Psalm 64

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]

This article is about Psalm 64 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 64 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 65.
Psalm 64
"Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer"
1705 Dutch painting based on Psalm 64:6
Other name
  • Psalm 63
  • "Exaudi Deus orationem meam"
LanguageHebrew (original)
Psalm 64
BookBook of Psalms
Hebrew Bible partKetuvim
Order in the Hebrew part1
CategorySifrei Emet
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part19

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music.

Text

Hebrew Bible version

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

King James Version
  1. Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
  2. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
  3. Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
  4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.
  5. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?
  6. They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.
  7. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
  8. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.
  9. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
  10. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

Content

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:

"They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded."

But in the Vulgate, Jerome, based on the Septuagint text, rendered this as

Scrutati sunt iniquitates; defecerunt scrutantes scrutinio. Accedet homo ad cor altum, et exaltabitur Deus. Sagittæ parvulorum factæ sunt plagæ eorum,

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.

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]

Uses

Catholic Church

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.

Book of Common Prayer

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]

Music

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.

References
  1. Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 63 (64) Archived 7 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine medievalist.net
  2. "Comparison of Enumeration of the Psalms in the Book of Divine Worship and in the Vulgate". The Daily Office of the Catholic Church According to the Anglican Use. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  3. Rodd, C. S., 18. Psalms in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 384
  4. "Psalms Chapter 64 תְּהִלִּים". mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  5. βαθύς. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  6. Serafino Porrecta (Serafino Capponi), Volume 3, 1738, Commentaria in Psalterium Davidicum, p. 95
  7. Psalm 64:9: New International Version
  8. Traduction par Prosper Guéranger, (Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, réimpression 2007) p. 41.
  9. Psaultier latin-français du bréviaire monastique,, 1938/2003, p. 267.
  10. Church of England, Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed by John Baskerville in 1762, pp. 196ff
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