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PSALMS 36

Old Testament Studies
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STROPHE DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

NASB NKJV NRSV TEV NJB
Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God Man’s Wickedness and God’s Perfection A Psalm of Mixed Type Human Wickedness The Perversity of Sinners and the Benevolence of God
MT Intro
“For the Choir
Director. APsalm of David the Servant of the Lord“		        
36:1-4 36:1-4 36:1-4 36:1-4 36:1
        36:2-3a
      The Goodness of God 36:3b-6a
36:5-9 36:5-9 36:5-6 36:5-6  
    36:7-9 36:7-9  
        36:6c-7
        36:8-9
36:10-12 36:10-12 36:10-12 36:10-12 36:10-11
        36:12

READING CYCLE THREE (see
“Bible
Interpretation Seminar”)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which
means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the
light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not
relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare
your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is
the key to following the original author’s intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every
paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Third paragraph, etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

  1. This Psalm describes the ungodly person in Ps. 36:1-4 and then the faithful follower in Ps. 36:7-9.
  2. YHWH is described in Ps. 36:5-6 by four powerful descriptive NOUNS.
    1. lovingkindness
    2. faithfulness
    3. righteousness
    4. judgments/justice

      They describe YHWH and His covenant. These are how He wants
      His world to function!

  3. Psalm 36:10-12 offer concluding prayers for YHWH to help shield the godly from the influences
    of the godless. The downward pull of a

     

    1. fallen world (cf. Eph. 2:1)
    2. fallen culture
    3. fallen acquaintances (cf. 1 Cor. 15:33)
    4. fallen self (cf. Eph. 2:3)
    5. Eph. 7:2; 4:2; 6:10-18 would also add Satan (i.e., see
      SPECIAL
      TOPIC: SATAN      ) who is often so strong, consistent, and pervasive. YHWH’s
      character, word, and intervention are our only hope.

     

  4. Two unique word usages are found in this Psalm.
    1. evil personified (i.e., “transgression speaks”), Ps. 36:1
    2. “house” refers to all creation or eschatological setting. See note at Ps. 36:8-9.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 36:1-4
 1Transgression
speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
 There
is no fear of God before his eyes.
 2For
it flatters him in his own eyes
 Concerning
the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
 3The words of his mouth
are wickedness and deceit;
 He
has ceased to be wise and to do good.
 4He plans wickedness upon
his bed;
 He sets himself
on a path that is not good;
 He
does not despise evil.

36:1-4 These verses describe the ungodly (BDB 957).

  1. Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his (LXX, MT, “my”) heart (BDB 833
    calls this “personified as evil spirit”). The VERB of
    transgression/rebellion is used in Ps. 37:38; 51:13; Isa. 43:27; 59:13; 66:24; Jer. 2:8,29;
    3:13; 33:8, where it refers to transgression/rebellion among the covenant people. The psalmist
    lives among a people of unclean lips (cf. Isa. 6:5,9-10).
  2. There is no fear (i.e., terror, BDB 808) of God before their eyes. Fear of YHWH is admonished
    in Ps. 34:9; 55:19d. This verse is the concluding text quoted in the list of OT texts which
    assert the universal sinfulness of all mankind in Rom. 3:18.
  3. Either “personified transgression” or the godless person himself lies (“smooth
    talk,” BDB 325, KB 322, Hiphil PERFECT) to himself about his
    own iniquity.
  4. The words of his mouth (which reflects who he is) are
    1. wickedness (BDB 19)
    2. deceit (BDB 941)
  5. He has ceased to
    1. be wise (BDB 968, KB 1328, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT)
    2. do good (BDB 405, KB 408, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
  6. He plans wickedness upon his bed (all the VERBS of Ps. 36:4 are
    IMPERFECTS, denoting ongoing action), cf. Pro. 4:16; Micah 2:1.
  7. He set himself on a path that is not good. Remember life is characterized as a path, road,
    way. Each of us must choose which path, cf. Deut. 30:15,19; Matt. 7:13-14.
  8. He does not despise evil.

Even covenant people are tested/tempted (i.e., personified rebellion) but
they are still responsible for their choices and the consequences of those choices!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 36:5-9
 5Your
lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the
heavens,
 Your faithfulness
reaches to the skies.
 6Your
righteousness is like the mountains of God;
 Your judgments are like a
great deep.
 O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
 7How precious is Your
lovingkindness, O God!
 And
the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
 8They drink their fill of
the abundance of Your house;
 And
You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.
 9For with You is the
fountain of life;
 In Your
light we see light.

36:5-9 This strophe describes YHWH’s character and actions toward His people. As the rebel
chose and lived in light of his/her choices, so too, the faithful followers must continue to
respond to YHWH’s love.

  1. YHWH is described as, Ps. 36:5-6
    1. lovingkindness (BDB 338, i.e., covenant loyalty, see
      SPECIAL
      TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED)
    2. faithfulness (BDB 53, see
      SPECIAL
      TOPIC: BELIEVE, TRUST, FAITH AND FAITHFULNESS IN THE OT       )
    3. righteousness (BDB 842, see
      SPECIAL
      TOPIC: RIGHTEOUSNESS      )
    4. judgments (BDB 1048, see
      SPECIAL
      TOPIC: JUDGE, JUDGMENT, and JUSTICE      )

       

      These are four powerful, recurrent attributes of YHWH. They
      characterize His dealings with humans. In light of these attributes humans
      and all life on this planet is preserved (BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil
      IMPERFECTS). Elohim created and sustains this planet,
      its people, its animals, and its plant life (see
      SPECIAL
      TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY      ).

  2. Faithful followers
    1. take refuge in the shadow of Your wings (see
      SPECIAL
      TOPIC: SHADOW AS METAPHOR FOR PROTECTION AND CARE      )
    2. drink their fill of the abundance of Your house (see Contextual Insights, D or note
      at Ps. 36:8)
    3. have Your house as
      (1) the fountain of life, cf. Jer. 2:13; 17:13
      (2) light (i.e., truth, health, joy, cf. Ps. 18:28; 27:1)

36:7 “O God! And the children of men” It is possible that “God”
(Elohim) here should/could refer to “leaders,” because it seems to parallel “man
and beasts” (i.e., a category of two) in Ps. 36:6c. If so, then the two categories of humans
referred to must be

  1. leaders (i.e., judges in Exod. 21:6; Ps. 82:6 or leaders in Ps. 29:1; 58:1)
  2. those led

NEB, REB, TEV, and AB footnote have “Gods and men.”

36:8 “Your house” In this context it does not refer to the temple but a recreated
Eden (i.e., “delight,” BDB 726, Ps. 36:8b) or eschatological setting (i.e., new age,
cf. Ps. 46:4; Ezek. 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; Rev. 22:1-2).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 36:10-12
 10O
continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
 And Your righteousness to the
upright in heart.
 11Let
not the foot of pride come upon me,
 And
let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
 12There the doers of
iniquity have fallen;
 They
have been thrust down and cannot rise.

36:10-12 This concluding strophe is a prayer by the psalmist to YHWH on behalf of the
faithful followers (i.e., “to those who know You,” see
SPECIAL TOPIC: KNOW).

  1. Continue – BDB 604, KB 645, Qal IMPERATIVE
    1. in Your lovingkindness
    2. in Your righteousness
  2. Do not let
    1. the foot of pride come upon me – BDB 97, KB 112, Qal IMPERFECT
      used in a JUSSIVE sense
    2. the hand of the wicked drive me away – BDB 626, KB 678, Hiphil
      IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
  3. Let the wicked be
    1. fallen – BDB 656, KB 709, Qal PERFECT
    2. thrust down – BDB 190, KB 218, Qal PERFECT
    3. unable to rise – BDB 407, KB 410, Qal PERFECT (all
      three VERBS may refer to death and descent into Sheol)

Note the consequences of faith (Ps. 36:7-8) and evil (Ps. 36:11-12). Choices have
consequences!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own
interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation.
You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

 

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of
the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. Compare all the translations that you have and note the different ways they translate Ps. 36:1.
  2. Express in your own words the essence of Ps. 36:1-4 in one declarative sentence.
  3. What do the four significant terms in Ps. 36:5,6 have to say about the concept of conditional
    and unconditional covenants in the OT?
  4. Can the term Elohim in Ps. 36:7 refer to the judges or leaders of Israel as well as the
    God of Israel? Why?
  5. Why does the term “in the shadow of Your wings” refer to God as a female? What is
    the implication of these types of statements?
  6. Does it seem unspiritual to you that David prays for the destruction of his enemies?

 

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Lessons Internationa

 

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