Psalms 112
What Happens in This Chapter
This psalm describes the person who fears the LORD and delights in his commands, and lists what follows for that person: strong descendants, wealth in the house, righteousness that lasts, light in the dark, and a steady heart that does not fear bad news. Such a person is generous, lends freely, gives to the poor, and is remembered long after. The psalm closes with the wicked watching this, grinding their teeth, and wasting away while their desires come to nothing. It is an acrostic poem.
Praise the LORD! Happy is the person who fears the LORD, who takes great delight in what the LORD commands.
1Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
"Praise the LORD" translates the single Hebrew word *hallelujah*. LORD in small capitals stands in for the personal name of God, which Hebrew writes with four consonants (YHWH) and which Jewish readers traditionally do not pronounce aloud. To "fear" the LORD means awe and reverence rather than being frightened: it describes a whole way of living, not an emotion. In Hebrew this psalm is an acrostic: it has twenty-two lines, and each one begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That is why the thoughts sit side by side in short units rather than building one long argument.
2His children and their children will be strong in the land. The family line of people who live right will be blessed.
2His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
"The land" is the land of Israel, the territory promised to Abraham's descendants. Prosperity there, and a family line that continues in it, was the standard picture of a life that had gone well.
3Wealth and riches are in his house, and the right way he lives lasts forever.
3Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
4For those who live right, light rises in the darkness. He is kind, full of pity, and fair in all he does.
4Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
Who "he" refers to here is genuinely unsettled, and the Hebrew does not say. It may be the upright person just mentioned (kind, compassionate and fair, and so a light to others) or it may be the LORD, who is described in exactly these words elsewhere in the Psalms. Translators divide on it; the rendering leaves the ambiguity open.
5Things go well for the person who is generous and lends freely, who runs his own affairs with justice.
5A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
Under Israelite law a fellow Israelite could not be charged interest on a loan (Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 23:19), so lending was not a business transaction but an act of generosity toward someone in trouble. "Justice" here is the same word used for a legal verdict: he handles his own affairs by the standard a fair court would apply.
6He will never be shaken. The person who does what is right will be remembered forever.
6Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
7He is not afraid of bad news. His heart is steady, because he trusts the LORD.
7He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
8His heart is secure and he is not afraid, until in the end he looks on his enemies in victory.
8His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
The Hebrew says only that he "looks on" his enemies, without saying what he sees. It is a set phrase for watching from a position of safety once a threat has passed, seeing the outcome rather than gloating over it. "Until" marks the point his confidence is finally proved right, not the point at which it runs out.
9He has given widely and freely to the poor. The right way he lives lasts forever. His strength will be lifted high in honor.
9He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
A "horn" is the horn of an ox or ram, the standard image in Hebrew for strength and standing; to have your horn lifted high is to be publicly honored rather than humiliated. "Given widely" translates a verb meaning to scatter, as a farmer scatters seed by hand, open-handed rather than measured out.
10The wicked will see it and be upset. He will grind his teeth and waste away. What the wicked want will come to nothing.
10The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
Grinding or gnashing the teeth is a gesture of helpless rage and frustration, not of hunger or grief. "Waste away" translates a word used of things dissolving or melting, the wicked man's substance simply drains out of him.
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