translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: PSA

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”


text: Or “according to.”


text: Heb “Thoroughly wash me from my wrongdoing.”


text: Heb “know.”


text: Heb “and my sin [is] in front of me continually.”


text: Heb “only you,” as if the psalmist had sinned exclusively against God and no other. Since the Hebrew verb חָטָא ( hata ’, “to sin”) is used elsewhere of sinful acts against people (see BDB 306 s.v. 2 .a) and David (the presumed author) certainly sinned when he murdered Uriah ( 2 Sam 12:9 ), it is likely that the psalmist is overstating the case to suggest that the attack on Uriah was ultimately an attack on God himself. To clarify the point of the hyperbole, the translation uses “especially,” rather than the potentially confusing “only.”


text: The Hebrew term לְמַעַן ( lÿma ’ an ) normally indicates purpose (“in order that”), but here it introduces a logical consequence of the preceding statement. (Taking the clause as indicating purpose here would yield a theologically preposterous idea – the psalmist purposely sinned so that God’s justice might be vindicated!) For other examples of לְמַעַן indicating result, see 2 Kgs 22:17 ; Jer 27:15 ; Amos 2:7 , as well as IBHS 638-40 §38.3.


text: Heb “when you speak.” In this context the psalmist refers to God’s word of condemnation against his sin delivered through Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 12:7-12 ).


text: Heb “when you judge.”


text: Heb “Look, in wrongdoing I was brought forth, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The prefixed verbal form in the second line is probably a preterite (without vav [ ו ] consecutive), stating a simple historical fact. The psalmist is not suggesting that he was conceived through an inappropriate sexual relationship (although the verse has sometimes been understood to mean that, or even that all sexual relationships are sinful). The psalmist’s point is that he has been a sinner from the very moment his personal existence began. By going back beyond the time of birth to the moment of conception, the psalmist makes his point more emphatically in the second line than in the first.


text: The perfect is used in a generalizing sense here.


text: Heb “in the covered [places],” i.e., in the inner man.


text: Heb “in the secret [place] wisdom you cause me to know.” The Hiphil verbal form is causative, while the imperfect is used in a modal sense to indicate God’s desire (note the parallel verb “desire”). sn You want me to possess wisdom . Here “wisdom” does not mean “intelligence” or “learning,” but refers to moral insight and skill.


text: The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.


text: Heb “cleanse me with hyssop.” “Hyssop” was a small plant (see 1 Kgs 4:33 ) used to apply water (or blood) in purification rites (see Exod 12:22 ; Lev 14:4-6, 49-52 ; Num 19:6-18 . The psalmist uses the language and imagery of such rites to describe spiritual cleansing through forgiveness.


text: After the preceding imperfect, the imperfect with vav ( ו ) conjunctive indicates result.


text: Heb “cause me to hear happiness and joy.” The language is metonymic: the effect of forgiveness (joy) has been substituted for its cause. The psalmist probably alludes here to an assuring word from God announcing that his sins are forgiven (a so-called oracle of forgiveness). The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request. The synonyms “happiness” and “joy” are joined together as a hendiadys to emphasize the degree of joy he anticipates.


text: In this context of petitionary prayer, the prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive, expressing the psalmist’s wish or request.


text: See the note on the similar expression “wipe away my rebellious acts” in v. 1 .


text: Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”


text: Heb “do not cast me away from before you.”


text: Heb “and [with] a willing spirit sustain me.” The psalmist asks that God make him the kind of person who willingly obeys the divine commandments. The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.


text: The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. This may be a vow or promise. If forgiven, the psalmist will “repay” the Lord by declaring God’s mercy and motivating other sinners to repent.


text: Heb “your ways.” The word “merciful” is added for clarification. God’s “ways” are sometimes his commands, but in this context, where the teaching of God’s ways motivates repentance (see the next line), it is more likely that God’s merciful and compassionate way of dealing with sinners is in view. Thanksgiving songs praising God for his deliverance typically focus on these divine attributes (see Pss 34, 41, 116, 138 ).


text: Or “return,” i.e., in repentance.


text: Heb “from bloodshed.” “Bloodshed” here stands by metonymy for the guilt which it produces.


text: Heb “my tongue will shout for joy your deliverance.” Another option is to take the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may my tongue shout for joy.” However, the pattern in vv. 12-15 appears to be prayer/request (see vv. 12, 14 a, 15a) followed by promise/vow (see vv. 13, 14 b, 15b).


text: Heb “open my lips.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.


text: Heb “and my mouth will declare your praise.”


text: Or “For.” The translation assumes the particle is asseverative (i.e., emphasizing: “certainly”). (Some translations that consider the particle asseverative leave it untranslated.) If taken as causal or explanatory (“for”, cf. NRSV), the verse would explain why the psalmist is pleading for forgiveness, rather than merely offering a sacrifice.


text: The translation assumes that the cohortative is used in a hypothetical manner in a formally unmarked conditional sentence, “You do not want a sacrifice, should I offer [it]” (cf. NEB). For other examples of cohortatives in the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, see GKC 320 §108. e . (It should be noted, however, that GKC understands this particular verse in a different manner. See GKC 320 §108. f , where it is suggested that the cohortative is part of an apodosis with the protasis being suppressed.)


text: Heb “a broken spirit.”


text: Heb “a broken and crushed heart.”


text: Or “despise.”


text: Heb “do what is good for Zion in your favor.”


text: Or “Build.” The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.


text: For location see Map5-B1 ; Map6-F3 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-F2 ; Map10-B3 ; JP1-F4 ; JP2-F4 ; JP3-F4 ; JP4-F4 .


text: Or “desire, take delight in.”


text: Heb “then they will offer up bulls.” The third plural subject is indefinite.