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Psalm 4 (KJV)

Note: In English translations, v1 and v2 are combined; in the Hebrew Bible, v1 stands alone.

<To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.> 1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. 3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. 4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. 6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

v1 Notes:

In Jewish tradition, David composed this psalm as he fled from Absalom, but in this psalm (unlike Psalm 3), David addresses his enemies directly and admonishes them to turn from their evil ways to the LORD.

lamnatze'ach - "To the director." The manatze'ach was the Levite who directed the orchestra of the Temple (Artscroll Tehillim: 82). Music always accompanied the sacrifices and the manatze'ach was the chief conductor of the services. Note that this word comes from the Hebrew netzach, meaning "strength, victory" or even "eternity."  The manatze'ach was then conducting music that had eternal significance. Music also was used as a means of securing victory. In battles, music was a part of Israeli tactics. The praise of the LORD was the most effective weapon of warfare - both on an earthly plane and also in the realm of the spirit. This phrase, lamatze'ach can further be translated as "to Him who causes victory," i.e., God.

binnigot - "with instrumental music."  Neginot were some kind of stringed instruments (sing. is neginah, from the verb nagan - to play a [stringed] instrument).

bekori aneini Elohei Tziddki batzar hirchavta li choneini u'shema tefillati

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

v2 Notes:

bikori aneini Elohei tzaddiki - "When I call, answer me, God of my righteousness." The appeal to God as God of my righteousness means that David is assured that the LORD understood his afflication and persecution.

batzar hirchavta li - "In my troubles you have enlarged me." tzar means distress or being in a tight, constricting space and is contrasted with God's widening the way for him. Despite the pressures of life, God is able to make your way free.

choneini u'shema tefillati - "Be gracious to me and hear my prayer." Chen is the Hebrew word for grace or favor. Mercy means not getting what you deserve, i.e., judgment, whereas grace means getting what you don't deserve.  In that sense, grace is a sort of unwarranted or unearned affection or willingness toward another. God is chanun (gracious) to those who fear Him, lavishing love upon them chinam (freely). Even though David is assured of his cause, he appeals to God as rachum v'chanun - merciful and gracious.

The word tefillah means prayer, from the hitpa'el (intensive reflexive) of the verb palal, meaning to intervene or judge between. As such it is a form of self-examination before the LORD.

b'nei ish ad-mah khevodi likhlimah te'ehavun rik tevakshu khazav. Selah.

O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

v3 Notes:

b'nei ish - "sons of men."  Some Jewish commentators note there is a distinction between ish and adam. According to Radak, ish refers to superior men, men of distinction, rather than the more ordinary men denoted by the word adam. Since these "sons of men" honor their own fathers, why do they help Absalom disrespect his own father?

ad-ma khevodi likhlimah - "how long will my honor be turned to shame?" Some commentators suggest that David's honor refers to his yichus - his lineage as a son of Jesse, alluding to him in more abstract terms that his personal name David.

te'ehavun rik - "love vanity." Te'ehavun comes from ahavah, love, and rik, which refers to emptiness, vanity, or futility. tevakshu khazav - "and seek falsehood." Kazav is a lie, a deliberate misrepresentation of the truth, or a promising thing that later turns into a disappointment (i.e., an empty promise).

Selah - This is a tricky word to translate. Some have said it is a musical term meaning "pause" or "rest." Others have said it means "forever," thus: "there is no salvation for him in God...forever" (Eruvin 54a). Ibn Ezra thinks selah means a sort of "Amen" to what preceded the use; though he also thinks it might be a musical term meaning "crescendo." This is supported by the root of the word (salah), which can mean rise or build up.

u'de'u ki-hiflah Adonai chasid lo, Adonai yishma b'kori elav

But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself:
the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

v4 Notes:

u'de'u ki-hiflah Adonai chasid lo - "But recognize that the LORD singles out the godly one for Himself." This imperative sentence is meant to inform David's enemies that their conspiracy against him is therefore rebellion against the LORD Himself. David was assured that God set him apart and called him chasid (from chesed) by installing him as king over Israel.

Adonai yishma b'kori elav - "The LORD will hear when I call to Him."  This is a parallelism based on David's assurance that he is a chasid in the eyes of the LORD.  Despite David's troubled past (in particular, the sin with Bat-Sheva), he was fully convinced of God's chesed toward him and regarded his relationship with the LORD as secure.

rigzu v'al-techeta'u imru vilvavkhem al-mishkavkhem v'domu. Selah.

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

v5 Notes:

rigzu v'al-techeta'u - "Tremble and sin not." Ragaz means to "quake" or "tremble," so the KJV (and other translations) seem to miss it with "stand in awe" or "be angry." The fear of the LORD (yirat Adonai) induces reverence and awe, which should be prevalent in the heart of those who call themselves Jews. The prospect of sin should cause us to tremble, and the bitterness of past failures should cause us to be shaken. The sin of which David refers is from v1, seeking falsehood. The rabbis use this phrase to argue that we should "agitate" our yetzer tov (good inclination) in opposition to the yetzer hara (evil inclination).

imru vilvavkhem al-mishkavkhem - "Ponder within your heart while on your beds." Quietude and honest reflection will reveal the truth of David's words to his enemies.

v'domu - "be silent!" The imperative means to be "frozen" still, not merely to cease from speaking. This is perhaps the strongest word David could have used.

Selah - see the note above for pasuk 2. The Selah used here is mean to augment v'domu - consider the awesome day of your death and find teshuvah!

zivchu zivchei-tzedek u'vitchu el-Adonai

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

v6 Notes:

zivchu zivchei-tzedek - "Offer sacrifices of righteousness." The word tzedek does not denote "charity" or merely good deeds, but justice or acting according to the truth of the moral imperative: tzedek, tzedek tirdof ("Justice, justice shall you pursue," Deut. 16:20).

u'vitchu el-Adonai - "And trust in the LORD."  David's enemies should quit trusting in the schemes of men (i.e., the Absalom rebellion) and put their trust in the LORD instead.

rabim om'rim mi-yareinu tov nesah-aleinu or panekha Adonai

There be many that say, Who will shew us any good?
LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

v7 Notes:

rabim om'rim mi-yareinu tov - "Many say, 'Who shall show us any good?'" The sages attribute this statement to followers of Absalom who were disgruntled at David's leadership.

nesah-aleinu or panekha Adonai - "Let the light of Your face shine upon us, LORD." Nesah comes from nes, a standard or flag. David appeals to the LORD to cause his enemies to behold the highest good -- that of the radiance of the LORD's pleasure.

natatah simchah v'libi me'et deganam v'tirosham rabu

Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

v8 Notes:

natatah simchah v'libi - "But You have put joy in my heart." David finds contentment and even joy, despite his circumstances. He harbors no jealously or hatred for his enemies, but instead finds the Source of his joy in the LORD.

me'et deganam v'tirosham rabu - "From when their grain and wine abounded."  The KJV is right to create a comparative, i.e., "more than..."  The sages note that David was indirectly admonishing his enemies who lusted after the prosperity of the nations (goyim).  The gladness of the heart and the light of the LORD's countenance makes the world's good all seem empty by comparison.

b'shalom yachdav eschkevah v'ishan, ki-atah Adonai l'vadad lavetach toshiveni

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

v9 Notes:

b'shalom yachdav eschkevah v'ishan - "In peace together I lay down and sleep." Consistent with the words of the prophets, David concludes his song with an appeal for unity and peace to Israel. It is David's solemn desire to see all his fellow Jews embrace the LORD and walk in the light of His countenance.  Only in this way will lasting shalom be established.

ki-atah Adonai l'vadad lavetach toshiveni - "For You, LORD, alone cause me to dwell in security." Only God can provide security to our lives, not the promises of earthly Kings.

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