Psalms 5

Listen to my words, LORD. Pay attention to my sighing.

1Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

Note"LORD" printed in capitals stands for the personal name of Israel's God, written in Hebrew with four consonants (YHWH). Jewish practice was to say "my Lord" rather than pronounce it, and English translations from the KJV onward follow that custom by substituting LORD. The KJV's "meditation" is a rare Hebrew word meaning a low murmur or sigh, the sound made under the breath when troubled, not silent reflection.

2Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, because you are the one I pray to.

2Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

Note"My King" was ordinary political language. A king was the person who heard petitions and settled disputes, and this psalm keeps that setting throughout: a plea formally laid out (v. 3), and a verdict asked for against the other side (v. 10).

3LORD, in the morning you hear my voice. In the morning I lay my request before you, and then I watch and wait.

3My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Note"Direct my prayer" translates a Hebrew verb for setting things out in order, laying wood or an offering on an altar, or setting out a case in court. Morning was both the time of the daily sacrifice and the customary time for legal hearings, so the verse pictures a petition formally presented at daybreak. "Look up" is literally "keep watch," like a lookout waiting for an answer to come back.

4You are not a God who is pleased by wickedness. Evil cannot live with you.

4For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

5Proud, boastful people cannot stand in front of you. You hate everyone who does wrong.

5The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

NoteThe KJV's "foolish" does not mean unintelligent. The Hebrew word describes the boastful and arrogant, people full of their own swagger. "Stand in thy sight" is courtroom language: being able to hold your ground in front of the judge rather than being thrown out.

6You destroy those who tell lies. The LORD is disgusted by people who kill and deceive.

6Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

Note"Leasing" is obsolete English for lying or falsehood; it has nothing to do with renting. "The bloody and deceitful man" is literally "a man of bloodshed and deceit", one who kills and one who cheats, either as two kinds of person or as one person who does both.

7But I will come into your house because your faithful love is so great. In awe of you, I will bow toward your holy temple.

7But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

Note"Mercy" here translates hesed, the loyal, committed kindness owed within a relationship or promise, closer to steadfast devotion than to pity. "Temple" translates a word meaning a great house or palace, used both of a king's palace and of God's sanctuary. Bowing *toward* the sanctuary, rather than inside its inner rooms, was the normal posture for worshipers standing in the courtyards or praying at a distance from it.

8Lead me, LORD, in your right way, because my enemies are watching. Make your path straight and clear in front of me.

8Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

Note"Mine enemies" is literally "those who watch me" or "lie in wait for me", people keeping the speaker under observation, looking for a slip. "Make thy way straight" uses road language: a level, unobstructed track, the opposite of a path that twists or is blocked.

9Nothing they say can be trusted. Inside, they are set on destruction. Their throat is an open grave. Their tongues are full of flattery and lies.

9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

Note"Their inward part is very wickedness" is literally "their insides are a yawning ruin", a pit or chasm where a person's interior should be. "An open sepulchre" is an open grave: a tomb standing uncovered, ready to swallow whoever comes near and stinking of what is already in it. "Flatter with their tongue" is literally "they make their tongue smooth."

10Declare them guilty, God. Let their own plans be what makes them fall. Drive them out because of their many sins, because they have turned against you.

10Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

NoteThe KJV's "destroy thou them" translates a Hebrew verb meaning "declare them guilty" or "hold them liable", a verdict, with the consequences following from it, rather than a request for immediate slaughter. "Let them fall by their own counsels" is genuinely ambiguous in Hebrew: either their own schemes are what bring them down, or they fall away because of those schemes.

11But let everyone who takes shelter in you be glad. Let them always shout for joy, because you protect them. Let those who love your name be full of joy in you.

11But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

Note"Thou defendest them" is literally "you spread a covering over them," the image of a shelter stretched overhead. "Thy name" is a standard Hebrew way of speaking of a person as they are known and can be called upon; loving God's name means attachment to him as he has made himself known, not affection for a word.

12For you, LORD, bless the person who does what is right. Your favor surrounds him like a shield.

12For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

NoteThe shield here is the large, body-length shield carried by front-rank soldiers, tall enough to crouch behind completely, not the small round shield strapped to the forearm. That is why the verse says "compass" or "surround": the covering goes all the way around.