Psalm 64 | |
---|---|
"Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer" | |
Other name |
|
Language | Hebrew (original) |
Psalm 64 | |
---|---|
← Psalm 63 Psalm 65 → | |
Book | Book of Psalms |
Hebrew Bible part | Ketuvim |
Order in the Hebrew part | 1 |
Category | Sifrei Emet |
Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 19 |
Psalm 64 is the 64th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy". In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 63. In Latin, it is known as "Exaudi Deus orationem meam".[1][2] It is directed against the "wicked" (רעע) and "workers of iniquity" (פֹּעֲלֵי אָֽוֶן), whom God shall shoot with an arrow (וַיֹּרֵם אֱלֹהִים חֵץ). The psalm may be treated as a prayer for deliverance from enemies, or as a thanksgiving, or a testimony to divine judgement.[3]
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music.
The following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 64:[4]
Verse | Hebrew |
---|---|
1 | .לַמְנַצֵּחַ, מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד |
2 | .שְׁמַע-אֱלֹהִים קוֹלִי בְשִׂיחִי; מִפַּחַד אוֹיֵב, תִּצֹּר חַיָּי |
3 | .תַּסְתִּירֵנִי, מִסּוֹד מְרֵעִים; מֵרִגְשַׁת, פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן |
4 | .אֲשֶׁר שָׁנְנוּ כַחֶרֶב לְשׁוֹנָם; דָּרְכוּ חִצָּם, דָּבָר מָר |
5 | .לִירֹת בַּמִּסְתָּרִים תָּם; פִּתְאֹם יֹרֻהוּ, וְלֹא יִירָאוּ |
6 | ;יְחַזְּקוּ-לָמוֹ, דָּבָר רָע-- יְסַפְּרוּ, לִטְמוֹן מוֹקְשִׁים
.אָמְרוּ, מִי יִרְאֶה-לָּמוֹ |
7 | ;יַחְפְּשׂוּ עוֹלֹת-- תַּמְנוּ, חֵפֶשׂ מְחֻפָּשׂ
.וְקֶרֶב אִישׁ, וְלֵב עָמֹק |
8 | .יֹּרֵם, אֱלֹהִים: חֵץ פִּתְאוֹם--הָיוּ, מַכּוֹתָם |
9 | .וַיַּכְשִׁילוּהוּ עָלֵימוֹ לְשׁוֹנָם; יִתְנֹדְדוּ, כָּל-רֹאֵה בָם |
10 | .וַיִּירְאוּ, כָּל-אָדָם: וַיַּגִּידוּ, פֹּעַל אֱלֹהִים; וּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ הִשְׂכִּילוּ |
11 | .יִשְׂמַח צַדִּיק בַּיהוָה, וְחָסָה בוֹ; וְיִתְהַלְלוּ, כָּל-יִשְׁרֵי-לֵב |
Verses 6–7 (Vulgate: Psalm 63:7-8) have been the subject of confusion in early Bible translations: the King James Version translates the Hebrew as:
But in the Vulgate, Jerome, based on the Septuagint text, rendered this as
which translates to "They have searched after iniquities: they have failed in their search. Man shall accede to a lofty heart: And God shall be exalted. The arrows of children are their wounds."
The adjective altum in Latin has both the meanings "high" and "deep", and it is here used to translate LXX βαθεῖα "deep",[5] but it offered itself to an interpretation of an "exalted heart". The "arrows of children" (Sagittæ parvulum) render LXX βέλος νηπίων, which has no correspondence in the Hebrew text as it has come down to us.[who?]
Jerome's translation gave rise to mystical interpretations involving the Sacred Heart in early modern Christian tradition. For example, Serafino Porrecta, in his Commentaria in Psalterium Davidicum, interprets this in terms of Christ himself being the Man who can "accede to that exalted heart", Hic [Christus] solus accessit ad illum cor altum.[6]
The arrow of God leads to a turning to God. In verse 4 the wicked shoot arrows secretly at the righteous. In verse 7, God shoots an arrow (arrows, plural, in some translations) at the wicked, but for some these will be saving arrows, as in verse 9: men will "proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done".[7]
This psalm was chosen by St. Benedict of Nursia around 530, for the solemn office at the lauds of Wednesday. In the Rule of St. Benedict, it was recited or sung after Psalm 51 (50) and followed by Psalm 65 (64) (chapter XIII). A number of abbeys still retain this tradition dating from the 6th century.[8][9]
In the current Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 64 is recited or sung at the midday office on the Saturday of the second week of a four-weekly cycle of liturgical prayers.
In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the 12th day of the month.[10]
Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 64 in a metred version in German, "Erhör mein Stimm, Herr, wenn ich klag", SWV 161, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628. Zdeněk Fibich composed a setting, Hud. 155, for mixed choir in 1879.