Psalms 43 (NET)

Psalm 431

1 Vindicate me, O God!

Fight for me2 against an ungodly nation!

Deliver me3 from deceitful and evil men!4

2 For you are the God who shelters me.5

Why do you reject me?6

Why must I walk around7 mourning8

because my enemies oppress me?

3 Reveal9 your light10 and your faithfulness!

They will lead me,11

they will escort12 me back to your holy hill,13

and to the place where you live.14

4 Then I will go15 to the altar of God,

to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,16

so that I express my thanks to you,17 O God, my God, with a harp.

5 Why are you depressed,18 O my soul?19

Why are you upset?20

Wait for God!

For I will again give thanks

to my God for his saving intervention.21

1sn Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew mss combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5. 2tn Or “argue my case.” 3tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3. 4tn Heb “from the deceitful and evil man.” The Hebrew text uses the singular form “man” in a collective sense, as the reference to a “nation” in the parallel line indicates. 5tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4. 6tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”). 7tn The language is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but the Hitpael form of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh; as opposed to the Qal form in 42:9) expresses more forcefully the continuing nature of the psalmist’s distress. 8sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement. 9tn Heb “send.” 10sn God’s deliverance is compared here to a light which will lead the psalmist back home to the Lord’s temple. Divine deliverance will in turn demonstrate the Lord’s faithfulness to his people. 11tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives. 12tn Heb “bring.” 13sn In this context the Lord’s holy hill is Zion/Jerusalem. See Isa 66:20; Joel 2:1; 3:17; Zech 8:3; Pss 2:6; 15:1; 48:1; 87:1; Dan 9:16. 14tn Or “to your dwelling place[s].” The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; this is the Lord’s special dwelling place (see Pss 46:4; 84:1; 132:5, 7). 15tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.” 16tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81. 17tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention. 18tn Heb “Why do you bow down?” 19sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self. 20tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?” 21tc Heb “for again I will give him thanks, the saving acts of my face and my God.” The last line should be emended to read יְשׁוּעֹת פְנֵי אֱלֹהָי (yÿshu’ot fÿney ’elohay, “[for] the saving acts of the face of my God,” that is, the saving acts associated with God’s presence/intervention. This refrain is identical to the one in Ps 42:11. See also 42:5, which differs only slightly.