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.

Translation Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.