Psalms 60–12
Psalm 60:1-12
Psa.60.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- למנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- שושן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עדות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מכתם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לדוד: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ללמד: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
Parallels
- Psalm 108:6-13 (verbal): Psalm 108 reuses large portions of Psalm 60 (especially vv.7–12 in Hebrew/6–13 in many English versifications); the military petitions and many phrases are virtually identical.
- Psalm 16:1 (structural): Shares the rare superscription term מִכְתָּם (miktam) and the ascription to David, showing a parallel in psalm-classification and liturgical heading.
- Psalm 56:1 (structural): Another psalm headed מִכְתָּם לְדָוִד (a Miktam of David) and לְמַנְצֵחַ (To the choirmaster), paralleling the same superscription formula and placement in the Miktam cluster (Pss.56–60).
- Psalm 57:1 (structural): Also bears the Miktam designation and "To the choirmaster" rubric and shares a similar context of Davidic distress and appeal to God, linking it thematically and functionally with Ps.60's heading.
Alternative generated candidates
- To the choirmaster. Upon Shoshannim. A testimony; a Miktam of David—for teaching.
- To the choirmaster. On Shushan-Eduth. A Michtam of David; for teaching.
Psa.60.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- בהצותו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- ארם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נהרים: NOUN,m,du,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- ארם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צובה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וישב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יואב: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- ויך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- אדום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בגיא: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- עשר: NUM,card,m,sg,cons
- אלף: NUM,m,sg
Parallels
- 2 Samuel 8:3 (verbal): Direct narrative parallel — the same campaign is described (Aram‑Naharaim and Aram‑Zobah) and Joab’s striking of Edom in the Valley of Salt; language and events closely mirror the psalm’s superscription.
- 1 Chronicles 18:12 (verbal): Parallel account in Chronicles of the same military episode; Chronicles preserves the Valley of Salt tradition but varies details (names and the number killed — here attributed to Abishai and a different figure), showing a variant tradition to the Samuel/Psalm wording.
- 2 Samuel 8:13 (structural): Part of the same Samuel victory‑tradition — this verse (and surrounding verses) frames David’s renown after campaigning against the Syrians and Edom, providing the broader narrative context for the event alluded to in the psalm heading.
Alternative generated candidates
- When he secured victory over Aram‑Naharaim and Aram‑Zobah; when Joab returned and struck down Edom in the Valley of Salt—twelve thousand.
- When he sent to Aram-naharaim and to Aram-zobah, Joab returned and struck down Edom in the Valley of Salt—twelve thousand.
Psa.60.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- זנחתנו: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- פרצתנו: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אנפת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- תשובב: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- לנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 22:1 (verbal): A cry of divine abandonment — “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” parallels the Psalm 60 confession that God has forsaken and turned his wrath upon the people.
- Psalm 74:1 (verbal): Directly echoes the motif of divine rejection and anger: “O God, why have you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?” — similar language of being forsaken and under God’s wrath.
- Deuteronomy 31:16–18 (allusion): God’s warning that He will ‘forsake’ the people and ‘hide his face’ / kindle his anger as a consequence of covenant unfaithfulness corresponds to Psalm 60’s report that God has forsaken them and turned his wrath upon them.
- Lamentations 5:20 (thematic): A lament asking why God has forgotten and forsaken his people — thematically parallel to Psalm 60’s plea and depiction of divine abandonment and anger.
Alternative generated candidates
- O God, you have rejected us; you have broken us; you have been angry—turn back to us.
- O God, you have rejected us; you have broken us; you have been angry—return to us.
Psa.60.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הרעשתה: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- פצמתה: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- רפה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שבריה: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- כי: CONJ
- מטה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 46:2-3 (thematic): Both depict the earth giving way or trembling under divine activity and stress the need to trust God when the ground is unstable.
- Psalm 68:8-9 (verbal): Uses similar language of the earth shaking and heavens dropping at God's presence — a close verbal and thematic echo of divine-caused trembling.
- Exodus 19:18 (allusion): Describes Sinai trembling when the LORD descended; parallels the motif of the land/mountains shaking in theophany.
- Isaiah 64:1-3 (thematic): A prophetic plea for God to come down because His presence makes the mountains quake—shares the motif of upheaval at divine intervention.
- Isaiah 58:12 (verbal): Speaks of rebuilding and being a 'repairer of the breach,' echoing the psalm's petition to 'heal the breaches' caused by destruction.
Alternative generated candidates
- You made the earth tremble; you rent it—heal its breaches, for it totters.
- You made the land tremble; you split it—heal its breaches, for it totters.
Psa.60.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הראיתה: VERB,hiphil,perf,2,m,sg
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
- קשה: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- השקיתנו: VERB,hiphil,perf,2,m,sg
- יין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תרעלה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 51:17 (verbal): Uses the image of a ‘cup’ that makes Jerusalem stagger/drunk (the 'cup of staggering'), closely echoing Psalm 60:5’s phrasing yain tarʿalah (wine of reeling).
- Isaiah 51:22 (verbal): God’s action of taking/handling the 'cup of staggering' (removing it from the people’s hand) directly parallels the motif of God giving or withholding the intoxicating cup of distress in Ps 60:5.
- Jeremiah 25:15 (thematic): God commands Jeremiah to take a cup of wine and make the nations drink it — a prophetic deployment of the 'cup' as divine judgment, thematically parallel to God making 'us drink' the bitter wine in Psalm 60:5.
- Jeremiah 51:7 (thematic): Describes Babylon as a cup in the LORD’s hand that made the nations drunk; parallels Psalm 60:5’s idea of a divinely administered intoxicating wine that causes reeling/stupor.
- Psalm 75:8 (verbal): Speaks of a cup in the hand of the LORD filled with foaming wine that he pours out on the wicked — a closely related image of God dispensing a cup (wine) as an instrument of judgment, parallel in language and function to Ps 60:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- You showed your people harsh things; you made us drink the wine of reeling.
- You have shown harsh things to your people; you have made us drink the wine of staggering.
Psa.60.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- נתתה: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ליראיך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- נס: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- להתנוסס: VERB,hithpael,inf
- מפני: PREP
- קשט: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- סלה: MISC
Parallels
- Exodus 17:15 (verbal): Moses names the altar 'YHWH‑Nissi' ('The LORD is my banner'), using the same 'banner/standard' imagery (נס) to signify God's protection and victory.
- Psalm 20:5 (verbal): Speaks of lifting up banners in the name of God ('נשא נס' / 'lift up our banners'), closely echoing the motif of God‑given standards for his people.
- Isaiah 49:22 (thematic): God 'will set up a banner/standard' to the nations (uses נס), portraying a divine raising of a standard for protection and gathering—parallel theological imagery.
- Numbers 2:2 (structural): Describes the setting up of standards/ensigns for the Israelite camps—uses banner/ensign imagery in a military/communal arrangement related to the Psalm's martial/banner motif.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have given to those who fear you a banner to be unfurled because of truth. Selah.
- You have given a banner to those who fear you, to be raised against the bow. Selah.
Psa.60.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- למען: PREP
- יחלצון: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ידידיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+2ms
- הושיעה: VERB,hiph,imp,2,ms
- ימינך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- וענני: CONJ+VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg+1cs
Parallels
- Psalm 17:7 (verbal): Appeals for God’s marvelous lovingkindness and salvation 'by thy right hand' for those who trust in him—language closely parallel to 'save with thy right hand.'
- Psalm 20:6 (verbal): Speaks of the LORD hearing and saving his anointed 'with the saving strength of his right hand,' echoing the petition for rescue by God's right hand.
- Exodus 15:6 (allusion): The triumphal portrayal of the LORD’s right hand as powerful and victorious (dashing the enemy) provides the OT background for invoking the right hand as the means of deliverance.
- Isaiah 41:10 (thematic): God’s promise to uphold and help with his right hand resonates thematically with the psalmist’s plea for deliverance and assistance by the LORD’s right hand.
- Psalm 118:16 (verbal): Declares 'The right hand of the LORD is exalted' and his right hand 'doeth valiantly,' reinforcing the motif of salvation and victory accomplished by God’s right hand.
Alternative generated candidates
- That your beloved may be delivered—save with your right hand and answer me.
- That your beloved ones may be delivered—save by your right hand and answer me.
Psa.60.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בקדשו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss3,m
- אעלזה: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- אחלקה: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- שכם: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- ועמק: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- סכות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אמדד: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 108:8 (quotation): Psalm 108 repeats much of Psalm 60; verse 108:8 closely echoes 60:8 with the same line about rejoicing and dividing Shechem and measuring the Valley of Succoth (near-verbal parallel).
- Genesis 33:17-18 (allusion): Genesis records Jacob’s movements to Succoth and then to Shechem (buying land there); Psalm 60’s mention of Shechem and Succoth evokes these ancestral/place‑name traditions and Israel’s territorial associations.
- Deuteronomy 32:8 (thematic): Deuteronomy 32:8 speaks of God apportioning the nations and fixing boundaries — thematically parallel to God ‘dividing’ Shechem and ‘measuring’ the valley as sovereign allotment of land.
- Joshua 24:32 (thematic): Joshua 24 locates key covenant events at Shechem and 24:32 records Joseph’s bones being buried there; the Psalm’s reference to dividing Shechem resonates with Shechem’s role as a tribal/ancestral and covenantal site in Israel’s land narrative.
Alternative generated candidates
- God has spoken in his holiness: “I will rejoice; I will portion out Shechem and measure the Valley of Succoth.”
- God has spoken in his holiness: I will exult; I will divide Shechem and apportion the Valley of Succoth.
Psa.60.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- גלעד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולי: CONJ+PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מנשה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואפרים: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעוז: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- מחקקי: VERB,piel,ptc,m,sg,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 108:8 (verbal): Nearly identical wording — Psalm 108 repeats Psalm 60’s line locating Gilead and Manasseh as belonging to the speaker, calling Ephraim a helmet and Judah a scepter.
- Deuteronomy 33:17 (thematic): Moses’ blessing links Ephraim and Manasseh as Israel’s military strength (ten thousands of Ephraim, thousands of Manasseh), echoing the portrayal of these tribes as sources of power.
- Genesis 49:10 (thematic): Jacob’s blessing declares the scepter will belong to Judah — parallels the image 'Judah is my scepter' in Psalm 60:9.
- Numbers 32:39-40 (allusion): Narrative account of Machir/Manasseh taking possession of Gilead — provides a historical/territorial background for the claim 'Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine.'
Alternative generated candidates
- Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is the helmet of my head, Judah my scepter.
- Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim the stronghold of my head—Judah my lawgiver.
Psa.60.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מואב: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- סיר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רחצי: NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- על: PREP
- אדום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשליך: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- נעלי: NOUN,f,sg,poss1sg
- עלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- פלשת: NOUN,prop,f,sg
- התרעעי: VERB,hithpael,impf,1,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 108:9-10 (quotation): Verbal/near‑identical repetition of Ps 60:10 — ‘Moab is my washpot; over Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout’ (Psalm 108 reuses material from Psalm 60).
- Ruth 4:7-8 (allusion): The removal/transfer of a sandal/sandal imagery as a legal sign of transfer/redemption (the redeemer removes his shoe to confirm the transaction) helps explain ‘I cast my shoe over Edom’ as a gesture of claiming/possessing the territory or rights over an enemy.
- Deuteronomy 25:9-10 (allusion): Removal of a sandal in the levirate/shame context signals loss of status or transfer of rights; parallels the shoe action in Ps 60:10 as a culturally meaningful gesture toward an opponent (shaming or taking possession).
- Isaiah 63:3-4 (thematic): Uses foot/treading and blood imagery for divine defeat of enemies (‘I have trodden them in my anger… their blood stained my garments’). The theme of subduing nations by foot imagery parallels the hostile gestures toward Moab, Edom, Philistia in Ps 60:10.
Alternative generated candidates
- Moab is my washing bowl; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout victory.
- Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph.
Psa.60.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- יבלני: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עיר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- נחני: VERB,hiph,imperfect,3,m,sg+1cs
- עד: PREP
- אדום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 108:11 (quotation): Psalm 108 repeats much of Psalm 60; v.11 nearly verbatim mirrors 'Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom?,' a direct verbal parallel.
- Numbers 20:14-21 (structural): Moses' envoy asks Edom for passage and is refused — a narrative background to Israel's difficulty with entry into Edom, thematically related to the psalm's plea to be led into Edom.
- 2 Samuel 8:14 (thematic): Reports David's campaign against Edom and the placing of garrisons there — a historical/military realization of the question about who will lead into Edom.
- Isaiah 63:1 (allusion): A prophetic rhetorical question about one 'coming from Edom' (Bozrah) uses Edom as the locus of conflict and judgment, thematically echoing the psalm's focus on Edom as an enemy destination.
Alternative generated candidates
- Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
- Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
Psa.60.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הלא: PART
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- זנחתנו: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg+PRON,1,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- תצא: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בצבאותינו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 108:13 (quotation): Psalm 108 repeats the same closing assertion as Psalm 60 — confidence in victory through God (often rendered 'Through God we shall do valiantly; he will tread down our foes'), showing a verbal/quotation parallel.
- Psalm 44:9 (allusion): Psalm 44 contains a similar complaint about divine abandonment in battle ('You have cast us off and put us to shame'), echoing the motif in Ps 60 of God appearing to reject or not go out with Israel's hosts.
- Exodus 14:14 (thematic): 'The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent' expresses the same theme of God as Israel's military protector — the antithesis and counterpart to the fear that God will not go out with the hosts.
- 2 Chronicles 20:15 (thematic): 'The battle is not yours but God's' (spoken by the LORD's messenger) parallels the reliance on God's presence and action in battle implicit in Ps 60 — that victory depends on God going out with the hosts.
Alternative generated candidates
- O God—you have rejected us; will you not, O God, go out with our hosts?
- Is it not you, O God, who have rejected us? Will you not, O God, go forth with our hosts?
To the choirmaster. Upon Shushan Eduth. A michtam of David; for instruction.
When you routed Aram‑Naharaim and Aram‑Zobah, and Joab turned back and struck down Edom in the Valley of Salt—twelve thousand.
O God, you have rejected us; you have broken us; you have been angry—return to us.
You have made the earth quake; you have cleft it—mend its breaches, for it totters.
You have made your people see harsh things; you have made us drink a wine of trembling.
You have given those who fear you a banner to raise because of your faithfulness. Selah. So that your beloved may be rescued—save by your right hand; answer me.
God has spoken in his holiness: “I will exult; I will portion out Shechem and measure the Valley of Succoth.”
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is the helmet of my head; Judah is my scepter.
Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I will cast my sandal; I will shout triumph over Philistia.
Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
Is it not you, O God, who have rejected us? And will you not go forth, O God, with our hosts?