Psalms of Solomon

Historical printed page 645

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON 12. 7—14. 3 | And let the sinners perish together at the presence of the Lord ; But let the Lord’s pious ones inherit the promises of the Lord. XIII. Of Solomon. A Psalm. Comfort for the righteous. 13 1 The right hand of the Lord hath covered me; The right hand of the Lord hath spared us. 2 The arm of the Lord hath saved us from the sword that passed through, From famine and the death of sinners. 3 Noisome beasts ran upon them: With their teeth they tore their flesh, And with their molars crushed their bones. (4) But from all these things the Lord delivered us. 4 (5) The righteous was troubled on account of his errors, Lest he should be taken away along with the sinners ; 5 (6) For terrible is the overthrow of the sinner ; But not one of all these things toucheth the righteous. (7) For not alike are the chastening of the righteous (for sins done) in ignorance, And the overthrow of the sinners. 4 (8) Secretly (?) is the righteous chastened, Lest the sinner rejoice over the righteous. 8 (9) For He correcteth the righteous as a beloved son, And his chastisement is as that of a firstborn. to) For the Lord spareth His pious ones, And blotteth out their errors by His chastening. (11) For the life of the righteous shall be for ever ; to But sinners shall be taken away into destruction, And their memorial shall be found no more. (12) But upon the pious is the mercy of the Lord, And upon them that fear Him His mercy. XIV. A Hymn. Of Solomon. A x Faithful is the Lord to them that love Him in truth, To them that endure His chastening, _ (2) To them that walk in the righteousness of His commandments, In the law which He commanded us that we might live. (5) The pious of the Lord shall live by it for ever ; “ The Paradise of the Lord, the trees of life, are His pious ones. _ 3 (4) Their planting is rooted for ever ; 4 They shall not be plucked up all the days of heaven: (5) For the portion and the inheritance of God is Israel. XIII. 1. me. 3 ‘us’. 2. 05. 4 ‘me’. that passed through: sc. the land. Cp. Ezek. xiv. 17, Lev. xxvi. 6. the death of sinners. From premature (Ps. lv. 24 (23) or violent death, or death beyond which lies no eternal life (cf. ix), i.e. from such deaths as sinners die. Cp. ‘the death of the righteous’, Num. xxiii. 10, Or, possibly, G is due to a wrong division of #9, which may have run, ‘from famine and pestilence (see vii. 4n.) ; as for sinners, noisome beasts’, &c. In that case the passage refers to the four plagues of Ezek. xiv. 21. ne 4. The righteous. A conjectural substitute, which the context demands (Wellh., von Gebh., Kit.) for ‘the impious’, which is the reading of all MSS. of G@ and S. For a defence of the text of & see Ryle and James. errors. Cf.v.9; iii. 8; Ps. xix. 13 (12). 5. toucheth. & ‘shall touch’. 7. Secretly, or ‘Sparingly’. The meaning is uncertain; see Ryle and James. 8. correcteth. @ ‘will correct’. God corrects the righteous as a father corrects his beloved and first-born son. 9. The tenses in (ἃ are future. 11. upon them... His mercy. 5 ‘He will cherish’. XIV. τ ἡ. which J LC; ‘as’ H; omit R. Cp. 5‘ He has given us the law for our life ’. that we might live, lit. ‘ unto our life’, 2. by it, viz. the law; or, ‘in Him’. 3. all the days of heaven. A synonym for ‘for ever’. Cp. Ps. Ixxxix. 30, Job xiv. 12. 645