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.