Donald Traxler's Poetry: January 2023

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

PSALM 9

Note: This psalm is, in the Masoretic text, divided into two psalms: Psalm 9 is comprised of verses 1-21, and verses 22-39 are there called Psalm 10. The psalm, though, is an acrostic (each verse begins with a different letter of the alphabet, in alphabetical order). Four of the verses, those corresponding to ד, מ, נ, ס, are missing from the Masoretic text, due to its relatively poor state of conservation in ancient times. Due to the Masoretic division of this psalm into two, from this point on the psalm numbers in the Masoretic text are one higher than those in the Septuagint and the Vulgate. The numbers again come into alignment with Psalm 148. In my translations, I now use the Masoretic numbering.

There are several places in this psalm where the Hebrew is quite problematic. I've done my best, using the most ancient sources available to me (as well as modern critical editions), to make my translation as accurate as possible.

I will celebrate you, O Lord,

with all my heart,

I will tell of all your wonders.

I will rejoice and exult in you,

I will sing to your name,

O Most High.

For my enemies have retreated,

they have fallen down and perished

before your face.

For you have accepted

my judgment and my cause,

you have sat on the throne

as a righteous judge.

You rebuked the nations,

destroyed the wicked,

erased their name forever.

The enemy is finished,

in eternal ruins.

You have destroyed their cities,

the memory of them has perished.

But the Lord abides forever,

He has established his throne

for judgment, and He will judge

the world with justice,

He will judge the peoples with equity.

The Lord will be a refuge

for the oppressed,

a haven in times of trouble.

They will hope in you

who have known your name,

for you, O Lord,

do not abandon

those who seek you.

Sing to the Lord

who dwells in Zion,

and announce his works

to the nations,

for the avenger of blood

has remembered them,

He has not forgotten

the cry of the poor.

Have mercy on me, O Lord,

see the affliction that I suffer

from the hands of my enemies.

Lift me from the gates of death,

that I may proclaim all your praises

in the gates of the daughter of Zion.

I will rejoice in your deliverance

The nations have fallen into

the pit that they made,

their foot is caught in

the net that they hid.

The Lord has shown himself

and given judgment.

The wicked have been caught

in the works of their hands.

Let sinners be turned back to Sheol,

all the nations that have forgotten God.

For the poor will not always be forgotten,

nor the hope of the needy forever lost.

Rise up, O Lord, lest man prevail,

let the nations be judged in your sight.

Set a teacher over them, O Lord,

let the peoples know

that they are human.

Sunday, January 29, 2023

PSALM 8 (revised)

O Lord, our Lord,

how great is your name

throughout the earth,

you who have spread

your majesty

above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of infants

and suckling babies,

you have brought forth praise

for quelling the punishing foe.

When I look at the heavens,

the work of your hands,

the moon and stars

that you established,

what is man,

that you remember him,

or the son of man,

that you visit him?

You have made him

a little less than God,

with honor and glory

you have crowned him.

You have given him power

over the works of your hands,

you have laid all things

under his feet:

all sheep and cattle,

and all beasts of the field,

the birds of the sky

and the fish of the sea

that travel the watery paths.

O Lord, our Lord,

how great is your name

in all the earth!

Aging Project XXVI

Saturday, January 28, 2023

PSALM 7

O Lord my God,

I take refuge in you.

Save me from all those

who persecute me,

and free me,

lest they seize me

as would a lion,

tearing me apart,

with no one

to rescue me.

O Lord my God.

if I did this,

if there is injustice

on my hands,

if I repaid my allies

with evil,

and sent my enemies away with nothing;

then may my enemy pursue and

overtake me, trample

my life to the ground,

and lay my honor

in the dust.

Rise up, O Lord, in your wrath,

raise yourself up, indignant,

over my oppressors.

Stand up for me in the

judgment you've decreed,

let the assembly of nations

surround you, and you sit

on high above them.

The Lord will judge

the peoples.

Judge me, O Lord,

according to my righteousness,

according to the integrity

that is in me.

Let the evil of sinners be destroyed,

let justice be confirmed:

inspector of hearts and minds,

O righteous God.

My shield is in God,

who saves the upright

in heart.

God is a just and severe judge,

daily pronouncing doom.

If one does not turn back,

He will sharpen his sword;

He has bent his bow,

and aimed it.

In it He has prepared missiles of death;

He has made his arrows fiery.

Behold, the wicked one

conceives injustice,

is pregnant with evil,

and brings forth deceit.

He has dug a pit, but

he has fallen into it.

His malice falls back

on his own head,

his violence returns

there, too.

But I will praise the Lord

on account of his justice,

and will sing

to the name

of the most high Lord.

Thursday, January 26, 2023

PSALM 6

Do not rebuke me,

O Lord,

in your fury,

nor sweep me away

in your anger.

Have mercy on me,

O Lord,

for I am weak.

Heal me, O Lord,

for my bones are troubled

and my soul is greatly

distressed.

But you, O Lord--

how long?

Turn, O Lord,

snatch up my soul,

save me in your mercy,

for in death there is no remembrance

of you;

who will acknowledge you

in Sheol?

I have labored in my groaning;

nightly I make my bed swim

with my weeping;

I water my couch

with my tears.

My eye has grown dark

from bitterness,

I am worn out by all my enemies.

Away from me,

all who work injustice;

for the Lord has heard

the sound of my weeping.

The Lord has heard

my petition,

the Lord has accepted

my prayer.

May all my enemies be ashamed

and very much troubled,

may they quickly retreat

in their shame.

Aging Project XXV

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

PSALM 5

Hear my words, O Lord,

consider the sound of my prayer,

my King and my God,

for to you I pray.

In the morning you will hear

my voice, O Lord,

at daybreak I will plead

my case, and wait.

For you are not a God

who desires iniquity,

nor can evildoers

dwell with you.

The wicked shall not stand

in your sight.

You have hated all

who practice injustice,

you destroy those who lie.

The Lord will abhor

the bloodthirsty and

the deceitful.

But I, by your great mercy,

will enter into your house,

I will worship

in your holy temple

in awe of you, O Lord.

Lead me in your righteousness

on account of those who lie in wait for me,

and make straight your way

before me.

For in the mouth of these

there is no sincerity,

their heart is full of malice,

their throat is an open grave,

their tongue smooth.

Condemn them, O God,

let them fall by their own counsels.

Drive them out for their many crimes,

for they have provoked you.

But let all those rejoice

who take refuge in you,

may they forever give praise,

and protect them.

May all those rejoice in you

who love your name.

For you bless the just, O Lord,

you surround them

with your favor

like a shield.

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

PSALM 4

Hear me when I call upon you,

O God of my righteousness,

who raised me up

in my anguish.

Have mercy on me

and hear my prayer.

People, how long

will you turn my glory

into shame?

Why do you love vanity

and follow lies?

But know that the Lord

has set apart

his devout ones.

The Lord will hear me

when I call upon him.

Tremble, and do not sin,

commune with your own hearts,

upon your beds,

and be silent.

Make offerings

of righteousness,

and trust

in the Lord.

Many say,

"Who has shown us good things?"

Raise over us the light

of your face, O Lord!

You have given joy

to my heart;

in their time,

grain and wine

have multiplied.

In peace I will lie down

and sleep,

for you, O Lord,

have made me safe.

Monday, January 23, 2023

PSALM 3

O Lord, why have my enemies

so multiplied?

Many rise up

against me.

Many say of me,

"there is no salvation

for that one in God."

But you, O Lord,

are my shield,

my glory,

He who lifts

my head high.

My voice cried out

to the Lord,

and He heard me

from his holy mountain.

I lay down, and slept.

I rose again,

for the Lord supported me.

I shall not fear

the thousands of people

who have surrounded me.

Rise up, O Lord!

Save me, my God!

For you have struck

the cheek of every

enemy, and broken

the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation is the Lord's:

may your blessing

be upon

your people.

Sunday, January 22, 2023

PSALM 2

Why do nations conspire,

and peoples occupy

themselves with vain things?

The kings of the earth

ally themselves

and the princes conspire

against the Lord and

his anointed one.

Let us break their chains,

and cast off from us

their nooses.

The One who lives

in Heaven laughs,

the Lord mocks them.

Then He speaks to

them in his anger,

and in his fury

He terrifies them.

But I was established

King by Him,

on Zion his holy

mountain.

I will declare the decree

of the Lord:

The Lord said to me,

"You are my son,

I have fathered you

this day.

Ask it of me,

and I will give you

the nations

as your heritage,

and the ends of the earth

as your possession."

You shall shepherd them

with an iron staff,

and shatter them

like a potter's jar."

Understand then,

O kings,

be instructed,

O judges

of the earth.

Serve the Lord

in fear, and trembling

rejoice in Him.

Pay homage to Him

with a pure heart,

lest He become angered

and you soon perish

from the way,

in the flash of his wrath.

Happy are all

who take refuge

in Him.

Saturday, January 21, 2023

PSALM 1

Happy are they

who do not follow

the counsel of the wicked,

nor start down the path

of sinners,

nor sit in the seats

of mockers.

But their joy is in

the law of the Lord,

and on his law they

meditate day and night.

They are like a tree

planted by flowing waters,

that produces its fruit in season,

whose leaves do not wither,

and all their works will prosper.

Not so the wicked,

but like chaff blown

by the wind.

Therefore the wicked

will not rise up in the judgment,

nor sinners in the

assembly of the just.

For the Lord knows the way

of the just,

but the path of the wicked

will perish.

Friday, January 20, 2023

Aging Project XXIV

Monday, January 16, 2023

150,000 Views, Many Books, and Some Aging

A few days ago we passed the milestone of 150,000 page-views (what I used to refer to as "visits") in this poetry/writing/photography blog. This was largely due to a single user accessing almost 1,700 of my blog posts, in an automated way, in a period of about twenty minutes. This is serious interest, indeed. It represents slightly more than half of my database of 2,962 total posts in the blog. I used to associate such activity with planned piracy of my work, but since no pirate publications have come to my attention, I'm really not sure. In any case, I hope that s/he enjoys all those poems, articles, and photos. I hope that all my loyal readers, in more than 100 countries, enjoy them, too.

Lately I've been writing more on Bible translation, especially concerning the Psalms. Most recently I wrote quite a lengthy and detailed post about a translation problem with Psalm 2:12, a verse whose translation from Hebrew has generated a large amount of controversy.

Just SOME of the books that I needed in writing about a single verse of Psalm 2.

For several months now, I've also been doing a series called "Aging Project," illustrated with my own photography. Here's a sample, Aging Project XXIII:

I also have a future project in mind, involving a fresh approach to translation of some of our oldest poetry, the Book of Psalms. Not wanting to take the wind out of my own sails, I'll say no more about it for now.

As always, thank you, my loyal readers, for your continued interest and enthusiasm.

Saturday, January 14, 2023

Psalm 2:12

One would not think that the Book of Psalms (Tehillim), some of the oldest poetry that we have, could be a source of controversy, but apparently it can. A single verse can cause contention. In this case the sticking point is the twelfth verse of the second Psalm. The problem is that many Christians believe the verse includes a prefiguring of Jesus, as the Son, while Jews see no mention of a son in the verse. Who is right? Let's try to sort it out.

The mention of a "son" appeared first in the King James Version (KJV) of 1611:

"Kiss the Son, lest he be angry. . . "

What readings were current before that? The oldest we have would be the Septuagint (LXX), the translation made in about 250 BCE by Jewish scholars for the Jewish community of Alexandria:

"Seize upon instruction (draksasthe paideias) lest the Lord should be angry. . . "

In the late fourth century CE, Saint Jerome offered two translations of the Psalms to Pope Damasus for eventual inclusion in what would become known as the Vulgate: one based on the Septuagint, and the other based on direct translation from the best Hebrew text he could find. Pope Damasus chose the translation based on the Septuagint, so this is what we find in the Vulgate:

"adprehendite disciplinam nequando irascatur Dominus. . . "

It seems to me that both "draksasthe paideias" and "adprehendite disciplinam" could be translated into colloquial English as "learn your lesson." Is this what the Hebrew says? Hardly. Modern editions of the best Hebrew text we have, which dates to 1010 CE, tend to include page notes here (and in many other places), stating that "the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain." Apparently it was also uncertain for the translator into Greek in 250 BCE, who just threw up his hands and took a shot in the dark, putting in "learn your lesson."

But wait . . . what about the second translation that Jerome offered to Pope Damasus, the one based on a Hebrew text of the time? Fortunately we still have it, and it happens to be included in my edition of the Vulgate (Robertus Weber OSB, 1969 Württemburg, second edition 1975):

"adorate pure ne forte irascatur. . . " (adore purely, lest he should become angry. . .)"

What a difference! Was the translator of the Hebrew text shooting in the dark? As we shall see, it appears that he was not.

Now the Vulgate of the late fourth century CE was not the last Latin translation. In 1945, the Catholic Church published LIBER PSALMORUM CUM CANTICIS BREVIARII ROMANI. If we look up this verse in it, we find:

"praestate obsequium illi, ne irascatur. . . " (pay homage to him, lest he become angry. . . )

Now we are getting somewhere. They have realized that "kiss" (imperative), נַשְּׁקוּ, was meant symbolically: in the ancient world, a kiss was often an act of paying homage and expressing submission. The whole phrase in the Masoretic Text, though, was נַשְּׁקוּ־בַר, and this is where the trouble comes in. In an unpointed Hebrew text, the only kind available before the Masoretes completed their work in the tenth century CE, the second part of the phrase would simply have been written as "בר“ (without vowels). Now the Masoretes mispointed the word as "בַר“ (bar), when it should actually have been "בֹר" (bor). According to my dictionary, this word "bor" means "pureness (of heart)." According to Strong's Concordance, the word (Strong #1252/3) has a constellation of meanings involving "purity," including "purely." Now I did not know this word (I am indebted to Rabbi Tovia Singer for its identification). Apparently the translators of the 1945 Liber Psalmorum did not know it either, because they went down a rabbit hole based on a 1940 article in the journal Biblica which made a tortuous argument based on very little evidence that the Masoretic Text was defective and the reading should actually be "kiss him on the feet." They must have known that their argument was flimsy, because they simply said "pay homage," not mentioning "feet." As we shall see, though, their argument was not without influence.

What is the significance of all this so far? Well, King James' translators apparently jumped to the conclusion that the mispointed word "bar" was the Aramaic word "bar," which means "son." But the Psalms are written in Hebrew, not Aramaic. They are 100% Hebrew poetry, with not a word of Aramaic in them. In the whole Bible, the Aramaic word "bar," meaning "son," only occurs in the books of Ezra and Daniel, which are partly written in Aramaic, and in Proverbs 31:2, where the proverb-collector was quoting his mother, who spoke to him in Aramaic. But it does not occur in the Psalms. At all.

We are not in a position, though, to assert that the translators of the KJV made this misreading intentionally. It is my opinion that they probably did not.

So now let us look at a few post-1611 and post-1945 translations of Psalms 2:12:

RSV (1952): "kiss his feet, lest he be angry, , , "

NASB (1960-1975): "Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry. . . "

NKJV (1980-82): "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry. . . "

NIV (1973-1984): "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry. . . "

NWT (1984): "Kiss the son, that He may not become incensed. . . "

NAB (1970-1991) "bow down in homage, lest God be angry. . . "

TIB (The Inclusive Bible, 2007) "Pay homage to God's Own. . . "

And it is not only in English that the error of the KJV has persisted:

RVR (2017): "Rendid pleitesía al Hijo, para que no se enoje. . . " (Pay homage to the Son, in order that he may not become angry. . . )

VS (1921): "Rendez hommage au Fils, de peur qu'il ne s'irrite. . . " (Pay homage to the Son, lest he should become angered. . . )

If the translators of any of these versions have knowingly and intentionally perpetuated the (convenient) error of the KJV, then shame on them. We are not, however, in a position to assert that this is so.

The post-1611 publications listed above are Christian, though some, such as the RSV, may make an effort to be ecumenical. How do the Jews themselves translate their own Scriptures in this troublesome verse? Let's take a look.

JPS Tanakh (1999) "pay homage in good faith, lest He be angered. . . "

Koren תורה נביאים כתובים (1997) "Worship in purity, lest he be angry. . . "

I submit that both of these are correct. JPS's "in good faith" here means "without ulterior motives or mental reservations," and is certainly the way in which we should approach God. Koren's "Worship in purity" is more literal, and takes us back to Jerome's Hebrew-based translation of the late fourth century CE, the one that Pope Damasus rejected. It is clear from this example that Jerome's Jewish informant was very knowledgeable indeed, being able to extract the correct meaning from an unpointed text. We might have been saved a great deal of trouble, had Damasus accepted his translation.

One takeaway for me in all this is that, in doing my translations of the Psalms, I should give more weight to Jerome's "Iuxta Hebraicum" translation than I previously have, along with JPS and Koren.

A lesson for all of us might be that we should allow a culture to interpret its own scriptures.

Friday, January 13, 2023

He Illuminates the Shadows

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Graphic 5855

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Arrived Today

I was very happy when this arrived in the mail today. I hadn't had a JPS Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) since the compact edition (with print too small for these old eyes) had to be left behind in Uruguay. I did (and do) have a Koren edition, but I prefer this JPS one, for several reasons. It's a nice, large volume, and I can read the print. It also uses a clearer Hebrew font than the somewhat decorative one of the Koren publication. It gives variant readings and their sources. Best of all, though, when the translators cannot be sure of the meaning of a word they include a page note, saying "Meaning of Heb. uncertain. . . " I haven't found such honesty in any other translation.

Donald Traxler's Poetry