Psalm 3
Psalm 3 is the third psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Lord, how are they increased that trouble me!" The Book of Psalms is part of the Ketuvim —the third section of the Hebrew Bible—and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In Latin, it is known as "Domine quid multiplicati sunt". The psalm is a personal thanksgiving to God, who answered the prayer of an afflicted soul. It is attributed to David and relates in particular to the time when he fled from his son Absalom.
The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has often been set to music, including works in Latin by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Michel-Richard Delalande and Henry Purcell.
Context
Psalm 3 is the first psalm with a title in the original, and it concerns a specific time of crisis in David's life. David fled Absalom because of a series of events that followed after David was put under discipline for his own sins regarding Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite. In that light, the prayer is a model for looking to God for help even in the midst of God's chastisement. Even so, David prays, "Thy blessing is upon Thy people".An evening and a morning are seen as David lies down to sleep and wakes up protected and sustained by providence. Absalom's advisor Ahitophel is personified as the mouth who David asks God to "break the teeth of", and in the account, Ahitophel's counsel is frustrated and Ahitophel faces his demise. David fleeing his son at the start of Psalm 3 is in direct contrast with taking refuge in "the Son" at the end of Psalm 2.
This is also the first psalm which has the word or instruction selah, which appears after verses 2, 4 and 8. The final selah possibly indicates that Psalm 3 and Psalm 4 are tied together somehow.
David spent more years fleeing Saul as a young man than he spent fleeing his son Absalom. David wrote many psalms later in the book of Psalms that address situations in which Saul was pursuing him. But here is one of the opening songs in the Book of Psalms, and it is about the painful experience of fleeing from his own son.
Text
The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint, the Latin text in the Vulgate and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions.| # | Hebrew | English | Greek | Latin |
| Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυΐδ, ὁπότε ἀπεδίδρασκεν ἀπὸ προσώπου ᾿Αβεσσαλὼμ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ - | PSALMUS. David, cum fugit a filio suo Absalom. | |||
| 1 | Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. | ΚΥΡΙΕ, τί ἐπληθύνθησαν οἱ θλίβοντές με; πολλοὶ ἐπανίστανται ἐπ᾿ ἐμέ· | Domine, quid multiplicati sunt, qui tribulant me? Multi insurgunt adversum me, | |
| 2 | Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. | πολλοὶ λέγουσι τῇ ψυχῇ μου· οὐκ ἔστι σωτηρία αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ αὐτοῦ.. | multi dicunt animae meae: “Non est salus ipsi in Deo”. | |
| 3 | But thou, O, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. | σὺ δέ, Κύριε, ἀντιλήπτωρ μου εἶ, δόξα μου καὶ ὑψῶν τὴν κεφαλήν μου. | Tu autem, Domine, protector meus es, gloria mea et exaltans caput meum. | |
| 4 | I cried unto the with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. | φωνῇ μου πρὸς Κύριον ἐκέκραξα, καὶ ἐπήκουσέ μου ἐξ ὄρους ἁγίου αὐτοῦ.. | Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi, et exaudivit me de monte sancto suo. | |
| 5 | I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the sustained me. | ἐγὼ ἐκοιμήθην καὶ ὕπνωσα· ἐξηγέρθην, ὅτι Κύριος ἀντιλήψεταί μου. | Ego obdormivi et soporatus sum, exsurrexi, quia Dominus suscepit me. | |
| 6 | I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. | οὐ φοβηθήσομαι ἀπὸ μυριάδων λαοῦ τῶν κύκλῳ συνεπιτιθεμένων μοι. | Non timebo milia populi circumdantis me. | |
| 7 | Arise, O ; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. | ἀνάστα, Κύριε, σῶσόν με, ὁ Θεός μου, ὅτι σὺ ἐπάταξας πάντας τοὺς ἐχθραίνοντάς μοι ματαίως, ὀδόντας ἁμαρτωλῶν συνέτριψας. | Exsurge, Domine salvum me fac, Deus meus; quoniam tu percussisti in maxillam omnes adversantes mihi, dentes peccatorum contrivisti. | |
| 8 | Salvation belongeth unto the : thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. | τοῦ Κυρίου ἡ σωτηρία, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν λαόν σου ἡ εὐλογία σου. | Domini est salus, et super populum tuum benedictio tua. |
Commentary
Matthew Henry
According to Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, verses 1–3 depict David complaining to God about his enemies and confiding in God. Verses 4–8 represent his triumphs over his fears, and "give God the glory", while "taking to himself the comfort".Martin Luther
Martin Luther felt that, overall, the goal in this psalm is to impart the confidence of those who consider themselves followers of YHWH to call on him. "But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me, my glory, and uplifts my head." : This is the emphatic prayer of the oppressed who turn aside to YHWH.Although written in the mouth of David, the reader is encouraged to consider how God rescues someone like David, who was at that time very in distress, saved, and later raised to be king over all Israel.
Uses
Judaism
- In the Hebrew Bible, the prayer of Jonah in the "fish" starts with Psalm 3 and he also ends his prayer drawing on Psalm 3. Jonah also draws on other psalms—namely Psalms 16, 18, 31, 42, 50, 88, 116, 118, 119 and 120.
- Verses 2–9 are part of the prayers of the Bedtime Shema.
- Verse 9 is the eighth verse of in, as well as in the late Ashkenazic custom in most communities it is also found in Havdalah.