Psalm 62

The music in these posts is entirely derived from the accents in the Hebrew Bible. Introductions - letters, music, text and music, and terminology, are here. This post addresses a number of translation and musical issues.

Psalms 62: Syllables 257 Longest recitation 7 Tenor e 26.46%. (Performance available here)

There are a scattering of rarer accents to note, qadma in verses 5 (the suffixed pronoun his with the root nwa משאת֨ו), 9 (time ע֨ת), and 13 (you את֨ה); zarqa in verse 9 (trust בטח֘ו), its cousin tsinnor in verses 4 (person איש֮), 5 (to entice להדיח֮), 10 (humanity אדם֮)  and 11 (oppression בעשק֮), and one illuy on C (spoke דב֬ר) in verse 12.

My translation is different from the traditional. KJV begins by rendering א֣ך (aç) as truly, and then switches gloss to only. I would not render א֣ך (aç) as only. The Jerusalem Bible renders it in verse 1 as the adverb alone. (In God alone there is rest for my soul.) I think of only and alone as applying to the stem bdd along with solitude and isolation though I occasionally use only as a helping word in a prepositional or conditional phrase (e.g. לו if only - Psalm 81:14).

Translations in the tradition of the King James Version vary the gloss for a word. It was English literary style at the time (and when I was young) not to use the same word too close to another instance. This practice conflicts with  the deliberate recurrence of the sound in Hebrew poetry. In this case א֣ך (aç) an exclamation. It's true that in English the words only and alone can have an exclusive rather than an isolated sense, but they can't behave as an exclamation. They are more like explanation. That is not the function of translation.

I have glossed the stem aleph caf, ac, as surely about half of the instances where it occurs. You can see this word א֣ך (aç) 6 times in this psalm - twice on B and twice on C and twice on e. In this case the emphasis must be a word accented on the first syllable to use the translation to fit the music. So though only or alone might carry the sense (though I don't think they do), these glosses cannot carry the urgency. 

Of course this is not the only translation issue. I don't hear this as a psalm of repose or rest as the JB has it. And my use of mute is double edged - it may well be a sense of quiet, but it is also silence. There are of course several stems in Hebrew with overlapping senses in these domains just as there are in English. Such is the nature of translation, especially difficult in a close translation. To put it bluntly, it is very hard to explain what a psalm means. I don't know the answers in advance of this exploration.

Strangely too, I have not mentioned recently that I never use soul as a gloss. For npw (nefesh) I have a few nouns that are used. My full treatment can be reviewed here: npw. The stem is sometimes just a body part, throat or cadaver, sometimes a collective noun where I use group, sometimes just self or being or even just a personal pronoun. Occasionally I use the gloss integrity. None of these glosses is used in my work for any other Hebrew stem. I work with a 1 to 1 or a 1 to many mapping of glosses, and only rarely am I forced to use many to many. So 98% of the time, my translation can be reverse-translated with some degree of sonar accuracy. In this psalm integrity would work well. Toward God my integrity should surely be mute. That gloss might work for an English setting. There may be some suggestive rhythmic options with it.

The first step in testing a translation with the music is to underlay the music with the English - here's a bit of a start with the first few verses of this psalm.

Preliminary first steps to examining a translation for underlay and melodic suggestions

Note the repeated phrase in verses 3a and 7a, and the music is identical. Perhaps this psalm could be set with an antiphon. Or is this already a built-in refrain? Is there a hint of uncertainty in verse 3? The gloss much could be used for exceedingly רבֽה rbh. 'I will not be much moved' sounds as if I may be moved a little.

Here are some other questions to consider. Why does verse 2 begin on the B? Who is Jeduthun? Verses 4, 5, and 6 are tied together by their first notes as are verses 9 and 10. Does the music follow the literary structure or draw out a different lesson?

1 For the leader. For Jeduthun. A psalm. Of David. (1-1)
א למנצ֥ח עֽל־ידות֗ון מזמ֥ור לדוֽד	13		a lmnxk yl-idutun mzmor ldvid
2 ♪B Surely toward God my being is mute. From him is my salvation. (B-1-4-1)
ב א֣ך אל־א֭להים דֽומי֣ה נפש֑י מ֝מ֗נו ישועתֽי	10 7		b aç al-alohim dumiih npwi mmnu iwuyti
3 Surely he is my rock and my salvation, my retreat. I will not be exceedingly moved. (1-4-1)
ג אך־ה֣וא צ֭ורי וֽישועת֑י מ֝שגב֗י לא־אמ֥וט רבֽה	8 7		g aç-hua xuri viwuyti mwgbi la-amoT rbh
4 How long please will you rail over a person? You will be demolished all of you, as a bulging house wall, a fence pushed over. (1-2-4-1)
ד עד־א֤נה תהֽותת֣ו על־איש֮ תרצח֪ו כ֫לכ֥ם כק֥יר נט֑וי ג֝ד֗ר הדחויֽה	13 4 5		d yd-anh thottu yl-aiw trxku culcm cqir nTui gdr hdkuih
5 ♪C Surely from his lifting up they conspire to entice. They favour a lie. In his mouth, they bless, but within they deny. Selah. (C-1-2-4-1)
ה א֤ך משאת֨ו יעצ֣ו להדיח֮ ירצ֪ו כ֫ז֥ב בפ֥יו יבר֑כו ו֝בקרב֗ם יקללו־סֽלה	15 6 7		h aç mwato iyxu lhdik irxu czb bpiv ibrcu ubqrbm iqllu-slh
6 ♪B Surely of God be mute, my being, for from him I wait. (B-1-4-1)
ו א֣ך ל֭אלהים ד֣ומי נפש֑י כי־מ֝מ֗נו תקותֽי	8 6		v aç lalohim domi npwi ci-mmnu tqvvti
7 Surely he is my rock and my salvation, my retreat. I will not be moved. (1-4-1)
ז אך־ה֣וא צ֭ורי וֽישועת֑י מ֝שגב֗י ל֣א אמֽוט	8 6		z aç-hua xuri viwuyti mwgbi la amoT
8 Upon God is my safety and my glory, the rock of my strength, my refuge in God. (1-4-1)
ח על־א֭להים ישע֣י וכבוד֑י צור־עז֥י מ֝חס֗י בֽאלהֽים	9 8		k yl-alohim iwyi ucbodi xur-yuzi mksi balohim
9 Trust in him for all time, O people. Pour out in his presence your heart. God is a refuge for us. Selah. (1-4-1)
ט בטח֘ו ב֤ו בכל־ע֨ת ע֗ם שפכֽו־לפנ֥יו לבבכ֑ם אלה֖ים מחסה־ל֣נו סֽלה	15 10		T bTku bo bcl-yt ym wpcu-lpniv lbbcm alohim mksh-lnu slh
10 ♪C Surely the children of humanity are futility, a lie, the children - each. To ascend in the balance, they are altogether weightless. (C-1-2-4-1)
י א֤ך ה֥בל בנֽי־אדם֮ כז֪ב בנ֫י־א֥יש במאזנ֥ים לעל֑ות ה֝֗מה מה֥בל יֽחד	11 6 7		i aç hbl bni-adm czb bni-aiw bmazniim lylot hmh mhbl ikd
11 Do not trust in oppression or in robbery. Do not become futile. If wealth profits, do not set your heart on it. (1-2-4-1)
יא אל־תבטח֣ו בעשק֮ ובגז֪ל אל־ת֫הב֥לו ח֤יל כֽי־ינ֑וב אל־תש֥יתו לֽב	14 4 5		ia al-tbTku byowq ubgzl al-thblu kil ci-inub al-twitu lb
12 God spoke once. Twice I heard this, for strength is God's. (1-4-1)
יב אח֤ת דב֬ר אלה֗ים שתֽים־ז֥ו שמ֑עתי כ֥י ע֝֗ז לאלהֽים	13 5		ib akt dibr alohim wtiim-zu wmyti ci yoz lalohim
13 And of you my Lord there is mercy, for you yourself pay each according to its deeds. (1-4-1)
יג ולךֽ־אדנ֥י ח֑סד כֽי־את֨ה תשל֖ם לא֣יש כֽמעשֽהו	6 12		ig ulç-adonii ksd ci-ath twlm laiw cmywhu