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
Number 4 in the modern list of Hallel Psalms.
116:1 AHAVTI KI YISHMA YHVH ET KOLI TACHNUNAI
אָהַבְתִּי כִּי יִשְׁמַע יְהוָה אֶת קוֹלִי תַּחֲנוּנָי
KJ (King James translation): I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
BN (BibleNet translation): I loved that YHVH will hear the voice of my supplications.
My translation is literal (see below for my preferred alternative translation) The grammar, like the several problems in the previous Psalm, is what it is! Though it may be that this mixing of past and present tenses is yet another aspect of the continuing meditation over the nature of time itself, which has also been a feature of several recent Psalms.
TACHANUNAI: Tachanun is not just any "supplication", but a very specific part of the liturgy. See chapter 11 of "A Myrtle Among Reeds" for a full account, including the introdutory Vidu'i (confession) and an explanation of the difference betwen the long and short forms. Tachanun derives from the Temple service, and was almost certainly practiced in its long form on market-days, to accompany the reading of the Torah. For a brief account of Tachanun in its modern form, click here. For a fuller understanding of the word itself, see verse 5.
116:2 KI HITAH AZNO LI U VE YAMAI EKR'A
KJ: Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
BN: Because he inclined his ear towards me, so I will call upon him all my days.
Which endorses my own speculation re the grammar of the opening verse. Perhaps that first verse should be translated as "I have always (past tense) loved the fact that YHVH will always (future tense) hear my supplications". And here, the evidence of that past serving as faith-strengthener for the future.
116:2 KI HITAH AZNO LI U VE YAMAI EKR'A
כִּי הִטָּה אָזְנוֹ לִי וּבְיָמַי אֶקְרָא
KJ: Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
BN: Because he inclined his ear towards me, so I will call upon him all my days.
Which endorses my own speculation re the grammar of the opening verse. Perhaps that first verse should be translated as "I have always (past tense) loved the fact that YHVH will always (future tense) hear my supplications". And here, the evidence of that past serving as faith-strengthener for the future.
116:3 APHAPHUNI CHEVLEY MAVET U METSAREY SHE'OL METSA'UNI TSARAH VE YAGON EMTSA
אֲפָפוּנִי חֶבְלֵי מָוֶת וּמְצָרֵי שְׁאוֹל מְצָאוּנִי צָרָה וְיָגוֹן אֶמְצָא
KJ: The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
BN: The cords of death bound me, and the pangs of She'ol seized me; I found trouble and sorrow.
SHE'OL: See the link.
116:4 U VE SHEM YHVH EKRA ANAH YHVH MALTAH NAPHSHI
KJ: Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
BN: Then I called out in the name of YHVH: "Please, YHVH, deliver my soul".
116:5 CHANUN YHVH VE TSADIK V'ELOHEYNU MERACHEM
KJ: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
BN: YHVH is compassion and justice; our god is our safety and protection.
CHANUN: The word is really the ancient equivalent of "philanthropy" in any of its forms. To look favourably on someone, to empathise with him... Exodus 33:19 is a good place to go to get the full flavour, though Exodus 34:6 is where the attributes of the deity are gathered in one place, and sung as such, at Tachanun.
116:4 U VE SHEM YHVH EKRA ANAH YHVH MALTAH NAPHSHI
וּבְשֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא אָנָּה יְהוָה מַלְּטָה נַפְשִׁי
KJ: Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
BN: Then I called out in the name of YHVH: "Please, YHVH, deliver my soul".
116:5 CHANUN YHVH VE TSADIK V'ELOHEYNU MERACHEM
חַנּוּן יְהֹוָה וְצַדִּיק וֵאלֹהֵינוּ מְרַחֵם
KJ: Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
BN: YHVH is compassion and justice; our god is our safety and protection.
CHANUN: The word is really the ancient equivalent of "philanthropy" in any of its forms. To look favourably on someone, to empathise with him... Exodus 33:19 is a good place to go to get the full flavour, though Exodus 34:6 is where the attributes of the deity are gathered in one place, and sung as such, at Tachanun.
As to translating it, "mercy" is an interesting word. It comes from the French "merci", meaning thanks, which in Latin (gratis) might be the Grace After Meals, or the gratutity given as a service tip.
MERACHEM is the Pi'el form of the root RACHAM, whence RECHEM = "the womb". Not obvious what the connection is between "the womb" and "saying thank-you", though we are definitely grateful for any mercy that is available.
116:6 SHOMER PETA'IM YHVH DALOTI VE LI YEHOSHIY'A
KJ: The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
BN (provisional translation): YHVH guards the simple; I was brought low, and he saved me.
PETA'IM: All the scholars from Gesenius to Strong insist on PETI as the root; but PETI lacks an Aleph. Which could mean that the word here is in Aramaic, rather than Yehudit, but Aramaic has been virtually excised from the Psalms by the Redactor, so, unless this one got missed...
116:6 SHOMER PETA'IM YHVH DALOTI VE LI YEHOSHIY'A
שֹׁמֵר פְּתָאיִם יְהֹוָה דַּלּוֹתִי וְלִי יְהוֹשִׁיעַ
KJ: The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
BN (provisional translation): YHVH guards the simple; I was brought low, and he saved me.
PETA'IM: All the scholars from Gesenius to Strong insist on PETI as the root; but PETI lacks an Aleph. Which could mean that the word here is in Aramaic, rather than Yehudit, but Aramaic has been virtually excised from the Psalms by the Redactor, so, unless this one got missed...
And then there is the meaning of PETI, without an Aleph - which really ought to be rendered as "gullible" (Proverbs 7:7, 22:3, 14:15 especially) - and that surely cannot be the intention here!
And why would a man capable of writing a Psalm describe himself as "simple"?
But what if the Masoretes were the ones who got this wrong, and it isn't PETA'IM at all, but PIT'OM - פִּתְאוֹם? The Yud is a Masoretic addition anyway; or maybe the Masorete wrote a Vav, but wrote it badly, and it got mistaken for a Yud?
BN (preferred translation): YHVH provides protection in an instant; I was brought low, and he saved me.
116:7 SHUVI NAPHSHI LIMNUCHAYECHI KI YHVH GAMAL ALAYECHI
שׁוּבִי נַפְשִׁי לִמְנוּחָיְכִי כִּי יְהוָה גָּמַל עָלָיְכִי
KJ: Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
BN: Return, my soul, to your rest, for YHVH has dealt bountifully with you.
LIMNUCHAYECHI... ALAYECHI: We have encountered this dialect or grammatical variation in a recent Psalm; impossible to know which of the two it is, or perhaps a stage in time, like Olde Aenglish. Normally we would expect LIMNUCHAYICH... ALAYICH. (And yes, it should be feminine, because the noun is NEPHESH, which is feminine).
GAMAL: In other contexts a GAMAL is a camel. Pure coincidence though? Probably not, as the word started out life among the Bedou, for whom the camel not the sheep or the cattle or the donkey was the principal beast, and you drink the camel's milk, which is delicious if you've never tried it, and comes in bountiful quantitites. What am I on about? See Genesis 21:8 for the earliest use of the word, then Numbers 17:23 for its broader usage in later times.
116:8 KI CHILATSTA NAPHSHI MI MAVET ET EYNI MIN DIM'AH ET RAGLI MI DECHI
כִּי חִלַּצְתָּ נַפְשִׁי מִמָּוֶת אֶת עֵינִי מִן דִּמְעָה אֶת רַגְלִי מִדֶּחִי
KJ: For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
BN: For you delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
116:9 ET'HALECH LIPHNEY YHVH BE ARTSOT HA CHAYIM
אֶתְהַלֵּךְ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה בְּאַרְצוֹת הַחַיִּים
KJ: I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
BN: I shall walk before YHVH in the lands of the living.
116:10 HE'EMANTI KI ADABER ANI ANIYTI ME'OD
הֶאֱמַנְתִּי כִּי אֲדַבֵּר אֲנִי עָנִיתִי מְאֹד
KJ: I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
BN: I trusted - that is why I said "I am greatly afflicted".
HE'EMANTI: Intellectual belief, or emotional faith? "Amen" comes from the latter, but this is in the HIPH'IL, and therefore the former - Maimonides' "Ani Ma'amin" for example, which is most definitely ratio-intellectual. And is this why the Masoretes went for PETA'IM at verse 6?
Are verses 8 and 9 not verses 3 and 4, repeated, but with variants? Both the Septuagint and Vulgate have this broken down
into two Psalms, I believe; and this is the point of the division.
116:11 ANI AMARTI VE CHAPHZI KOL HA ADAM KOZEV
אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי בְחָפְזִי כָּל הָאָדָם כֹּזֵב
KJ: I said in my haste, All men are liars.
BN: I said in panic: "All men are liars".
CHAPHZI: "Haste" is not inaccurate, because it is the emotion lying behind the haste that matters here; cf 1 Samuel 23:26, when David is rushing about trying to evade Sha'ul. Or better still Deuteronomy 20:3.
116:12 MAH ASHIV LA YHVH KOL TAGMULOHI ALAI
מָה אָשִׁיב לַיהוָה כָּל תַּגְמוּלוֹהִי עָלָי
KJ: What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
BN: How can I repay YHVH for all his bountiful dealings toward me?
TAGMULOHAI: Those camels again!
116:13 KOS YESHU'OT ESA U VE SHEM YHVH EKRA
כּוֹס יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא וּבְשֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא
KJ: I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
BN: I will raise the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of YHVH.
KOS YESHU'OUT being the Kiddush Becher, raised in a "thank you" blessing at the end of... yes, Grace.
116:14 NEDARAI LA YHVH ASHALEM NEGDAH NA LE CHOL AMO
נְדָרַי לַיהוָה אֲשַׁלֵּם נֶגְדָה נָּא לְכָל עַמּוֹ
KJ: I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
BN: I will fulfil my pledges to YHVH, if it so please you, in the presence of all his people.
NEGDAH NA: Is this a word-game, or did it simply become one as language evolved? NA is a way of saying please, which you need to have done, NEGED TODAH, before you had the need to say Merci. I have used a slightly archaic English equivalent, because this is definitely an archaism in the Yehudit. "Please", today, would be BE VAKASHAH ("on request"), and it gave me the opportunity to play a minor word-game of my own, now, in the present of giving this explanation as my gift (service charge included; and you are very welcome).
116:15 YAKAR BE EYNEY YHVH HA MAVTAH LA CHASIDAV
יָקָר בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה הַמָּוְתָה לַחֲסִידָיו
KJ: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
BN: Grievous in the sight of YHVH is the death of his pious followers.
CHASIDAV: "saints"! Click here.
116:16 ANAH YHVH KI ANI AVDECHA ANI AVDECHA BEN AMATECHA PITACHTA LE MOSERAI
אָנָּה יְהוָה כִּי אֲנִי עַבְדֶּךָ אֲנִי עַבְדְּךָ בֶּן אֲמָתֶךָ פִּתַּחְתָּ לְמוֹסֵרָי
KJ: O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
BN: I beseech you, YHVH, because I am your worshipper; {N} I am your worshipper, a son of your handmaid; you loosened my bonds.
ANAH: Connected to NA in the previous verse; the same "please", but as a verb now.
AMATECHA: Though I wonder if we aren't supposed to play another word-game with the English, and translate this as it is done in Genesis 21:10. The female equivalent of a "husband"!
MOSERAI: Circles upon circles with these echoes and repetitions. Are these the same as the CHAVLEY MAVET of verse 3.
116:17 LECHA EZBACH ZEVACH TODAH U VE SHEM YHVH EKRA
KJ: I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
BN: I will offer up to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of YHVH.
But not today, because we have already said grace, with the closing blessing, and the sacrifice has to come before the meal. This is a future pledge, added because all previous pledges were fulfilled at verse 14 (or annulled, by process of Tachanun, on Yom Kippur).
But speaking of pledges... and playing word-games with bonds as cords, and bonds as handmaids, and bonds as house-bounds... there is also a Shylockian element to this, because those pledges have to be fulfilled, and "I will have my bond", even if it means sacrificing a pound of flesh.
116:17 LECHA EZBACH ZEVACH TODAH U VE SHEM YHVH EKRA
לְךָ אֶזְבַּח זֶבַח תּוֹדָה וּבְשֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא
KJ: I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
BN: I will offer up to you a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of YHVH.
But not today, because we have already said grace, with the closing blessing, and the sacrifice has to come before the meal. This is a future pledge, added because all previous pledges were fulfilled at verse 14 (or annulled, by process of Tachanun, on Yom Kippur).
But speaking of pledges... and playing word-games with bonds as cords, and bonds as handmaids, and bonds as house-bounds... there is also a Shylockian element to this, because those pledges have to be fulfilled, and "I will have my bond", even if it means sacrificing a pound of flesh.
116:18 NEDARAI LA YHVH ASHALEM NEGDAH NA LE CHOL AMO
KJ: I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
BN: I will fulfil my pledges to YHVH, right now, in the presence of all his people.
Verse 14 repeated? Or is it a refrain which the congregation chanted, as their personal commitment? Or maybe they are going to finish the Psalm and go straight to the altar, and make a sacrifice, ready for the next meal.
116:19 BE CHATSROT BEIT YHVH BETOCHECHI YERU-SHALA'IM HALELU YAH
KJ: In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
BN: In the courtyard of the Temple of YHVH, in your midst, Yeru-Shala'im. {N} Hallelu Yah.
CHATSROT: The courtyards being the very place where the altars for the sacrifices were maintained.
נְדָרַי לַיהוָה אֲשַׁלֵּם נֶגְדָה נָּא לְכָל עַמּוֹ
KJ: I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
BN: I will fulfil my pledges to YHVH, right now, in the presence of all his people.
Verse 14 repeated? Or is it a refrain which the congregation chanted, as their personal commitment? Or maybe they are going to finish the Psalm and go straight to the altar, and make a sacrifice, ready for the next meal.
116:19 BE CHATSROT BEIT YHVH BETOCHECHI YERU-SHALA'IM HALELU YAH
בְּחַצְרוֹת בֵּית יְהוָה בְּתוֹכֵכִי יְרוּשָׁלִָם הַלְלוּ יָהּ
KJ: In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
BN: In the courtyard of the Temple of YHVH, in your midst, Yeru-Shala'im. {N} Hallelu Yah.
CHATSROT: The courtyards being the very place where the altars for the sacrifices were maintained.
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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