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PSALM 116

STROPHE DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

NASB NKJV NRSV TEV NJB
Thanksgiving for Deliverance From Death
  No MT Intro		 Thanksgiving for Deliverance From Death Thanksgiving for Healing Someone Saved From Death Praises God Thanksgiving
116:1-4 116:1-2 116:1-4 116:1-4 116:1-2
  116:3-4     116:3-4a
        116:4b
116:5-11 116:5-7 116:5-7 116:5-7 116:5-6
        116:7-9
  116:8-11 116:8-11 116:8-11  
        116:10-13
116:12-19 116:12-14 116:12-19 116:12-14  
        116:14
  116:15   116:15-19b 116:15
  116:16-17     116:16-17
  116:18-19b     116:18-19
  116:19c   116:19c  

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 116:1-4
 1I love the Lord, because He hears
 My voice and my supplications. 
 2Because He has inclined His ear to me,
 Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
 3The cords of death encompassed me
 And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;
 I found distress and sorrow.
 4Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
 "O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!"

116:1-4 This Psalm was written by a faithful follower facing death (cf. Ps. 116:3). He explains his thought processes on how to deal with this situation.

  1. affirmation ‒ I love the Lord, BDB 12, KB 17, Qal PERFECT (cf. Deut. 6:5; 30:6; Ps. 31:23)
  2. why he loves YHWH
    1. He hears my prayers, BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal IMPERFECT
    2. He has inclined His ear to me (parallel to a.), BDB 639, KB 692, Hiphil PERFECT
  3. result ‒ I will call upon Him as long as I live, BDB 894, KB 1128, Qal IMPERFECT
  4. the psalmist's condition
    1. cords of death (cf. Ps. 18:4-5) encompassed him, BDB 67, KB 79, Qal PERFECT
    2. terrors (BDB 865 twice, of distress, cf. Ps. 118:5; Lam. 1:3) of Sheol came upon (lit. "found," BDB 592, KB 619, Qal PERFECT) him (see SPECIAL TOPIC: WHERE ARE THE DEAD?)
  5. conclusion ‒ I called upon the name of the Lord, BDB 894, KB 1128, Qal IMPERFECT

His words were, "O Lord, I beseech You, save my life," BDB 572, KB 589, Piel IMPERATIVE

SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" OF YHWH

116:3 "terrors" The MT has "distress" (BDB 865, KB 624), but some suggest an emendation to "snares" (KB 622), which fits the parellelism with "cords," v. 3a, better.

  1. terrors, מצר ‒ BDb 865, KB 624
  2. snares, מצוד ‒ KB 622

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 116:5-11
 5Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
 Yes, our God is compassionate.
 6The Lord preserves the simple;
 I was brought low, and He saved me.
 7Return to your rest, O my soul,
 For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
 8For You have rescued my soul from death,
 My eyes from tears,
 My feet from stumbling.
 9I shall walk before the Lord
 In the land of the living.
 10I believed when I said,
 "I am greatly afflicted."
 11I said in my alarm,
 "All men are liars."

116:5-11 After the psalmist prays he contemplates the characteristics of YHWH.

  1. gracious
  2. righteous
  3. compassionate
  4. preserves the simple (BDB 834, KB 989, an untrained or naive person, but open to instruction, cf. Ps. 19:7)

YHWH shows His character.

  1. He saved me ‒ BDB 446, KB 440, Hiphil IMPERFECT, Ps. 116:6b
  2. return to rest ‒ BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal IMPERATIVE (he talks to himself of a mental place of safety and security in YHWH), Ps. 116:7a
  3. He has dealt bountifully with him (cf. Ps. 13:6; 119:17; 142:7), Ps. 116:7b
  4. He rescued my soul (i.e., nephesh, BDB 659) from death ‒ BDB 322, KB 321, Piel PERFECT, Ps. 116:8a; see SPECIAL TOPIC: NEPHESH)
  5. He rescued my eyes from tears, Ps. 116:8b
  6. He rescued my feet from stumbling, Ps. 116:8c (cf. Ps. 56:13; see SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PATH, THE WAY)

The psalmist's response.

  1. see #2 above
  2. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living (i.e., YHWH will heal/save him)
  3. Ps. 116:10-11 is difficult to interpret in context. It may reflect
    1. current faith
    2. past statements (Paul quotes Ps. 116:11b in Rom. 3:4)

These two verses must refer to those who seek/plot against the psalmist's life. If so, the context of this Psalm is not sickness but treachery (cf. Ps. 116:11b).

The LXX translation of Ps. 116:10 can be seen in 2 Cor. 4:13, but the MT is uncertain.

SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD (OT)

116:6
NASB, NKJV, NRSV, NJB, JPSOA  "the simple"
REB  "the simple-hearted"
TEV  "the helpless"
LXX  "infants"
Peshitta  "the little ones"
NET  "the untrained"

The MT has the ADJECTIVE (BDB 834, KB 984) which has several connotations (usually negative), but here in a positive sense (i.e., #1).

  1. open to instruction (cf. Ps. 19:7; 119:130; Prov. 1:4)
  2. believing everything said to them (naive, cf. Prov. 1:22; 14:15)
  3. easily enticed (cf. Prov. 8:5; 9:16; 22:3)

116:11 "in my alarm" This Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT (BDB 342, KB 339) denotes a state of mental fear, panic (cf. Ps. 31:22). The "rest" of Ps. 116:7 is the direct opposite of this word!

▣ "All men are liars" As "rest" is the opposite of "alarm," lying humans are the opposite of YHWH (cf. Num. 23:19a; 1 Sam. 15:29; Rom. 3:4).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 116:12-19
 12What shall I render to the Lord
 For all His benefits toward me?
 13I shall lift up the cup of salvation
 And call upon the name of the Lord.
 14I shall pay my vows to the Lord,
 Oh may it be in the presence of all His people.
 15Precious in the sight of the Lord
 Is the death of His godly ones.
 16O Lord, surely I am Your servant,
 I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid,
 You have loosed my bonds.
 17To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
 And call upon the name of the Lord.
 18I shall pay my vows to the Lord,
 Oh may it be in the presence of all His people,
 19In the courts of the Lord's house,
 In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
 Praise the Lord!

116:12-19 This strophe has all IMPERFECTS (except Ps. 116:16c), which denotes ongoing, continuous activity. The psalmist describes what he will do in worship at the temple and in life (cf. Ps. 116:9) because of YHWH's great care and deliverance (cf. Ps. 116:12).

  1. he will lift up the cup of salvation, Ps. 116:13a ‒ AB (p. 149) says it was a ritual part of the thanksgiving sacrifice in the temple; it denotes a libation, not a drink (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 618; see SPECIAL TOPIC: CUP)
  2. he will call upon the name of the Lord, Ps. 116:13b,17b (see SPECIAL TOPIC: "THE NAME" of YHWH)
  3. he will pay his vows, Ps. 116:14,18 (cf. Leviticus 27)
  4. he will offer sacrifice, Ps. 116:17 (see SPECIAL TOPIC: PEACE OFFERING)
  5. he will praise YHWH in the temple, Ps. 116:19 (cf. 116:14) ‒ this IMPERATIVE may go at the beginning of Psalm 117 (LXX)
116:15
NASB, NKJV, NRSV, LXX, Peshitta  "precious"
REB  "precious thing"
NJB  "costly"
TEV  "how painful"
JPSOA  "grievous"

The ADJECTIVE "precious" (BDB 429) is usually used of valuable items. In this context it denotes the fact that YHWH cares deeply when His faithful followers go through trials and sickness on earth (cf. Ps. 72:14). He is aware of their situations and quickly comes to their aid (cf. Exod. 3:7).

In a fallen world, not every believer is physically delivered. Crises, problems, and fears do come. Even if we do not see God's presence, He is with us and for us. One day we will be with Him!

The NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 525, has a suggested an emendation that an "n" has dropped out of the word "death" and the root should be seen as the Aramaic word for "trust," thereby rendering the line as

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the faith/trust of His loyal ones."

The problem is the use of "precious" with "death." Surely the death of saints is not precious (i.e., valuable). Some scholars have changed the meaning of the Hebrew "precious" (BDB 429) to "costly" or "painful." It grieves YHWH for His faithful followers to suffer and die! The terrible results of the Fall were never His purpose in creation!

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE FALL OF MANKIND

▣ "saints" See note online at Ps. 16:10 and 30:4.

SPECIAL TOPIC: SAINTS

SPECIAL TOPIC: HOLY ONE, HOLY ONES

116:16 Notice "I am Your servant" is repeated for emphasis. The term "servant" (BDB 713) has a wide semantic field but here it probably denotes "worshiper" (see SPECIAL TOPIC: WORSHIP)

The next line, "the son of Your handmaid," is also found in Ps. 86:16 and denotes

  1. a righteous mother
  2. an Israelite mother
  3. an idiom of humility
  4. a slave family or faithful servant family

The psalmist bases this conclusion on the fact that YHWH has loosed (BDB 834, KB 986, Piel PERFECT) his bonds (BDB 64), which could denote

  1. saved him from terminal sickness (straits or Sheol)
  2. saved him from enemies
  3. saved him from prison or exile
  4. saved him from distress (the term [BDB 865] "straits" in Ps. 116:3 [twice] is used in Ps. 118:5 and Lam. 1:3 of "distress")

A simple way to express this verse would be "Here Am I" or "I am available for service." YHWH has saved him, now he will willingly and fully serve Him (cf. Rom. 12:1-2).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. Explain the possible life settings of this Psalm.
  2. Is it unusual for death and Sheol to be personified?
  3. List the characteristics of YHWH.
  4. Why is Ps. 116:10-11 so hard to interpret?
  5. What OT imagery lies behind Ps. 116:16?
  6. List the words, phrases that reflect temple worship.

 

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