Psalms:
Bk 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
Bk 2: 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72
Bk 3: 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89
Bk 4: 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106
Bk 5: 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119a 119b 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132
133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
Additional Psalms: 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 Samuel Chronicles
Essays: Intro - Music - Form & Language
At a Jewish funeral, after the coffin has been laid in the ground and the earth back-filled, the prayer "Tsiduk ha-Din" , "the Justification of the Judgement", is recited* - for which see my note at Psalm 29:10.
* This does not apply if Tachanun is omitted for any reason, nor if the Shabbat or a festival is about to commence.
After this, the Mourner's Kaddish is the final act of liturgy at the graveside, but Kaddish always requires prologuing by a Psalm, and it is Psalm 49 which it is customary to recite at this point.49:1 LA MENATSE'ACH LIVNEY KORACH MIZMOR
לַמְנַצֵּחַ לִבְנֵי קֹרַח מִזְמוֹר
BN (BibleNet translation): For the Aristic Director; a Mizmor for the Beney Korach.
Dedication, genre. KJ merges verse 1 into the title and moves verse numbers forward accordingly; I have noted this in the brackets.
49:2 SHIM'U ZOT KOL HA AMIM HA'AZIYNU KOL YOSHVEY CHALED
Dedication, genre. KJ merges verse 1 into the title and moves verse numbers forward accordingly; I have noted this in the brackets.
49:2 SHIM'U ZOT KOL HA AMIM HA'AZIYNU KOL YOSHVEY CHALED
שִׁמְעוּ זֹאת כָּל הָעַמִּים הַאֲזִינוּ כָּל יֹשְׁבֵי חָלֶד
KJ (49:1): Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:
BN: Hear this, all you peoples; listen closely, all you inhabitants of the world.
SHIM'U... HA'AZIYNU: We have encountered both of these with Mosheh, and also in an earlier Psalm.
CHALED: The root actually means "to dig", and a mole, or possibly a weasel, is a CHOLED, presumably from both of their habits of digging burrows into the earth to make a home. There is also the Prophetess CHULDAH, in 2 Kings 22:14 and 2 Chronicles 34:22, who we are told was living in Yeru-Shala'im, "in the Mishneh" - my link to Chronicles takes you to the Sefaria edition, and specifically to the section which comments: you will arrive at Rashi's comments, but there are numerous more attempting to explain how a person, any person let alone a Prophet, let alone a Prophetess, could be ensconced in the study-chambers of the Temple. And if you want to dig until you find yet one more answer, one which may well also explain how she acquired her name, try here.
SHIM'U... HA'AZIYNU: We have encountered both of these with Mosheh, and also in an earlier Psalm.
CHALED: The root actually means "to dig", and a mole, or possibly a weasel, is a CHOLED, presumably from both of their habits of digging burrows into the earth to make a home. There is also the Prophetess CHULDAH, in 2 Kings 22:14 and 2 Chronicles 34:22, who we are told was living in Yeru-Shala'im, "in the Mishneh" - my link to Chronicles takes you to the Sefaria edition, and specifically to the section which comments: you will arrive at Rashi's comments, but there are numerous more attempting to explain how a person, any person let alone a Prophet, let alone a Prophetess, could be ensconced in the study-chambers of the Temple. And if you want to dig until you find yet one more answer, one which may well also explain how she acquired her name, try here.
All that aside, how does "dig" get to become "world". Via the Aramaic, where it is an entirely different word, the root CHALAD meaning "to endure" or "to continue". Presumably, when Aramaic and Yehudit met and merged, like Viking and Saxon in Middle Aengland, two meanings became one. See Job 11:17 for its usage in Aramaic.
And then, just to make matters still more complex, see my note at Zechariah 6:10.
49:3 GAM BENEY ADAM GAM BENEY ISH YACHAD ASHIYR VE EVYON
49:3 GAM BENEY ADAM GAM BENEY ISH YACHAD ASHIYR VE EVYON
גַּם בְּנֵי אָדָם גַּם בְּנֵי אִישׁ יַחַד עָשִׁיר וְאֶבְיוֹן
KJ (49:2): Both low and high, rich and poor together.
BN: Both humans in general, and individual individuals, rich and poor together.
The KJ translation simply ducks half the words. BENEY ADAM are Human Beings, BENEY ISH are the sons of any specific person; a rather nice distinction which my translation explains, but lengthily, because we really don't have an equivalent expression in English.
49:4 PI YEDABER CHACHMOT VE HAGUT LIBI TEVUNOT
The KJ translation simply ducks half the words. BENEY ADAM are Human Beings, BENEY ISH are the sons of any specific person; a rather nice distinction which my translation explains, but lengthily, because we really don't have an equivalent expression in English.
49:4 PI YEDABER CHACHMOT VE HAGUT LIBI TEVUNOT
פִּי יְדַבֵּר חָכְמוֹת וְהָגוּת לִבִּי תְבוּנוֹת
KJ (49:3): My mouth shall speak of wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
BN: My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
PI: Really this should be PI'I.
HAGUT: is that a definite article or a single noun? And is it singular or plural?
CHACHMOT: Chochmas, in the Yiddish pronunciation - though the Yiddish use of the word always has a slight edge of irony, as though the person were less being wise than satirical or witty or just plain clever-clever. Sadly, there is a strong temptation, especially given the nature of what follows, to translate this as "My mouth shall pour out platitudes...", but it is also worth noting more seriously that yet again a Psalm for the Beney Korach appears to have educational context, even if it is not formally a Maskil, a "teaching" Psalm.
Increasingly I find myself wondering if the Beney Korach were not the apprentices, learning and gaining practical experience concurrently, and then, when their seven years were completed and they became, so to speak, Freemen of the Guild, they would leave the Beney Korach and join, I presume, the Beney Asaph - while retaining their places in the choir and orchestra, but possibly moving up a row, or ready to do so at the next retirement.
49:5 ATEH LE MASHAL AZNI EPHTACH BE CHINOR CHIYDATI
49:5 ATEH LE MASHAL AZNI EPHTACH BE CHINOR CHIYDATI
אַטֶּה לְמָשָׁל אָזְנִי אֶפְתַּח בְּכִנּוֹר חִידָתִי
KJ (49:4): I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
BN: I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
MASHAL: The Yehudit name for "The Book of Proverbs", taken from its opening verse (which, just like the Psalms to David, is a dedication to Shelomoh, not a claim that he wrote them). For a fuller explanation of the concept of a MASHAL, see my note at Judges 8:22.
49:6 LAMAH IYR'A BIY'MEI RA AVON AKEVAI YESUVENI
MASHAL: The Yehudit name for "The Book of Proverbs", taken from its opening verse (which, just like the Psalms to David, is a dedication to Shelomoh, not a claim that he wrote them). For a fuller explanation of the concept of a MASHAL, see my note at Judges 8:22.
49:6 LAMAH IYR'A BIY'MEI RA AVON AKEVAI YESUVENI
לָמָּה אִירָא בִּימֵי רָע עֲוֹן עֲקֵבַי יְסוּבֵּנִי
KJ: Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
BN: Why should I feel fear when times are troubled, when everything bad in life is suddenly biting at my heels?
AKEVAI: From EKEV meaning the "heel". The phrase is an idiom, rather than a literal expression, whence my usage of the English equivalent.
And at last we can begin to understand why this was the Psalm chosen to prologue the Mourner's Kaddish at the graveside.
49:7 HA BOT'CHIM AL CHEYLAM U VE ROV ASHRAM YIT'HALALU
הַבֹּטְחִים עַל חֵילָם וּבְרֹב עָשְׁרָם יִתְהַלָּלוּ
KJ (49:6): They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
BN: Those who place their trust in their wealth, and brag about the quantity of their riches...
49:8 ACH LO PHADOH YIPHDEH ISH LO YITEN L'ELOHIM KAPHRO
49:8 ACH LO PHADOH YIPHDEH ISH LO YITEN L'ELOHIM KAPHRO
אָח לֹא פָדֹה יִפְדֶּה אִישׁ לֹא יִתֵּן לֵאלֹהִים כָּפְרוֹ
KJ (49:7): None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
BN: None of them have the means of redeeming a kinsman, because you cannot pay pawn-money to the gods;
PHADOH: There is spiritual redemption, and there are the goods that you take to the pawnbroker when cash is urgently needed, and which you then redeem when you have the means again. Spiritual redemption is generally HOSHI'A, which is the Messianic word, or there is GE'ULAH, from the Go'el, which has rather more to do with blood-feuds and redemption through vengeance. This is from PADAH, and you can see it in this meaning at any one of numerous Torah verses: click here. Also see PIDYON, below.
PHADOH: There is spiritual redemption, and there are the goods that you take to the pawnbroker when cash is urgently needed, and which you then redeem when you have the means again. Spiritual redemption is generally HOSHI'A, which is the Messianic word, or there is GE'ULAH, from the Go'el, which has rather more to do with blood-feuds and redemption through vengeance. This is from PADAH, and you can see it in this meaning at any one of numerous Torah verses: click here. Also see PIDYON, below.
KAPHRO: See the link. In another context it would allow an alternative translation of this as "None of them have the means of rescuing a kinsman from kidnapping, because you cannot pay ransom to the gods." Not in this context however, as it is not being suggested that the deceased has been kidnapped.
49:9 VE YEKAR PIDYON NAPHSHAM VE CHADAL LE OLAM
וְיֵקַר פִּדְיוֹן נַפְשָׁם וְחָדַל לְעוֹלָם
KJ (49:8): (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
BN: And the redemption of the soul is simply too expensive; it will take until eternity runs out to deal with...
VE: How easily a very small word can change the meaning of a sentence. VE means "and"; it functions as a conjunction, allowing the previous statement to be completed. "And". Not "for", or "because". Not only can you not pay pawn-money, but no amount of money could ever be sufficient to bring a soul back from death, even if you went on paying until eternity.
VE: How easily a very small word can change the meaning of a sentence. VE means "and"; it functions as a conjunction, allowing the previous statement to be completed. "And". Not "for", or "because". Not only can you not pay pawn-money, but no amount of money could ever be sufficient to bring a soul back from death, even if you went on paying until eternity.
CHADAL: is the other key-word here. "Cease" and "desist" are the two most obvious instructions to translators, as in Genesis 11:8 or 1 Samuel 2:5.
PIDYON: Today we tend to use "redeem" as a synonym for "rehabilitate", with a hint of "forgiveness" as well; but this was not at all what the concept meant in Biblical times. See the PIDYON HA BEN...
It is unclear to me why the KJ has placed this verse in brackets (unless perhaps they think that this verse is intended for recitation at a ceremony of Pidyon ha Ben?).
49:10 VIY'CHI OD LA NETSACH LO YIR'EH HA SHACHAT
וִיחִי עוֹד לָנֶצַח לֹא יִרְאֶה הַשָּׁחַת
KJ (49:9): That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
BN: ...and he would have to live for ever, and not go down into the grave.
VIY'CHI: "And" again. Not "That". Conjunction, not explanation. Still continuing the same statement.
SHACHAT: As with Pidyon, several words for the pit, including the Bor in which Yoseph was thrown, She'ol (which appears in verse 15 below), Dumah (see Ezekiel 27:32), several others... but this is the grave, the dug hole into which the coffin has just been laid.
49:11 KI YIR'EH CHACHAMIM YAMUTU YACHAD KESIYL VA VA'AR YO'VEDU VE AZVU LA ACHERIM CHEYLAM
VIY'CHI: "And" again. Not "That". Conjunction, not explanation. Still continuing the same statement.
SHACHAT: As with Pidyon, several words for the pit, including the Bor in which Yoseph was thrown, She'ol (which appears in verse 15 below), Dumah (see Ezekiel 27:32), several others... but this is the grave, the dug hole into which the coffin has just been laid.
49:11 KI YIR'EH CHACHAMIM YAMUTU YACHAD KESIYL VA VA'AR YO'VEDU VE AZVU LA ACHERIM CHEYLAM
כִּי יִרְאֶה חֲכָמִים יָמוּתוּ יַחַד כְּסִיל וָבַעַר יֹאבֵדוּ וְעָזְבוּ לַאֲחֵרִים חֵילָם
KJ (49:10): For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
BN: For he sees that wise men die, that the Houynhym and the Yahoo perish just the same, {N} and all men leave their wealth to others.
KESIYL...YA'AR: I lamented a verse or two back that we lacked an English equivalent for a splendid phrase in Yehudit. Apologies for the anachronism, but this one was simply irresistible. Gulliver's Travels, if you are unfamiliar.
49:12 KIRBAM BATEYMO LE OLAM MISHKENOTAM LE DOR VA DOR KAR'U VISHMOTAM ALEY ADAMOT
KESIYL...YA'AR: I lamented a verse or two back that we lacked an English equivalent for a splendid phrase in Yehudit. Apologies for the anachronism, but this one was simply irresistible. Gulliver's Travels, if you are unfamiliar.
49:12 KIRBAM BATEYMO LE OLAM MISHKENOTAM LE DOR VA DOR KAR'U VISHMOTAM ALEY ADAMOT
קִרְבָּם בָּתֵּימוֹ לְעוֹלָם מִשְׁכְּנֹתָם לְדֹר וָדֹר קָרְאוּ בִשְׁמוֹתָם עֲלֵי אֲדָמוֹת
KJ (49:11): Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations; {N} they call their lands after their own names.
BN: Their inner thought is, that their houses will continue for ever, and their dwelling-places will be bequeathed to generation after generation. {N} They even give their lands their own names.
BATEYMO: Certain grammatical forms appear at different epochs in the development of the language, which can assist us in placing the piece in chronological time. I don't have the expertise to say what epoch is represented here, but can point out that we would normally have expected to find BATEYHEM for what is BATEYMO here.
49:13 VE ADAM BIYKAR BAL YALIYN NIMSHAL KA BEHEMOT NIDMU
וְאָדָם בִּיקָר בַּל יָלִין נִמְשַׁל כַּבְּהֵמוֹת נִדְמוּ
KJ (49:12): Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
BN: But the wealth that a man has does not last; he dies just the same as every other creature.
BIYKAR: We need to go back to verse 9, where we understood YEKAR to mean "expensive", and ask how does KJ get it to mean "honour" here. Click here for Strong's etymology of the word, which takes me, because I once used it as the title of a novel, to Shakespere's "Timon of Athens" (Act 1, Scene 2): "They dance! They are mad women! Like madness is the glory of this life, as this pomp shows to a little oil and root". And well worth reading the whole of Apemantus' speech, not just the part I have quoted - you would almost think Shakespeare was using this Psalm as his starting-point!
BEHEMOT: But these are not just any beasts; there are other words that could have been used; this one is very specific.
BIYKAR: We need to go back to verse 9, where we understood YEKAR to mean "expensive", and ask how does KJ get it to mean "honour" here. Click here for Strong's etymology of the word, which takes me, because I once used it as the title of a novel, to Shakespere's "Timon of Athens" (Act 1, Scene 2): "They dance! They are mad women! Like madness is the glory of this life, as this pomp shows to a little oil and root". And well worth reading the whole of Apemantus' speech, not just the part I have quoted - you would almost think Shakespeare was using this Psalm as his starting-point!
BEHEMOT: But these are not just any beasts; there are other words that could have been used; this one is very specific.
49:14 ZEH DARKAM KESEL LAMO VE ACHAREYHEM BE PHIHEM YIRTSU (SELAH)
זֶה דַרְכָּם כֵּסֶל לָמוֹ וְאַחֲרֵיהֶם בְּפִיהֶם יִרְצוּ סֶלָה
KJ (49:13): This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
BN: This path is foolish, yet those who come after them approve their sayings. (Selah)
49:15 KA TSON LI SHE'OL SHATU MAVET YIR'EM VA YIRDU VAM YESHARIM LA BOKER VE TSIYRAM LEVALOT SHE'OL MI ZEVUL LO
כַּצֹּאן לִשְׁאוֹל שַׁתּוּ מָוֶת יִרְעֵם וַיִּרְדּוּ בָם יְשָׁרִים לַבֹּקֶר וְצִירָם לְבַלּוֹת שְׁאוֹל מִזְּבֻל לוֹ
KJ (49:14): Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
BN: Like sheep they are dispatched to the Underworld, with Death as their shepherd. {N} And the upright may well claim dominion over the rekindling of their spirits, but their physical form shall be for the worms in the physical underworld to eat away, until they are no more.
YIRDU: How to convey this word-game in English. They will "go down" to the Underworld, and the righteous will "go down" on them; but that simply doesn't exist as a way of saying this in English.
SHATU MAVET: I know I am constantly complaining about the KJ's translation, but please, when have you ever heard of sheep being put in a coffin, and laid in a grave?
BOKER: The key to understanding the Underworld in the Biblical age lies in the Am-Tuat and the Egyptian Book of Gates, and actually in the story of No'ach too, though his is the daytime version. The Underworld is the Netherworld is the northern sky at night, the journey that the sun takes after bleeding to death on the western horizon, in order to emerge through the bloody thighs of Nut the sky-goddess, resurrected yet again each mornng. Or the equivalent in the annual cycle, of spring emerging from winter like a lilac from the wasteland. So BOKER here is both the metaphorical light of "righteousness", and the metaphorical light of "resurrection".
49:16 ACH ELOHIM YIPHDEH NAPHSHI MI YAD SHE'OL KI YIKACHENI (SELAH)
אַךְ אֱלֹהִים יִפְדֶּה נַפְשִׁי מִיַּד שְׁאוֹל כִּי יִקָּחֵנִי סֶלָה
KJ (49:15): But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
BN: But Elohim will redeem my soul from the power of the nether-world; for he shall receive me. (Selah)
49:17 AL TIYR'A KI YA'ASHIR ISH KI YIRBEH KEVOD BEITO
49:17 AL TIYR'A KI YA'ASHIR ISH KI YIRBEH KEVOD BEITO
אַל תִּירָא כִּי יַעֲשִׁר אִישׁ כִּי יִרְבֶּה כְּבוֹד בֵּיתוֹ
KJ (49:16): Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
BN: Do not fear a man because he has grown wealthy, when the wealth of his house increases...
49:18 KI LO VE MOTO YIKACH HA KOL LO YERED ACHARAV KEVODO
49:18 KI LO VE MOTO YIKACH HA KOL LO YERED ACHARAV KEVODO
כִּי לֹא בְמוֹתוֹ יִקַּח הַכֹּל לֹא יֵרֵד אַחֲרָיו כְּבוֹדוֹ
KJ (49:17): For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
BN: For when he dies he shall be taking none of it with him; his glory will not descend in his wake...
The Pharaohs of Egypt might try to disagree with this (but they will be proven wrong; the wealth will remain in the tomb, until it is taken away one dark night by tomb-robbers bearing permits, and trafficked to the treasure-dens of the museums).
KEVODO: Oh but it is tempting, in the light of the phrasing of the previous verses, to translate this as "his self-importance"!
49:19 KI NAPHSHO BE CHAYAV YEVARECH VE YODUCHA KI TEYTIV LACH
The Pharaohs of Egypt might try to disagree with this (but they will be proven wrong; the wealth will remain in the tomb, until it is taken away one dark night by tomb-robbers bearing permits, and trafficked to the treasure-dens of the museums).
KEVODO: Oh but it is tempting, in the light of the phrasing of the previous verses, to translate this as "his self-importance"!
49:19 KI NAPHSHO BE CHAYAV YEVARECH VE YODUCHA KI TEYTIV LACH
כִּי נַפְשׁוֹ בְּחַיָּיו יְבָרֵךְ וְיוֹדֻךָ כִּי תֵיטִיב לָךְ
KJ (49:18): Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
BN: Though his soul was well blessed while he was alive, just as men will praise you, if you do well for yourself.
49:20 TAV'O AD DOR AVOTAV AD NETSACH LO YIR'U OR
49:20 TAV'O AD DOR AVOTAV AD NETSACH LO YIR'U OR
תָּבוֹא עַד דּוֹר אֲבוֹתָיו עַד נֵצַח לֹא יִרְאוּ אוֹר
KJ (49:19): He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
BN: And you too will become one of the ancestors, who will never again see the light.
TAV'O: Second person singular; "you" not "he" or "it".
TAV'O: Second person singular; "you" not "he" or "it".
OR: Picking up the triple-significance of BOKER earlier.
49:21 ADAM BIYKAR VE LO YAVIYN NIMSHAL KA BEHEMOT NIDMU
49:21 ADAM BIYKAR VE LO YAVIYN NIMSHAL KA BEHEMOT NIDMU
אָדָם בִּיקָר וְלֹא יָבִין נִמְשַׁל כַּבְּהֵמוֹת נִדְמוּ
KJ (49:20): Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
BN: Humans who claim honours but lack understanding are no better than the beasts who likewise perish. {P}
Psalms:
Bk 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
Bk 2: 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72
Bk 3: 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89
Bk 4: 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106
Bk 5: 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119a 119b 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132
133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
Additional Psalms: 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 Samuel Chronicles
Essays: Intro - Music - Form & Language
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