Psalms 25 (NET)

Psalm 251

1 By David.

O Lord, I come before you in prayer.2

2 My God, I trust in you.

Please do not let me be humiliated;

do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me!

3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.

Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted3 and humiliated.

4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!

Teach me your paths!4

5 Guide me into your truth5 and teach me.

For you are the God who delivers me;

on you I rely all day long.

6 Remember6 your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,

for you have always acted in this manner.7

7 Do not hold against me8 the sins of my youth9 or my rebellious acts!

Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord!10

8 The Lord is both kind and fair;11

that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live.12

9 May he show13 the humble what is right!14

May he teach15 the humble his way!

10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable16

to those who follow the demands of his covenant.17

11 For the sake of your reputation,18 O Lord,

forgive my sin, because it is great.19

12 The Lord shows his faithful followers

the way they should live.20

13 They experience his favor;21

their descendants22 inherit the land.23

14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance,24

and he reveals his covenantal demands to them.25

15 I continually look to the Lord for help,26

for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net.27

16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,

for I am alone28 and oppressed!

17 Deliver me from my distress;29

rescue me from my suffering!30

18 See my pain and suffering!

Forgive all my sins!31

19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;

they hate me and want to harm me.32

20 Protect me33 and deliver me!

Please do not let me be humiliated,

for I have taken shelter in you!

21 May integrity and godliness protect me,

for I rely on you!

22 O God, rescue34 Israel

from all their distress!35

1sn Psalm 25. The psalmist asks for divine protection, guidance and forgiveness as he affirms his loyalty to and trust in the Lord. This psalm is an acrostic; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for v. 18, which, like v. 19, begins with ר (resh) instead of the expected ק (qof). The final verse, which begins with פ (pe), stands outside the acrostic scheme. 2tn Heb “to you, O Lord, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer. See Pss 86:4; 143:8. 3tn Heb “those who deal in treachery in vain.” The adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “in vain”) probably refers to the failure (or futility) of their efforts. Another option is to understand it as meaning “without cause” (cf. NIV “without excuse”; NRSV “wantonly treacherous”). 4sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10. 5sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will. 6tn That is, “remember” with the intention of repeating. 7tn Heb “for from antiquity [are] they.” 8tn Heb “do not remember,” with the intention of punishing. 9sn That is, the sins characteristic of youths, who lack moral discretion and wisdom. 10tn Heb “according to your faithfulness, remember me, you, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.” 11tn Heb “good and just.” 12tn Heb “teaches sinners in the way.” 13tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer. 14tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition. 15tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”). 16tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions. 17tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” 18tn Heb “name.” By forgiving the sinful psalmist, the Lord’s reputation as a merciful God will be enhanced. 19sn Forgive my sin, because it is great. The psalmist readily admits his desperate need for forgiveness. 20tn Heb “Who is this man, the one who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” The singular (note “man”) is representative here (see v. 14, where the plural is used), and has thus been translated as a plural (“followers…they”). 21tn Heb “his life in goodness dwells.” The singular is representative (see v. 14). 22tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.” 23tn Or “earth.” 24tn Heb “the advice of the Lord belongs to those who fear him.” 25tn Heb “and his covenant, to make them know.” 26tn Heb “my eyes continually [are] toward the Lord.” 27tn Heb “for he will bring out from a net my feet.” The hostility of the psalmist’s enemies is probably in view (see v. 19). 28tn That is, helpless and vulnerable. 29tc Heb “the distresses of my heart, they make wide.” The text makes little if any sense as it stands, unless this is an otherwise unattested intransitive use of the Hiphil of רָחַב (rakhav, “be wide”). It is preferable to emend the form הִרְחִיבוּ (hirkhivu; Hiphil perfect third plural “they make wide”) to הַרְחֵיב (harkhev; Hiphil imperative masculine singular “make wide”). (The final vav [ו] can be joined to the following word and taken as a conjunction.) In this case one can translate, “[in/from] the distresses of my heart, make wide [a place for me],” that is, “deliver me from the distress I am experiencing.” For the expression “make wide [a place for me],” see Ps 4:1. 30tn Heb “from my distresses lead me out.” 31tn Heb “lift up all my sins.” 32tn Heb “see my enemies for they are numerous, and [with] violent hatred they hate me.” 33tn Or “my life.” 34tn Or “redeem.” 35tn Heb “his distresses.”sn O God, rescue Israel from all their distress. It is possible that the psalmist speaks on behalf of the nation throughout this entire psalm. Another option is that v. 22 is a later addition to the psalm which applies an original individual lament to the covenant community. If so, it may reflect an exilic setting.