Psalms 51

I wonder what it would be like to return to the Psalms for a while? I was looking at a commentary I was given some years ago, (June 9, 2016 to be precise. Kem Luther ended up with two copies of Volume 20 of The Word Biblical Commentary, Psalms 51-100 by Marvin Tate, and bequeathed the second to me. Thank-you, Kem.)

To note, I have listened to two lectures on 'rule of life'. I wonder if I could introduce a bit more discipline into my life. Both lectures (1 2) are good, well presented by Martin Brokenleg, a man who knows his subject, but in my own relationship to 'church', I don't apply such sets of rules to me. It's partly their religious nature. But the psalms... as a rule ... these are things that I have known. Could I know them again - and still keep learning in the immensity of this ancient testament?

My original posts on this psalm go back to 2007. Some of my glosses from then have survived the computer-concordance rules that I implemented many years later. I was barely out of the womb then. And who remembers much of what the womb was like? In sin did my mother conceive me. My mother must be the church in this case since I was, after all, birthed into Hebrew when I was just over 60.

I do recall the dialogues. There were many in those early days of blogging. On the subject of Psalm 51, the beloved pastor and scholar John Hobbins carefully considered the translations of James Kugel and Robert Alter particularly focusing on verse 6 (a challenge to find in English translations since their verses do not number the superscriptions). Translators all seem to be reaching for a (new?) style when we are already saturated with the old versions in English and Latin. John particularly cites an issue of 'overtranslation'. Now how wide a net would that be?

I see myself asking about prosody, and I see Marvin Tate today, like Peter Craigie* in the earlier volume in the series, so explicit with the meter on the right hand side of the page. I only count syllables and notice shorter or longer lines. Yet 11 years later I posted this with full prosody made explicit by the music and the limited measured automation of my computer programs.

What do I make of verse 6 today? I think I have it very close to its Hebrew word order. It doesn't seem to be ambiguous: 

Against you, you only, I have sinned and this evil in your eyes I have done,

so you are right when you speak. You are clear when you judge.

There are seven you's in my verse and seven in the Hebrew in my current translation. Alter has six, Kugel, five, and Tate, four. I don't see any translation with the seven instances of you. All of them miss the initial emphasis, lç lbdç. Both the final kafs are accented. This particular phrase, this pair of words in this order is unique in the Bible. It cannot be passed over with literary smoothing. (Tate gets the emphatic repetition right in the partial citation of this verse in the text of his commentary.)

With respect to the measure of the verse, it has 33 syllables by my count, twice the count of a 'normal verse' in this psalm. Why is this? He scores it as (3+3+3+2[3]). At some point these counts must correspond to the accents in the music. There is no explanation in this volume - he simply refers to the prior volume. That's OK if you live in a library in pre-pandemic times. So here is the music. (The music uses a more traditional transcription - not SimHebrew). 

Syllable counts are 18 and 15, exactly as counted by the different algorithm. The first 8 syllables, I would guess match his first 3. The next 10 would be his second 3. The next 9 his third 3 and the last 6 his last 2. The music is much more transparent than just counting accents. There are actually only 5 downbeats if you count the bars. Note there is a cadence after asiti. It is the use of the ole-veyored on the supertonic.

Psalm 51.6  (Hebrew numbering)

Tate has a long section on sin and glory connecting verse 6 to Romans. Yes, they connect, but outside of normal human logic. This may even be read into the use of the preposition /l/ rather than /b/ or even 'yl'. I don't see the need to 'go there' though I did dream about it before reading the commentary. David is not sinning the more that grace may abound. We live in that tension.

spr thlim na, Psalm 51

a

lmnxk mzmor ldvid,

1

For the leader. A psalm of David,

b

bboa-aliv ntn hnbia,
cawr-ba al-bt-wby.

2

when Nathan the prophet came to him,
as he had come to Bathsheva.

g

konni alohim cksdç.
crob rkmiç mkh pwyii.

3

Be gracious to me, O God according to your kindness.
In the multitude of your compassions, wipe out my transgression.

d

hrb cbsni myvoni,
umk'tati 'thrni.

4

Thoroughly scour me from my iniquity,
and from my sin cleanse me.

h

ci-pwyii ani ady,
vk'tati ngdi tmid.

5

For my transgression I, I know,
and my sin is continually in front of me.

v

lç lbdç k'tati vhry byiniç ywiti,
lmyn txdq bdobrç tzch bwop'tç.

6

Against you, you only, I have sinned and this evil in your eyes I have done,
so you are right when you speak. You are clear when you judge.

z

hn-byvvn kollti,
ubk'ta ikmtni aimi.

7

Lo, in iniquity I was birthed,
and in sin my mother conceived me.

k

hn-amt kpxt b'tukot,
ubstum kcmh todiyni.

8

Lo, you delight in truth in the inward parts,
and in discreet wisdom, you make me know.

't

tk'tani baizob va'thr.
tcbsni umwlg albin.

9

You will make a sin offering of me with hyssop and I will be clean.
You will scour me and I will be white as snow.

i

twmiyni wwon vwmkh.
tglnh yxmot dicit.

10

Make me to hear joy and mirth.
Rejoice the bones you have crushed.

ia

hstr pniç mk'taii,
vcl-yvonotii mkh.

11

Hide your face from my sin,
and all my iniquity, wipe out.

ib

lb 'thor bra-li alohim,
vruk ncon kdw bqrbi.

12

A clean heart create of me, O God,
and a prepared spirit, make new within me.

ig

al-twlicni mlpniç,
vruk qodwç al-tiqk mmni.

13

Do not cast me from your presence,
and your holy spirit do not take from me.

id

hwibh li wwon iwyç,
vruk ndibh tsmcni.

14

Return to me the joy of your salvation,
and in a willing spirit, support me.

'tv

almdh powyim drciç,
vk'taim aliç iwubu.

15

I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners to you will be turned.

'tz

hxilni mdmim alohim alohi twuyti.
trnn lwoni xdqtç.

16

Deliver me from the guilt of shed blood, O God, the God of my salvation.
My tongue will shout for joy at your righteousness.

iz

adonii wptii tptk,
upi igid thiltç.

17

My Lord, my lips you will open,
and my mouth will make evident your praise.

ik

ci la-tkpox zbk vatnh.
yolh la trxh.

18

For you do not delight in an offering or else I would give it.
Burnt offering you will not accept.

i't

zbki alohim ruk nwbrh.,
lb-nwbr vndch
alohim la tbzh.

19

The offerings of God are a broken spirit.
A heart broken and crushed,
O God, you will not despise.

c

hi'tibh brxonç at-xion.
tbnh komot iruwlim.

20

Do well in your acceptance of Zion.
You will build the ramparts of Jerusalem.

ca

az tkpox zbki-xdq yolh vclil.
az iylu yl-mzbkç prim.

21

Then you will delight in offerings of righteousness, burnt offering and whole offering.
Then they will offer up young bulls on your altar.

* I studied briefly in Calgary in the late '70s under Peter Craigie at a time when we met his son Gregor in Sunday school. Gregor is now our morning show host on CBC.