Psalms 144–15
Psalm 144:1-15
Psa.144.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לדוד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צורי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- המלמד: VERB,piel,part,0,m,sg
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- לקרב: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- אצבעותי: NOUN,f,pl,abs+1cs
- למלחמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 22:35 (verbal): Almost word-for-word parallel in David's song of deliverance: God as 'rock' who trains the speaker's hands for war and fingers for battle.
- Psalm 18:34 (verbal): Psalms duplicate of the same Davidic material: 'He trains my hands for war'—same martial image and language as Psalm 144:1.
- Psalm 18:2 (thematic): Uses the same epithet 'The LORD is my rock,' linking the motifs of divine refuge/stability in the Davidic tradition.
- Exodus 15:3 (thematic): Depicts Yahweh as a warrior ('The LORD is a man of war'), thematically related to God equipping the faithful for battle.
Alternative generated candidates
- To David. Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.
- A psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.
Psa.144.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חסדי: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- ומצודתי: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,suff_1cs
- משגבי: NOUN,m,sg,suff_1cs
- ומפלטי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,suff_1cs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מגני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ובו: CONJ+PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- חסיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- הרודד: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- תחתי: PREP+PRON,1,c,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 18:2 (verbal): Lists the same cluster of divine roles—rock/fortress/deliverer/shield—in language very close to Ps.144:2, echoing the same metaphors of refuge and protection.
- 2 Samuel 22:3 (quotation): David’s song (parallel to Psalm 18) uses virtually the same terms for God as rock/fortress/deliverer and refuge, showing a direct liturgical/poetic parallel to Ps.144:2.
- Psalm 91:2 (verbal): Declares God to be 'my refuge and my fortress'—a near-verbatim expression of trust and refuge found in Ps.144:2.
- Psalm 46:1 (thematic): Portrays God as refuge and strength, a present help in trouble, thematically matching Ps.144:2’s emphasis on God as protector and deliverer.
- Psalm 28:7 (verbal): Calls the LORD 'my strength and my shield' and links trust in God with deliverance, paralleling Ps.144:2’s language of shield/trust and divine protection.
Alternative generated candidates
- He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and the one in whom I take refuge; he subdues peoples under me.
- My steadfast love and my fortress, my deliverer and my shield—my refuge in whom I take shelter; he humbles peoples under me.
Psa.144.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מה: PRON,int
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותדעהו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אנוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותחשבהו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 8:4 (verbal): Nearly identical wording—'What is man, that you are mindful of him?'—expressing the same wonder at God’s regard for human beings.
- Job 7:17 (verbal): Uses the same Hebrew phrasing ('What is man, that you should consider him?'), reflecting the motif of human frailty and God's attentiveness.
- Hebrews 2:6-8 (quotation): The author cites Psalm 8 (which parallels Ps 144:3) to discuss the paradox of human lowliness and honored place in God’s ordering—an explicit NT use of the Psalmic language.
- Luke 12:6-7 (thematic): Jesus’ teaching that God knows even the number of hairs on a person’s head underscores the same theme of God’s intimate knowledge and care for human beings.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD, what is man that you regard him, and the son of man that you think of him?
- O LORD, what is man, that you regard him? and the son of man, that you think of him?
Psa.144.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- להבל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דמה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- ימיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- כצל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עובר: VERB,qal,ptc,act,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 39:5-6 (verbal): Uses the same image—'surely all mankind is a mere breath'—and links human life to briefness and insubstantiality, closely echoing Ps 144:4.
- Job 7:7 (verbal): Job says 'my life is but a breath' (or wind), employing the same breath/wind metaphor for human frailty and transience.
- Psalm 102:11 (verbal): Speaks of 'my days are like a shadow that lengthens' (and withering like grass), paralleling the specific 'days like a passing shadow' motif in Ps 144:4.
- James 4:14 (thematic): Asks 'What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes,' a New Testament reflection on human life’s fleeting, ephemeral character similar to Ps 144:4.
- Isaiah 40:6-8 (thematic): Declares 'all flesh is grass' and that the grass withers—a related prophetic theme emphasizing the transitory nature of human life and earthly existence.
Alternative generated candidates
- Man is but a breath; his days pass like a fleeting shadow.
- Man is but a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
Psa.144.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הט: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- שמיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+suff-2ms
- ותרד: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- גע: VERB,qal,imp,2,ms
- בהרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ויעשנו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+PRON,1,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 64:1 (verbal): Prayer for God to 'rend the heavens and come down' echoes the plea for the LORD to 'incline your heavens and come down'—shared language calling for divine descent.
- Exodus 19:18 (allusion): Theophanic imagery of God descending on Sinai with smoke and fire parallels 'touch the mountains and they shall smoke,' evoking Sinai as prototype of divine descent.
- Psalm 18:9 (verbal): Psalm 18 (parallel to 2 Samuel 22) describes God bending the heavens and coming down and mountains trembling—closely mirrored language and scene.
- Habakkuk 3:6 (thematic): Habakkuk’s theophany depicts God coming from the mountains, shaking the earth and mountains—themewise resonance with God descending and mountains smoking.
- Nahum 1:5 (thematic): Nahum depicts mountains quaking and hills melting at God’s presence—similar imagery of mountains reacting to the divine descent.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD, stretch out the heavens and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.
- O LORD, stretch out the heavens and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke.
Psa.144.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ברוק: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ברק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותפיצם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- חציך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+2ms
- ותהמם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ps.18:14 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language — God 'sent out arrows' and 'lightnings' to scatter and rout the enemies (a close verbal parallel to Ps 144:6).
- 2 Sam.22:15 (verbal): Part of the 2 Samuel/psalmic theophany tradition parallel to Ps 18; speaks of God sending arrows/lightning to scatter and terrify foes, echoing Ps 144:6 imagery.
- Hab.3:11-13 (thematic): God's arrows and shining spear bring terror and judgment—'at the light of your arrows they went'—a related warrior-theophany motif linking divine arrows/light and the rout of nations.
- Deut.32:23 (thematic): Moses' song uses arrow imagery for divine retribution ('I will spend mine arrows upon them'), thematically comparable as arrows symbolize God's judgment that scatters/strikes enemies.
Alternative generated candidates
- Flash forth lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.
- Send forth your lightning and scatter them; shoot out your arrows and rout them.
Psa.144.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ידיך: NOUN,f,pl,cs,2ms
- ממרום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פצני: VERB,piel,imp,2,m,sg|obj:1,sg
- והצילני: CONJ+VERB,hiphil,impv,2,c,sg+1cs
- ממים: PREP
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- מיד: PREP
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- נכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 18:16-17 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language—God 'reached down from on high' and 'drew me out of deep waters,' matching the plea to send out a hand from on high and rescue from many waters.
- 2 Samuel 22:17-18 (verbal): Parallel passage to Psalm 18 with the same wording of God reaching down and delivering from deep waters—same rescue motif and phrasing echoed in Psalm 144:7.
- Psalm 69:1-2 (thematic): A lament that pictures the psalmist overwhelmed by waters and pleading for rescue ('Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul'), echoing the image of deliverance from many waters and hostile hands.
- Jonah 2:3 (thematic): Jonah's prayer from the belly of the fish describes being cast into the deep and surrounded by floods—a parallel image of peril in the waters and a plea to God for rescue.
Alternative generated candidates
- Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me—deliver me from mighty waters, from the hand of foreigners.
- Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me; deliver me from mighty waters, from the hand of foreigners.
Psa.144.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשר: PRON,rel
- פיהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שוא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וימינם: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,pl
- ימין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 59:3 (verbal): Pairs deceitful speech with corrupt hands: 'your lips have spoken lies' and hands 'defiled with blood'—close verbal/thematic echo of 'their mouth speaks falsehood, their right hand is a right hand of lies.'
- Psalm 12:3-4 (thematic): Condemns flattering and deceitful lips ('the tongue that speaks proud things'), paralleling the psalm's focus on false speech and treacherous words.
- Psalm 5:9 (verbal): Speaks of lack of faithfulness in the mouth and inward destruction ('For there is no faithfulness in their mouth'), echoing the charge that their speech is false.
- Jeremiah 9:5 (verbal): Describes people teaching their tongues to speak lies ('they have taught their tongue to speak lies'), a direct verbal parallel to the motif of false speech in Ps 144:8.
Alternative generated candidates
- Their mouths utter lies, and their right hands are right hands of deceit.
- Whose mouths speak falsehood, and whose right hand is a right hand of deceit.
Psa.144.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- א: PRT
- להים: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- שיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חדש: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אשירה: VERB,qal,impf,1,NA,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- בנבל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עשור: NUM,card,10
- אזמרה: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 33:3 (verbal): Commands to “sing a new song” and to play skillfully on instruments echo the exact formula of singing a new song to God with musical accompaniment.
- Psalm 96:1 (verbal): Directly repeats the call “Sing to the LORD a new song,” sharing the motif of offering God a fresh hymn of praise.
- Psalm 98:1 (verbal): Another parallel injunction “O sing unto the LORD a new song,” linking the reason for the new song (God’s marvelous deeds) to the same liturgical expression.
- Psalm 40:3 (thematic): Speaks of God putting “a new song” in the mouth of the psalmist—same theological image of God inspiring fresh praise.
- Isaiah 42:10 (allusion): Proclaims “sing unto the LORD a new song…from the ends of the earth,” expanding the call to universal praise and echoing the phrase and theme.
Alternative generated candidates
- O God, I will sing a new song to you; with the ten‑stringed lyre I will sing praises to you.
- O God, I will sing to you a new song; with a ten‑stringed lyre I will sing praise to you.
Psa.144.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנותן: VERB,qal,part,3,m,sg
- תשועה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- למלכים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הפוצה: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דוד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עבדו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- מחרב: PREP
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Sam 22:51 (verbal): Close verbal parallel and shared tradition: the declaration that God 'gives salvation to his king' and delivers David—part of David's victory/thanksgiving song (2 Samuel 22) that echoes Psalmic language.
- Ps 18:50 (verbal): Nearly identical wording in a psalm attributed to David (Ps 18/2 Sam 22 material): God as giver of salvation to the king and protector of David, reflecting the same motif of divine deliverance.
- Ps 21:7-8 (thematic): Speaks of the LORD as the king's savior who exalts and protects him in battle—thematic kinship with Ps 144:10's portrayal of God delivering David from the deadly sword.
- Ps 89:20-29 (allusion): God's choice and ongoing protection of David ('I have found David my servant') and promises of steadfast love and security resonate with Ps 144:10's emphasis on divine rescue of David and the Davidic king.
Alternative generated candidates
- You who give victory to kings and who delivered David your servant from the deadly sword,
- The one who gives victory to kings, who delivers David his servant from the deadly sword.
Psa.144.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פצני: VERB,piel,impv,2,m,sg
- והצילני: CONJ+VERB,hiphil,impv,2,c,sg+1cs
- מיד: PREP
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- נכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- פיהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שוא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וימינם: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,pl
- ימין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ps.120.2 (verbal): A close verbal parallel: a plea for deliverance from 'lying lips' and a 'deceitful tongue,' matching Ps 144:11's request to be saved from those whose mouths speak falsehood.
- Ps.12.2 (verbal): Speaks of people who 'speak vanity... with flattering lips and a double heart,' paralleling the theme of duplicitous, false speech in Ps 144:11.
- Ps.5.9 (thematic): Declares 'there is no faithfulness in their mouth' and describes wicked, deceitful speech—themewise linked to Ps 144:11's condemnation of lying mouths.
- Isa.59.4 (thematic): Connects deceitful speech ('they speak lies') with corrupt hands and deeds, echoing Ps 144:11's coupling of false speech and a 'right hand' of falsehood.
Alternative generated candidates
- deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners, whose mouths utter lies and whose right hands are right hands of deceit.
- Deliver me; rescue me from the hand of foreigners—whose mouths speak falsehood and whose right hands are deceitful.
Psa.144.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בנינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+1,pl
- כנטעים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מגדלים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בנעוריהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:3mp
- בנותינו: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:1pl
- כזוית: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מחטבות: VERB,pi'el,ptcp,f,pl
- תבנית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היכל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ps.127:3-5 (thematic): Both passages present children as a blessed outcome of the household—valued, protective, and a sign of prosperity (children as heritage/arrows vs. children built up like planted).
- Ps.128:3 (verbal): Uses plant imagery for offspring—'your children like olive shoots'—parallel to Ps 144:12’s likening of sons and daughters to well‑grown plants about the home.
- Prov.9:1 (structural): 'Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out her seven pillars.' The image of a house supported and adorned by pillars echoes Ps 144:12’s simile of daughters as polished corner‑pillars for a palace.
- Isa.58:11 (thematic): God’s people or their households are likened to flourishing, well‑watered gardens—similar to Ps 144:12’s depiction of children 'planted' and thriving in their youth.
Alternative generated candidates
- Our sons are like well‑nurtured plants in their youth; our daughters like carved corner pillars, fashioned as the parts of a palace.
- Our sons are like well‑nurtured plants in their youth; our daughters like corner pillars, fashioned as the work of a palace.
Psa.144.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מזוינו: NOUN,m,sg,pr1pl
- מלאים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- מפיקים: VERB,pi'el,ptc,3,m,pl
- מזן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- זן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- צאוננו: NOUN,m,pl,pr1pl
- מאליפות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מרבבות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בחוצותינו: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,pr1pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:11-12 (thematic): Deuteronomy's blessing language promises abundant produce and blessed storehouses ('your barns and your vats') and multiplication of livestock—closely parallels Psalm 144:13's image of full barns and many flocks as signs of divine blessing.
- Proverbs 3:9-10 (verbal): Prov. 3:9-10 says that honoring the LORD will result in 'your barns being filled with plenty,' a direct verbal and thematic echo of Psalm 144:13's 'our barns are full.'
- Genesis 26:12-13 (thematic): The account of Isaac sowing and reaping a hundredfold and his flocks and herds increasing parallels Psalm 144:13's portrayal of agricultural and pastoral multiplication as evidence of God’s blessing.
- Psalm 72:16 (thematic): Psalm 72 depicts abundant grain and flourishing townships under the king’s rule; like Psalm 144:13, it links political/stability or divine favor with widespread material prosperity and multiplication.
Alternative generated candidates
- Our storehouses are full, yielding produce of every kind; our flocks increase by thousands—by ten thousands in our streets.
- Our storehouses are full, yielding every kind of produce; our flocks multiply thousands and ten thousands in our streets.
Psa.144.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אלופינו: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- מסבלים: VERB,qal,ptc,m,pl
- אין: PART,neg
- פרץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- יוצאת: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- צוחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ברחבתינו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff
Parallels
- Isaiah 60:18 (verbal): Speaks of an end to violence and outcry in the land (“violence shall no more be heard in your land”), closely echoing the Psalm’s motif of quiet/safety in the streets.
- Zechariah 8:4-5 (thematic): Portrays elderly and children safely occupying the city streets—an image of public peace and security similar to the Psalm’s absence of alarm or shouting in the plazas.
- Psalm 122:6-7 (thematic): Calls for and celebrates peace within the city’s walls and security for its citizens—paralleling the Psalm’s theme of untroubled streets and communal well‑being.
- Micah 4:4 (thematic): Promises private and public security (“each shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid”), echoing the Psalm’s depiction of a peaceful, unmolested community.
- Leviticus 26:6 (thematic): God’s covenant promise of peace in the land—no terror or harm—resonates with the Psalm’s portrayal of streets free from breach, outcry, and alarm.
Alternative generated candidates
- Our oxen have brought forth young; there is no breach, no going out, no outcry in our streets.
- Our oxen are well fed; there is no breaking in, no going out, no cry in our streets.
Psa.144.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשרי: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שככה: REL+ADV
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- אשרי: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שיהוה: REL+PN,m,sg
- אלהיו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 33:12 (verbal): Nearly identical wording—'Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD' echoes Ps 144:15's declaration that the people are happy/blessed whose God is YHWH.
- Psalm 146:5 (thematic): Both pronounce blessing on those whose help or relationship is with God (’Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob’ parallels the felicity of a people whose God is the LORD).
- Deuteronomy 28:1–14 (thematic): The covenantal theme that a people blessed and prospering are those who have the LORD as their God; Deut. 28 outlines blessings for Israel as God's obedient people, underpinning Ps 144:15’s theological claim.
- Jeremiah 24:7 (allusion): God’s promise 'I will give them a heart to know me... then they shall be my people, and I will be their God' connects to the intimacy and identity expressed in 'the people whose God is the LORD.'
- Ezekiel 37:27 (quotation): 'My dwelling place shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people' closely parallels the covenantal formula implied in Ps 144:15 about a people whose God is YHWH.
Alternative generated candidates
- Blessed is the people who are thus; blessed is the people whose God is the LORD.
- Blessed is the people for whom this is so; blessed is the people whose God is the LORD.
A psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.
He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer; my shield, in whom I take refuge—he puts peoples under me.
O LORD, what is man that you regard him, and the son of man that you take note of him?
Man is but a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
Bend down your heavens and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Flash forth lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them.
Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me; deliver me from many waters, from the hand of foreigners.
Whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are right hands of falsehood.
O God, I will sing to you a new song; on a ten‑stringed harp I will sing praise to you.
You who give victory to kings, who deliver David your servant from the violent sword.
Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak falsehood and whose right hands are deceitful.
May our sons be like well‑nurtured young plants, grown in their youth; may our daughters be like polished corner‑pillars, carved for a palace.
May our storehouses be full, providing every kind of produce; may our flocks increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our streets.
May our oxen bear heavy burdens; there shall be no breach, no exile, no outcry in our squares.
Blessed is the people for whom this is so; blessed is the people whose God is the LORD.