Saturday, October 08, 2005

The Psalms of David -- Psalm 9

Here begin the different renderings of the Psalms in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT) and the Masoretic Text (the Hebrew text received by the rabbis). I'll henceforth be using the LXX ("Seventy," from whence the Septuagint gets its name) rendering, as it's the official Bible of the Orthodox Church. In the Masoretic Text, this is Psalm 9 and 10 combined:

The triumph of the risen Christ, as expressed to His Father!

3 When my enemies turn back,
They shall fall and perish at Your presence.

4 For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.

5 You have rebuked the nations,
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

6 O enemy, destructions are finished forever!
And you have destroyed cities;
Even their memory has perished.

7 But the LORD shall endure forever;
He has prepared His throne for judgment.

8 He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in
uprightness.

9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.

10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in
You;
For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

11 Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion!
Declare His deeds among the people.

12 When He avenges blood, He remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the humble.

13 Have mercy on me, O LORD!
Consider my trouble from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,

14 That I may tell of all Your praise
In the gates of the daughter of Zion.
I will rejoice in Your salvation.

Remembering our place as "dust in the wind," or mere dust that the breath of life has animated:
20 Put them in fear, O LORD,
That the nations may know themselves to be but
men.
Contrasting the godly, Christ-like, humble, satisfied man with the man of this world who seeks only his own gain and not that of God or his neighbor:
23 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire;
He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD.
24 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts....
29 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net....
31 He has said in his heart, "God has forgotten; He hides His
face; He will never see."
The reason for the wickedness in my own life; the product of deception:
33 Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
“You will not require an account.”

The ultimate goal of our Lord (deals with destinies of those who are proud and those who are humble of heart):
38 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

1 comment:

Christina said...

We read this book a few years ago. I enjoyed it.