Psalm 5
Psalm 5 is the fifth psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Give ear to my words, O, consider my meditation". 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 "Verba mea auribus percipe Domine". The psalm is traditionally attributed to David. It reflects how the righteous pray for deliverance not only from suffering, but also to allow themselves to serve God without distraction. The New King James Version entitles it "A Prayer for Guidance".
The psalm is a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music by composers, such as Heinrich Schütz, Felix Mendelssohn, and Edward Elgar.
Themes
Psalm 5 falls within the genre of morning prayer because the morning was very important in the religions of the ancient Near East. Hence, verse 4:The psalm opens as a lament, continues with praise, and requests that God punish evildoers. The psalmist describes the throat of the wicked as an open sepulcher. The psalmist ends with a blessing extended to all those who trust in God.
Interpretation
An accurate translation of the word Biblical Hebrew word rtl=yes is elusive; the Christian New Revised Standard Version and the Luther Bible give it as "for flute".The Septuagint, Vulgate and some Arabic translations attribute rtl=yes from "inherit" meaning "per ea quae haereditatem consequitur" and κληρονομος. Accordingly, it would be translated into English as "in favor of those who receive the inheritance". Therefore Augustine of Hippo, Cassiodorus and others interpreted it as "those heirs of God".
A thoroughly Christological interpretation can be found in Martin Luther's work, in which he finds the third verse revealing that the humanization of humankind occurs through the incarnation of Jesus.
Gerhard Ebeling sees in the psalm both as complaining and also at the same time as exultation and rejoicing.
Context
Psalm 5 uses musical instruments, flutes. Psalm 4 is the first psalm using a musical instrument, strings or "stringed instruments".A new theme is introduced, the name of God, in verse 11:
This is the first of five psalms all speaking of "the name of God", with nine verses speaking to various aspects, namely Psalm 5:11, Psalm 6:5, Psalm 7:17, Psalm 8:1, Psalm 8:9, Psalm 9:2, Psalm 9:5, and Psalm 9:10. Various types of flow in the Book of Psalms are explored by various authors such as O. Palmer Robertson.
An emphasis on a particular genre of psalm, the lament. In Psalm 5:1, God is called on to "listen to my lament." The most common genre of psalm in the book of Psalms will be the lament. Laments can be seen to occur more heavily in the first half of the book of Psalms.
Text
The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint 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 |
| 1 | Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. | ΤΑ ῥήματά μου ἐνώτισαι, Κύριε, σύνες τῆς κραυγῆς μου· | |
| 2 | Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. | πρόσχες τῇ φωνῇ τῆς δεήσεώς μου, ὁ βασιλεύς μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου. ὅτι πρὸς σὲ προσεύξομαι, Κύριε· | |
| 3 | My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. | τὸ πρωΐ εἰσακούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς μου, τὸ πρωΐ παραστήσομαί σοι καὶ ἐπόψει με, | |
| 4 | For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. | ὅτι οὐχὶ Θεὸς θέλων ἀνομίαν σὺ εἶ· οὐ παροικήσει σοι πονηρευόμενος, | |
| 5 | The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. | οὐδὲ διαμενοῦσι παράνομοι κατέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου. ἐμίσησας πάντας τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν· | |
| 6 | Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. | ἀπολεῖς πάντας τοὺς λαλοῦντας τὸ ψεῦδος. ἄνδρα αἱμάτων καὶ δόλιον βδελύσσεται Κύριος. | |
| 7 | But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. | ἐγὼ δὲ ἐν τῷ πλήθει τοῦ ἐλέους σου εἰσελεύσομαι εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου, προσκυνήσω πρὸς ναὸν ἅγιόν σου ἐν φόβῳ σου. | |
| 8 | Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. | Κύριε, ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου ἕνεκα τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου, κατεύθυνον ἐνώπιόν σου τὴν ὁδόν μου. | |
| 9 | For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. | ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἀλήθεια, ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν ματαία· τάφος ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν, ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦσαν. | |
| 10 | Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee. | κρῖνον αὐτούς, ὁ Θεός. ἀποπεσάτωσαν ἀπὸ τῶν διαβουλιῶν αὐτῶν· κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀσεβειῶν αὐτῶν ἔξωσον αὐτούς, ὅτι παρεπίκρανάν σε, Κύριε. | |
| 11 | But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. | καὶ εὐφρανθείησαν πάντες οἱ ἐλπίζοντες ἐπὶ σέ· εἰς αἰῶνα ἀγαλλιάσονται, καὶ κατασκηνώσεις ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ καυχήσονται ἐν σοὶ πάντες οἱ ἀγαπῶντες τὸ ὄνομά σου. | |
| 12 | For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. | ὅτι σὺ εὐλογήσεις δίκαιον· Κύριε, ὡς ὅπλῳ εὐδοκίας ἐστεφάνωσας ἡμᾶς. |
Uses
Judaism
In Judaism, verse 8 of Psalm 5 is the second verse of Ma Tovu.New Testament
Verse 9 is quoted in.Catholic Church
According to the Rule of St. Benedict, from 530, Psalm 1 to Psalm 20 were mainly reserved for office of Prime. Since the time of Saint Benedict, the Rule of Benedict has used this psalm for the office Lauds on Monday. In the Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 5 is still recited or sung at Lauds on Monday of the first week.Coptic Orthodox Church
In the Agpeya, the Coptic Church's book of hours, this psalm is prayed in the office of Prime.''Book of Common Prayer''
In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 5 is appointed to be read on the morning of the first day of the month.Music
created in 1537 the chorale An geystlich Bitlied drawn heavily from the Psalms.Heinrich Schütz composed a setting of a metred version in German, "Herr, hör, was ich will bitten dich", SWV 101, published in 1628 in the Becker Psalter. Felix Mendelssohn composed a setting of Psalm 5 in English, "Lord, hear the voice," for men's chorus in 1839. In 1911, Edward Elgar dedicated a setting for choir and orchestra, "Intende voci orationis meæ", as an offertory for the coronation of King George V.