Psalm 43
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
43 Unto the end, for the sons of Core, to give understanding.
2 We have heard, O God, with our ears: our fathers have declared to us, The work, thou hast wrought in their days, and in the days of old.
3 Thy hand destroyed the Gentiles, and thou plantedst them: thou didst afflict the people and cast them out.
4 For they got not the possession of the land by their own sword: neither did their own arm save them. But thy right hand and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance: because thou wast pleased with them.
5 Thou art thyself my king and my God, who commandest the saving of Jacob.
6 Through thee we will push down our enemies with the horn: and through thy name we will despise them that rise up against us.
7 For I will not trust in my bow: neither shall my sword save me.
8 But thou hast saved us from them that afflict us: and hast put them to shame that hate us.
9 In God shall we glory all the day long: and in thy name we will give praise for ever.
10 But now thou hast cast us off, and put us to shame: and thou, O God, wilt not go out with our armies.
11 Thou hast made us turn our back to our enemies: and they that hated us plundered for themselves.
12 Thou hast given us up like sheep to be eaten: thou hast scattered us among the nations.
13 Thou hast sold thy people for no price: and there was no reckoning in the exchange of them.
14 Thou hast made us a reproach to our neighbours, a scoff and derision to them that are round about us.
15 Thou hast made us a byword among the Gentiles: a shaking of the head among the people.
16 All the day long my shame is before me: and the confusion of my face hath covered me,
17 At the voice of him that reproacheth and detracteth me: at the face of the enemy and persecutor.
18 All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten thee: and we have not done wickedly in they covenant.
19 And our heart hath not turned back: neither hast thou turned aside our steps from thy way.
20 For thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction: and the shadow of death hath covered us.
21 If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread forth our hands to a strange god:
22 Shall not God search out these things: for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. Because for thy sake we are killed all the day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
23 Arise, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, and cast us not off to the end.
24 Why turnest thou face away? and forgettest our want and our trouble?
25 For our soul is humbled down to the dust: our belly cleaveth to the earth.
26 Arise, O Lord, help us and redeem us for thy name's sake.
Psalm 43
New King James Version
Prayer to God in Time of Trouble
43 Vindicate (A)me, O God,
And (B)plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the God of my strength;
Why do You cast me off?
(C)Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 (D)Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to (E)Your holy hill
And to Your [a]tabernacle.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.
5 (F)Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The [b]help of my countenance and my God.
Footnotes
- Psalm 43:3 dwelling places
- Psalm 43:5 Lit. salvation
Psalm 43
New English Translation
Psalm 43[a]
43 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me[b] against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me[c] from deceitful and evil men.[d]
2 For you are the God who shelters me.[e]
Why do you reject me?[f]
Why must I walk around[g] mourning[h]
because my enemies oppress me?
3 Reveal[i] your light[j] and your faithfulness.
They will lead me;[k]
they will escort[l] me back to your holy hill,[m]
and to the place where you live.[n]
4 Then I will go[o] to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,[p]
so that I may express my thanks to you,[q] O God, my God, with a harp.
5 Why are you depressed,[r] O my soul?[s]
Why are you upset?[t]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[u]
Footnotes
- Psalm 43:1 sn 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.
- Psalm 43:1 tn Or “argue my case.”
- Psalm 43:1 tn The imperfect here expresses a request or wish. Note the imperatives in the first half of the verse. See also v. 3.
- Psalm 43:1 tn 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.
- Psalm 43:2 tn Heb “God of my place of refuge,” that is, “God who is my place of refuge.” See Ps 31:4.
- Psalm 43:2 tn The question is similar to that of Ps 42:9, but זָנַח (zanakh, “reject”) is a stronger verb than שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”).
- Psalm 43:2 tn 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.
- Psalm 43:2 sn Walk around mourning. See Ps 38:6 for a similar statement.
- Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “send.”
- Psalm 43:3 sn 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.
- Psalm 43:3 tn Or “may they lead me.” The prefixed verbal forms here and in the next line may be taken as jussives.
- Psalm 43:3 tn Heb “bring.”
- Psalm 43:3 sn 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.
- Psalm 43:3 tn 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).
- Psalm 43:4 tn 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.”
- Psalm 43:4 tn 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.
- Psalm 43:4 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.
- Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “Why do you bow down?”
- Psalm 43:5 sn For poetic effect the psalmist addresses his soul, or inner self.
- Psalm 43:5 tn Heb “and why are you in turmoil upon me?”
- Psalm 43:5 tc 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 (yeshuʿot fene ʾelohay, “[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.
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