Psalms 32

Happy is the person whose wrongdoing is forgiven, whose sin is covered over.

1Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

NoteThree different Hebrew words for wrongdoing run through the opening verses: one that pictures rebellion or breaking away from an authority, one that means missing the mark or failing, and one that means something bent or twisted. English translations shuffle them among "wrongdoing," "sin," "guilt" and "iniquity." "Covered" is the ordinary Hebrew word for putting something out of sight, the same image used of concealing a stain; it says the sin is no longer on view, not that it is being hidden by the sinner.

2Happy is the person whose guilt the LORD does not count against him, and who has no deceit in his spirit.

2Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

Note"Does not count against him" translates a bookkeeping term: to enter an amount in a ledger against someone's name. The picture is of a debt that is never written down.

3When I stayed silent about my sin, my bones wore out, because I groaned all day long.

3When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

NoteIn Hebrew poetry "bones" stands for the whole physical self, the frame that holds a person up, and so their strength. Saying the bones wore out is a way of saying the speaker was falling apart bodily, not a claim about a specific ailment.

4Day and night your hand pressed down hard on me. My strength dried up, like ground in the heat of summer. Selah.

4For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

Note"Your hand was heavy on me" is a standard Hebrew image for pressure or affliction coming from a power greater than yourself. "Selah" is a Hebrew word left untranslated because nobody now knows what it meant. It appears mostly in the Psalms and is generally taken to be a direction to the musicians or singers: perhaps a pause, perhaps a louder passage or an instrumental break.

5Then I admitted my sin to you, and I did not hide what I had done wrong. I said, "I will confess my wrongdoing to the LORD." And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.

5I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

6So let everyone who is faithful pray to you while you can still be found. Then when great floodwaters rise, they will not reach him.

6For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

Note"While you can still be found" renders a phrase that could mean either at a time when God is available to be approached, or in the time of distress, the Hebrew is compressed and both readings are old. Rising floodwaters are a stock image in Hebrew poetry for overwhelming danger, drawn from the flash floods that filled dry valleys in a storm.

7You are my hiding place. You will keep me safe from trouble. You will surround me with songs about being rescued. Selah.

7Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

Note"Songs about being rescued" translates a word meaning ringing cries or shouts. It is not clear whether these are shouts of triumph the rescued person makes, or the songs others sing around him.

8I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go. I will give you advice and keep my eye on you.

8I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

NoteThe Hebrew of the last phrase is literally "I will counsel you, my eye upon you." That may mean guidance by a look or glance, or simply watchful care. It is also unclear whether verses 8 and 9 are God speaking or the psalmist speaking to his hearers.

9Do not be like a horse or a mule, which has no understanding. They have to be controlled with a bit and bridle, or they will not come to you.

9Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

NoteA bit is the metal bar placed in an animal's mouth; a bridle is the strapping on its head that the reins attach to. Together they are how a rider forces a horse or mule to go where he wants. The end of the verse is difficult in Hebrew: it can be read as "or they will not come near you" (the animal must be restrained before it will approach) or "otherwise it will not stay near you."

10The wicked person has many sorrows, but faithful love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.

10Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.

Note"Faithful love" translates the Hebrew word *hesed*, which has no single English equivalent. It means loyal, committed kindness of the sort owed within a binding relationship, older translations render it "mercy," "lovingkindness" or "steadfast love."

11Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, all you who do what is right. Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are honest.

11Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.