in sighing; my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are wasted away. (Psalm 31:10)

My living, becoming, restoration...

is completed, fulfilled, accomplished...

in grief and anguish...

And my appointed time, measure, lifetime...

with groans and mourning;

Power, might, potential...

stumbles, staggers, totters...

because of bending, twisting, distorting;

Bone, essence, substance...

is consumed, fails, falters.

Can we read - should we read - that grief is a path to fulfillment? It was for Jesus.

We so often seek to avoid sorrows. Is this a distorting of reality?

Are we called to embrace the sorrows of this world as a means of resurrection (chayay)?

י חָנֵּנִי יְהוָה, כִּי צַר-לִי:עָשְׁשָׁה בְכַעַס עֵינִי; נַפְשִׁי וּבִטְנִי

Be gracious unto me, O Lord, for I am in distress; mine eye wasteth away with vexation, yea, my soul and my body. (Psalm 31: 9)

Abide, dwell, be with me, if necessary besiege me...

Existing one, past-present-future, I am what I am, ultimate reality...

I am bound up, constrained, shut up, confined to a tight place.

My seeing, insight, perception, fountain of life...

And my motivation, passion, fundamental self...

And my physical health, strength, gut...

Have been consumed, undermined, exhausted, expended, broken...

By anger, provocation, bitterness, indignation, frustration.

There is external cause, we are often provoked. But even more important is our internal response. Do we react in anger and indignation? Or do we find a more creative response?

Above is the flogging of Jesus from Les Belles Heures.

ט וְלֹא הִסְגַּרְתַּנִי, בְּיַד-אוֹיֵב; הֶעֱמַדְתָּ בַמֶּרְחָב רַגְלָי

And Thou hast not given me over into the hand of the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a broad place. (Psalm 31:8)

You have not constrained me, tied me down, turned me over, shut me up, imprisoned me...

To the strength, power, authority...

of adversaries, hostilities, anger;

You have caused me to stand, walk, arise, continue, abide, take a stand...

In an expansive, growing, large, open, wide open place.

Thank you.

ח אָגִילָה וְאֶשְׂמְחָה, בְּחַסְדֶּךָ:אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתָ, אֶת-עָנְיִי; יָדַעְתָּ, בְּצָרוֹת נַפְשִׁי.

I will be glad and rejoice in Thy lovingkindness; for Thou hast seen mine affliction, Thou hast taken cognizance of the troubles of my soul, (Psalm 31:7)

The Hebrew for glad (giyl) and rejoice (samach) are distinct words, but their difference is subtle. Giyl might be a kind of internal joy, even a trembling of strongly felt gratitude. Samach can be a more public expression of joy, as in a shared victory or religious experience.

I am overjoyed by God's chesed: kindness, empathy, goodness, loveliness, generosity, and grace.

God has seen, looked at, given attention to my self-generated afflictions: depression, humiliation, anxiety, and regret.

God has recognized, perceived, known intimately the confined nature, tightness, and narrowness of my fundamental condition, passions, inner life, and motivations.

We are so often ignored or dismissed. Just to be noticed is sometimes enough to generate joy.

ז שָׂנֵאתִי, הַשֹּׁמְרִים הַבְלֵי-שָׁוְא; וַאֲנִי, אֶל-יְהוָה בָּטָחְתִּי

I hate them that regard lying vanities; but I trust in the Lord. (Psalm 31:6)

I do not value, strongly oppose, fiercely dislike, hotly contest...

Watching over, promoting, remembering, celebrating, engaging...

Empty, false, worthless, undermining...

Illusion, delusion, nothingness, vapour, self-assertion...

Confident, feel safe, am carefree, secure, bold...

That which exists, that which is becoming, ultimate reality.

What is not God is illusion. What is real is divine.

Above is a Centaur from Les Belles Heures.

ו בְּיָדְךָ, אַפְקִיד רוּחִי: פָּדִיתָ אוֹתִי יְהוָה--אֵל אֱמֶת.

Into Thy hand I commit my spirit; Thou hast redeemed me, O LORD, Thou God of truth. (Psalm 31:5)

Your instrument of power, active strength, creative organ...

I will seek for, attend to, visit, need...

to be ransomed, rescued, delivered...

Existing one, past-present-future, I-am...

Master of reality, pillar of the universe, mighty one...

Who is firm, faithful, sure, reliable.

According to Luke's gospel Jesus quoted from this passage just before dying on the cross.

ה תּוֹצִיאֵנִי--מֵרֶשֶׁת זוּ, טָמְנוּ לִי: כִּי-אַתָּה, מָעוּזִּי

Bring me forth out of the net that they have hidden for me; for Thou art my stronghold. (Psalm 31: 4)

Pull me out, bring forth, come out, come forth, go forth...

From the net, from the trap, from my possessing, from poverty, from destruction, from disinheritance...

Hidden, concealed, buried, with which I have hidden myself;

For you are a fortress, a harbour, a stronghold, a refuge, source of strength, a rock.

We might even read: Bring forth from hidden traps great strength.

ד כִּי-סַלְעִי וּמְצוּדָתִי אָתָּה; וּלְמַעַן שִׁמְךָ, תַּנְחֵנִי וּתְנַהֲלֵנִי.

For Thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for Thy name's sake lead me and guide me. (Psalm 31:3)

You are my crag, cliff, stronghold and my net, prey, siege works. You are my place of hiding and that which seeks to flush me out of hiding.

For the sake of your purpose, in view of your intent, in order to advance your own identity: your integrity, your place, and that which you originally conceived...

Lead me and guide me to the source of your waters, to the place of rest, to refreshment, to each of the milestones on a shared journey to the goal.

The image of God as both stronghold and siege works is a wonderful aspect of the Hebrew: A place of protection from evil and a breaking-down of barriers to experiencing God's intention.

For we must leave the rocky hiding place in order to continue toward the goal.

ג הַטֵּה אֵלַי, אָזְנְךָ-- מְהֵרָה הַצִּילֵנִי:הֱיֵה לִי, לְצוּר-מָעוֹז--לְבֵית מְצוּדוֹת לְהוֹשִׁיעֵנִי.

Incline Thine ear unto me, deliver me speedily; be Thou to me a rock of refuge, even a fortress of defence, to save me. (Psalm 31:2)

Listen to me. Save me. Tear me away. Strip me. Pluck me out. Choose me. Now.

Enclose me, shut me up, if necessary besiege me with your strength. Catch me in your net, build siege-works to tear down my walls. Hunt and capture me.

The English implies a rescue. I hear in the Hebrew more of an assault.

The pslamist is invoking God's help in breaking down the barriers in which the psalmist has imprisoned himself.

ב בְּךָ-יְהוָה חָסִיתִי, אַל-אֵבוֹשָׁה לְעוֹלָם; בְּצִדְקָתְךָ פַלְּטֵנִי

In thee, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Thy righteousness. (Psalm 31: 1)

In you Jehovah have I taken taken refuge. In you Existing One I have taken refuge. In that which is, I have taken refuge. In ultimate reality I have taken refuge.

Let me not be ashamed. Let me not be confused. Let me not be mistaken about reality.

May your righteous self save me. Preserve me within your identity. May I escape into the wholeness of justice and fulfillment. Make me real.

א לַמְנַצֵּחַ, מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד
For the Leader. A Psalm of David.
Psalm 31 Preface

The psalms are hymns or chants. In Hebrew they are the Tehilim - praises - offered to God.

Psalm comes from the Greek meaning songs to be sung to a harp.

For several years the 31st Psalm has had particular meaning for me.

Over the next twenty-three days I will examine each verse of this psalm.

The psalm is ascribed to King David. The leader in this case is the choir director.

Above is a miniature of King David from the Glasgow Hours.