1 [[A Song H7892 of degrees H4609 of David.]] H1732 If H3884 it had not been the LORD H3068 who was on our side, now may Israel H3478 say; H559
[[A Song H7892 of degrees.]] H4609 Many a time H7227 have they afflicted H6887 me from my youth, H5271 may Israel H3478 now say: H559
Behold, God H430 is mine helper: H5826 the Lord H136 is with them that uphold H5564 my soul. H5315
Unless H3884 the LORD H3068 had been my help, H5833 my soul H5315 had almost H4592 dwelt H7931 in silence. H1745
[[A Song H7892 of degrees H4609 of David.]] H1732 Behold, how good H2896 and how pleasant H5273 it is for brethren H251 to dwell H3427 together H3162 in unity! H3162
Let your conversation G5158 be without covetousness; G866 and be content G714 with such things as ye have: G3918 for G1063 he G846 hath said, G2046 I will never G3364 leave G447 thee, G4571 nor G3761 G3364 forsake G1459 thee. G4571 So that G5620 we G2248 may boldly G2292 say, G3004 The Lord G2962 is my G1698 helper, G998 and G2532 I will G5399 not G3756 fear G5399 what G5101 man G444 shall do G4160 unto me. G3427
Associate H7489 yourselves, O ye people, H5971 and ye shall be broken in pieces; H2865 and give ear, H238 all H3605 ye of far H4801 countries: H776 gird H247 yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; H2865 gird H247 yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. H2865 Take H5779 counsel H6098 together, H5779 and it shall come to nought; H6565 speak H1696 the word, H1697 and it shall not stand: H6965 for God H410 is with us.
[[A Song H7892 of degrees.]] H4609 Behold, bless H1288 ye the LORD, H3068 all ye servants H5650 of the LORD, H3068 which by night H3915 stand H5975 in the house H1004 of the LORD. H3068
Then sang H7891 Moses H4872 and the children H1121 of Israel H3478 this song H7892 unto the LORD, H3068 and spake, H559 saying, H559 I will sing H7891 unto the LORD, H3068 for he hath triumphed H1342 gloriously: H1342 the horse H5483 and his rider H7392 hath he thrown H7411 into the sea. H3220
[[A Song H7892 of degrees H4609 of David.]] H1732 LORD, H3068 my heart H3820 is not haughty, H1361 nor mine eyes H5869 lofty: H7311 neither do I exercise H1980 myself in great matters, H1419 or in things too high H6381 for me.
[[A Song H7892 of degrees H4609 for Solomon.]] H8010 Except the LORD H3068 build H1129 the house, H1004 they labour H5998 in vain H7723 that build H1129 it: except the LORD H3068 keep H8104 the city, H5892 the watchman H8104 waketh H8245 but in vain. H7723
[[A Song H7892 of degrees.]] H4609 Unto thee lift I up H5375 mine eyes, H5869 O thou that dwellest H3427 in the heavens. H8064
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 124
Commentary on Psalms 124 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Deliverer from Death in Waters and in a Snare
The statement “the stream had gone over our soul” of this fifth Son of degrees, coincides with the statement “our soul is full enough” of the fourth; the two Psalms also meet in the synonymous new formations גּאיונים and זידונים , which also look very much as though they were formed in allusion to contemporary history. The לדוד is wanting in the lxx, Codd. Alex. and Vat. , here as in Psalms 122:1-9, and with the exception of the Targum is wanting in general in the ancient versions, and therefore is not so much as established as a point of textual criticism. It is a Psalm in the manner of the Davidic Psalms, to which it is closely allied in the metaphors of the overwhelming waters, Psalms 18:5, Psalms 18:17 (cf. Psalms 144:7), Psalms 69:2., and of the little bird; cf. also on לוּלי Psalms 27:13, on אדם used of hostile men Psalms 56:12, on בּלע חיּים Psalms 55:16, on בּרוּך ה Psalms 28:6; Psalms 31:22. This beautiful song makes its modern origin known by its Aramaizing character, and by the delight, after the manner of the later poetry, in all kinds of embellishments of language. The art of the form consists less in strophic symmetry than in this, that in order to take one step forward it always goes back half a step. Luther's imitation (1524), “Were God not with us at this time” ( Wäre Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit ), bears the inscription “The true believers' safeguard.”
It is commonly rendered, “If it had not been Jahve who was for us.” But, notwithstanding the subject that is placed first (cf. Genesis 23:13), the שׁ belongs to the לוּלי ; since in the Aramaizing Hebrew (cf. on the other hand Genesis 31:42) לוּלי שׁ (cf. Arab. lawlâ an ) signifies nisi (prop. nisi quod ), as in the Aramaic ( דּ ) שׁ ( לואי ) לוי , o si (prop. o si quod ). The אזי , peculiar to this Psalm in the Old Testament, instead of אז follows the model of the dialectic אדין , Arab. iḏan , Syr. hāden ( הידין , הדין ). In order to begin the apodosis of לוּלי ( לוּלא ) emphatically the older language makes use of the confirmatory כּי , Genesis 31:42; Genesis 43:10; here we have אזי (well rendered by the lxx ἄρα ), as in Psalms 119:92. The Lamed of היה לנו is raphe in both instances, according to the rule discussed above, p. 373. When men ( אדם ) rose up against Israel and their anger was kindled against them, they who were feeble in themselves over against the hostile world would have been swallowed up alive if they had not had Jahve for them, if they had not had Him on their side. This “swallowing up alive” is said elsewhere of Hades, which suddenly and forcibly snatches away its victims, Psalms 55:16; Proverbs 1:12; here, however, as Psalms 124:6 shows, it is said of the enemies, who are represented as wild beasts. In Psalms 124:4 the hostile power which rolls over them is likened to an overflowing stream, as in Isaiah 8:7., the Assyrian. נחלה , a stream or river, is Milel ; it is first of all accusative: towards the stream (Numbers 34:5); then, however, it is also used as a nominative, like לילה , המּותה , and the like (cf. common Greek ἡ νύχθα, ἡ νεόντητα ); so that תה - is related to ת - ( ה - ) as נה -, מו - to ן - and ם - (Böttcher, §615). These latest Psalms are fond of such embellishments by means of adorned forms and Aramaic or Aramaizing words. זידונים is a word which is indeed not unhebraic in its formation, but is more indigenous to Chaldee; it is the Targum word for זדים in Psalms 86:14; Psalms 119:51, Psalms 119:78 (also in Psalms 54:5 for זרים ), although according to Levy the MSS do not present זידונין but זידנין . In the passage before us the Targum renders: the king who is like to the proud waters ( למוי זידוניּא ) of the sea (Antiochus Epiphanes? - a Scholium explains οἱ ὑπερήφανοι ). With reference to עבר before a plural subject, vid., Ges. §147.
After the fact of the divine succour has been expressed, in Psalms 124:6 follows the thanksgiving for it, and in Psalms 124:7 the joyful shout of the rescued one. In Psalms 124:6 the enemies are conceived of as beasts of prey on account of their bloodthirstiness, just as the worldly empires are in the Book of Daniel; in Psalms 124:7 as “fowlers” on account of their cunning. According to the punctuation it is not to be rendered: Our soul is like a bird that is escaped, in which case it would have been accented בפשׁנו כצפור , but: our soul (subject with Rebia magnum ) is as a bird ( כּצפור as in Hosea 11:11; Proverbs 23:32; Job 14:2, instead of the syntactically more usual כּצּפור ) escaped out of the snare of him who lays snares ( יוקשׁ , elsewhere יקושׁ , יקוּשׁ , a fowler, Psalms 91:3). נשׁבר (with ā beside Rebia ) is 3rd praet. : the snare was burst, and we - we became free. In Psalms 124:8 (cf. Psalms 121:2; Psalms 134:3) the universal, and here pertinent thought, viz., the help of Israel is in the name of Jahve, the Creator of the world, i.e., in Him who is manifest as such and is continually verifying Himself, forms the epiphonematic close. Whether the power of the world seeks to make the church of Jahve like to itself or to annihilate it, it is not a disavowal of its God, but a faithful confession, stedfast even to death, that leads to its deliverance.