Psalm 32 Text

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Simple Reading (Hebrew)
Forthcoming. 		Simple Reading (English)
Forthcoming.
Dramatic Reading (Hebrew)
Forthcoming. 		Dramatic Reading (English)
Forthcoming.

Text Only (Hebrew and English) The text below is divided according to the psalm's poetic lines. For additional information, see our Poetic Structure layer.

Hebrew Verse English
לְדָוִ֗ד מַ֫שְׂכִּ֥יל 1a By David. A maskil.
אַשְׁרֵ֥י נְֽשׂוּי־פֶּ֗שַׁע 1b How happy is the one whose offense is taken away,
כְּס֣וּי חֲטָאָֽה׃ 1c whose sin is covered!
אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי אָדָ֗ם לֹ֤א יַחְשֹׁ֬ב יְהוָ֣ה ל֣וֹ עָוֺ֑ן 2a How happy is the person against whom YHWH does not count guilt
וְאֵ֖ין בְּרוּח֣וֹ רְמִיָּה׃ 2b and in whose mind there is no deceit!
כִּֽי־הֶ֭חֱרַשְׁתִּי בָּל֣וּ עֲצָמָ֑י 3a When I kept silent, my bones began to waste away
בְּ֝שַׁאֲגָתִ֗י כָּל־הַיּֽוֹם׃ 3b in my groaning all day.
כִּ֤י ׀ יוֹמָ֣ם וָלַיְלָה֮ תִּכְבַּ֥ד עָלַ֗י יָ֫דֶ֥ךָ 4a For day and night your hand was weighing down upon me.
נֶהְפַּ֥ךְ לְשַׁדִּ֑י בְּחַרְבֹ֖נֵי קַ֣יִץ סֶֽלָה׃ 4b My vigor was changed like in the drought of summer. Selah.
חַטָּאתִ֨י אוֹדִ֪יעֲךָ֡ וַעֲוֺ֘נִ֤י לֹֽא־כִסִּ֗יתִי 5a I will make known my sin to you. I did not cover my guilt;
אָמַ֗רְתִּי אוֹדֶ֤ה עֲלֵ֣י פְ֭שָׁעַי לַיהוָ֑ה 5b I decided: I will confess to YHWH about my offenses,
וְאַתָּ֨ה נָ֘שָׂ֤אתָ עֲוֺ֖ן חַטָּאתִ֣י סֶֽלָה׃ 5c and you took away the guilt of my sin. Selah.
עַל־זֹ֡את יִתְפַּלֵּ֬ל כָּל־חָסִ֨יד ׀ 6a Because of this, every faithful person should pray
אֵלֶיךָ֮ לְעֵ֪ת מְ֫צֹ֥א 6b to you at the time of discovery
רַ֗ק לְ֭שֵׁטֶף מַ֣יִם רַבִּ֑ים 6c But in the flood of many waters,
אֵ֝לָ֗יו לֹ֣א יַגִּֽיעוּ׃ 6d they will not reach him.
אַתָּ֤ה ׀ סֵ֥תֶר לִי֮ מִצַּ֪ר תִּ֫צְּרֵ֥נִי 7a You are a shelter for me; you will protect me from distress.
רָנֵּ֥י פַלֵּ֑ט תְּס֖וֹבְבֵ֣נִי סֶֽלָה׃ 7b With celebrations of deliverance you will surround me. Selah.
אַשְׂכִּֽילְךָ֨ ׀ וְֽאוֹרְךָ֗ בְּדֶֽרֶךְ־ז֥וּ תֵלֵ֑ךְ 8a I will give you understanding and I will teach you about the way in which you should walk.
אִֽיעֲצָ֖ה עָלֶ֣יךָ עֵינִֽי׃ 8b I will advise [you] with my eye upon you.
אַל־תִּֽהְי֤וּ ׀ כְּס֥וּס כְּפֶרֶד֮ אֵ֤ין הָ֫בִ֥ין 9a Do not be like a horse, like a mule in whom there is no understanding.
בְּמֶֽתֶג־וָרֶ֣סֶן עֶדְי֣וֹ לִבְל֑וֹם 9b One must restrict its walking with a bit and reins,
בַּ֝֗ל קְרֹ֣ב אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ 9c otherwise it will not come near you.
רַבִּ֥ים מַכְאוֹבִ֗ים לָרָ֫שָׁ֥ע 10a The sorrows of the wicked are many,
וְהַבּוֹטֵ֥חַ בַּיהוָ֑ה חֶ֝֗סֶד יְסוֹבְבֶֽנּוּ׃ 10b but the one who trusts in YHWH—faithfulness surrounds him.
שִׂמְח֬וּ בַֽיהוָ֣ה וְ֭גִילוּ צַדִּיקִ֑ים 11a Rejoice in YHWH and be glad, you righteous ones,
וְ֝הַרְנִ֗ינוּ כָּל־יִשְׁרֵי־לֵֽב׃ 11b and shout for joy, all you with integrity in your heart!

Structure Overlay Below, the text has been overlaid with our summary structural analysis. For details on the structure, see the Structure At-a-Glance here.

Expanded paraphrase The expanded paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today. It is based on the CBC translation and uses italic text to provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences.

Text (Hebrew) Verse Expanded Paraphrase
לְדָוִ֗ד מַ֫שְׂכִּ֥יל אַשְׁרֵ֥י נְֽשׂוּי־פֶּ֗שַׁע כְּס֣וּי חֲטָאָֽה׃ 1 By David. A maskil, which offers wisdom to those who will pay attention. After sinning and not confessing my guilt until YHWH disciplined me, I am in admiration of those who readily confess their sin without having to suffer first, and I think, how happy is the one whose offense is taken away, whose sin is covered!
אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי אָדָ֗ם לֹ֤א יַחְשֹׁ֬ב יְהוָ֣ה ל֣וֹ עָוֺ֑ן וְאֵ֖ין בְּרוּח֣וֹ רְמִיָּה׃ 2 This can only happen when YHWH takes it away, so how happy is the person against whom YHWH does not count guilt and in whose mind there is no deceit! If they had thoughts of being deceitful, they would cover up their sin, not confess it, and therefore it would not be forgiven. This happened to me before YHWH disciplined me, so
כִּֽי־הֶ֭חֱרַשְׁתִּי בָּל֣וּ עֲצָמָ֑י בְּ֝שַׁאֲגָתִ֗י כָּל־הַיּֽוֹם׃ 3 "come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he did for me" (Ps 66:16). When I kept silent and did not confess my sin, my bones began to waste away in my groaning all day. If only I had confessed my sin and trusted YHWH to forgive it and restore me, then I would have experienced healing and refreshment in my bones (Prov 3:5, 8)! But I was acting like who who has no understanding (v. 9), and I suffered the consequences,
כִּ֤י׀ יוֹמָ֣ם וָלַיְלָה֮ תִּכְבַּ֥ד עָלַ֗י יָ֫דֶ֥ךָ נֶהְפַּ֥ךְ לְשַׁדִּ֑י בְּחַרְבֹ֖נֵי קַ֣יִץ סֶֽלָה׃ 4 for day and night your hand was weighing down upon me, bringing affliction. My vigor was changed like one drying up in the drought of summer. Selah .
חַטָּאתִ֨י אוֹדִ֪יעֲךָ֡ וַעֲוֺ֘נִ֤י לֹֽא־כִסִּ֗יתִי אָמַ֗רְתִּי אוֹדֶ֤ה עֲלֵ֣י פְ֭שָׁעַי לַיהוָ֑ה וְאַתָּ֨ה נָ֘שָׂ֤אתָ עֲוֺ֖ן חַטָּאתִ֣י סֶֽלָה׃ 5 I decided:"I will make known my sin to you." I did not cover my guilt anymore, since that had only brought trouble upon myself; I remembered that whoever covers his offenses will not prosper, but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will receive mercy (Prov 28:13), that's why I decided: "I will confess to YHWH about my offenses," and you —according to your character and promises, as I should have known— took away the guilt of my sin. Selah .
עַל־זֹ֡את יִתְפַּלֵּ֬ל כָּל־חָסִ֨יד׀ אֵלֶיךָ֮ לְעֵ֪ת מְ֫צֹ֥א רַ֗ק לְ֭שֵׁטֶף מַ֣יִם רַבִּ֑ים אֵ֝לָ֗יו לֹ֣א יַגִּֽיעוּ׃ 6 Sometimes we are unaware of our sin and someone has to reveal it to us, like the prophet Nathan did for me (2 Sam 12), but we should not wait until having to go through suffering before we confess. Because of this experience that I put myself through, every faithful person should pray to you at the time of discovery [of his sin]. But, they need not fear that confession will bring destruction upon them. Instead, it will result in their protection, since in the flood of many waters, they, the waters, will not reach him. Just as you cover their sins, you also cover them from ongoing distress like a shelter. Indeed, every faithful person can pray and confess to you:
אַתָּ֤ה׀ סֵ֥תֶר לִי֮ מִצַּ֪ר תִּ֫צְּרֵ֥נִי רָנֵּ֥י פַלֵּ֑ט תְּס֖וֹבְבֵ֣נִי סֶֽלָה׃ 7 " You are a shelter for me; you will protect me from distress. With celebrations of deliverance you will surround me while I pay my vows among the congregation and they also give thanks for my deliverance (Ps 22:23)." Selah.
אַשְׂכִּֽילְךָ֨׀ וְֽאוֹרְךָ֗ בְּדֶֽרֶךְ־ז֥וּ תֵלֵ֑ךְ אִֽיעֲצָ֖ה עָלֶ֣יךָ עֵינִֽי׃ 8 YHWH will then respond to that person who prays: " I will give you understanding so that you will be quick to confess when you discover you have sinned. And I will teach you about the way in which you should walk, in order to avoid sin, surrounded by my faithfulness. I will advise [you] with my eye upon you, listening when you cry out to me (Ps 34:16) and delivering you from distress (Ps 33:19)."
אַל־תִּֽהְי֤וּ׀ כְּס֥וּס כְּפֶרֶד֮ אֵ֤ין הָ֫בִ֥ין בְּמֶֽתֶג־וָרֶ֣סֶן עֶדְי֣וֹ לִבְל֑וֹם בַּ֝֗ל קְרֹ֣ב אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ 9 After I was restored to YHWH, I promised to teach other sinners how to turn back to you (Ps 51:15). So, do not be stubborn like a horse, like a mule in whom there is no understanding —foolish like I was while I refused to confess my sin. One must restrict its walking with a bit and reins, otherwise it will not come near you, just like I had to be reined in by going through suffering and distress, otherwise I would not have turned and confessed my sin to YHWH.
רַבִּ֥ים מַכְאוֹבִ֗ים לָרָ֫שָׁ֥ע וְהַבּוֹטֵ֥חַ בַּיהוָ֑ה חֶ֝֗סֶד יְסוֹבְבֶֽנּוּ׃ 10 The sorrows of the wicked are many, since whoever hardens their heart, like I did, only finds trouble (Prov 23:14), but the one who trusts in YHWH and knows that YHWH will respond in mercy to confessed sin —faithfulness surrounds him.
שִׂמְח֬וּ בַֽיהוָ֣ה וְ֭גִילוּ צַדִּיקִ֑ים וְ֝הַרְנִ֗ינוּ כָּל־יִשְׁרֵי־לֵֽב׃ 11 Instead of hiding from YHWH, find your refuge in him, so that you can rejoice in YHWH and be glad, you righteous ones who do not live deceitfully but openly confess your sin, and shout for joy, all you with integrity in your heart, with celebrations for those among the congregations being delivered from sin and suffering!

Participant Tracking Text Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? Our full analysis can be found in the Participant Analysis layer.

  Participant Color-Coding

There are 4 participants/characters in Psalm 32:

Profile List

David (v. 1)

YHWH (vv. 2, 5, 10-11)
"a shelter" (v. 7)

Congregation
"righteous ones" (v. 11)
"those with integrity in their heart" (v. 11)
The faithful person (v. 6)
"the one whose offense is taken away, whose sin is forgiven" (v. 1)
"the person against whom YHWH does not count guilt" (v. 2)
"the one who trusts in YHWH" (v. 10)

The wicked (v. 10)

Profile Notes

  • The psalmist is identified as David in the superscription. It is through his own experience of keeping silent about his sin (v. 3a) that led to YHWH's corrective hand (vv. 3b–4), David's confession and subsequent restoration (v. 5) prompt him to share his learned experience with v (vv. 9–11), so that they will not make the same mistake (cf. Ps 51:15).
  • YHWH forgives David's sin when David confesses it (v. 5). YHWH is said to be "a shelter" to any and all the faithful who will pray to him (v. 7) when they discover their sin.
  • The congregation are considered to be the addressee in vv. 1–2 and 9–11 (see the notes accompanying the text table), to whom David imparts wisdom gained from his own experience. The faithful person is presented as the ideal subset of the congregation, who will duly pray to YHWH when convicted of his sin and experience the same relief David did. Indeed, they are abundantly blessed with forgiven sin (vv. 1–2) and will be able to confess that YHWH surrounds them with celebrations of deliverance (v. 7) in the same way faithfulness surrounds all who trust in YHWH (v. 10).
  • On the contrary, the wicked, those who do not recognize and confess their sin, experience nothing but many sorrows (v. 10).
Hebrew Verse English
לְדָוִ֗ד מַ֫שְׂכִּ֥יל 1a By David. A maskil.
אַשְׁרֵ֥י נְֽשׂוּי־פֶּ֗שַׁע 1b How happy is the one whose offense is taken away,
כְּס֣וּי חֲטָאָֽה׃ 1c whose sin is covered!
אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי אָדָ֗ם לֹ֤א יַחְשֹׁ֬ב יְהוָ֣ה ל֣וֹ עָוֺ֑ן 2a How happy is the person against whom YHWH does not count guilt
וְאֵ֖ין בְּרוּח֣וֹ רְמִיָּה׃ 2b and in whose mind there is no deceit!
כִּֽי־הֶ֭חֱרַשְׁתִּי בָּל֣וּ עֲצָמָ֑י 3a When I kept silent, my bones began to waste away
בְּ֝שַׁאֲגָתִ֗י כָּל־הַיּֽוֹם׃ 3b in my groaning all day.
כִּ֤י ׀ יוֹמָ֣ם וָלַיְלָה֮ תִּכְבַּ֥ד עָלַ֗י יָ֫דֶ֥ךָ 4a For day and night your hand was weighing down upon me.
נֶהְפַּ֥ךְ לְשַׁדִּ֑י בְּחַרְבֹ֖נֵי קַ֣יִץ סֶֽלָה׃ 4b My vigor was changed like in the drought of summer. Selah.
חַטָּאתִ֨י אוֹדִ֪יעֲךָ֡ וַעֲוֺ֘נִ֤י לֹֽא־כִסִּ֗יתִי 5a "I will make known my sin to you." I did not cover my guilt;
אָמַ֗רְתִּי אוֹדֶ֤ה עֲלֵ֣י פְ֭שָׁעַי לַיהוָ֑ה 5b I decided: "I will confess to YHWH about my offenses,"
וְאַתָּ֨ה נָ֘שָׂ֤אתָ עֲוֺ֖ן חַטָּאתִ֣י סֶֽלָה׃ 5c and you took away the guilt of my sin. Selah.
עַל־זֹ֡את יִתְפַּלֵּ֬ל כָּל־חָסִ֨יד ׀ 6a Because of this, every faithful person should pray
אֵלֶיךָ֮ לְעֵ֪ת מְ֫צֹ֥א 6b to you at the time of discovery [of his sin].
רַ֗ק לְ֭שֵׁטֶף מַ֣יִם רַבִּ֑ים 6c But in the flood of many waters,
אֵ֝לָ֗יו לֹ֣א יַגִּֽיעוּ׃ 6d they will not reach him.
אַתָּ֤ה ׀ סֵ֥תֶר לִי֮ מִצַּ֪ר תִּ֫צְּרֵ֥נִי 7a You are a shelter for me; you will protect me from distress.
רָנֵּ֥י פַלֵּ֑ט תְּס֖וֹבְבֵ֣נִי סֶֽלָה׃ 7b With celebrations of deliverance you will surround me. Selah.
אַשְׂכִּֽילְךָ֨ ׀ וְֽאוֹרְךָ֗ בְּדֶֽרֶךְ־ז֥וּ תֵלֵ֑ךְ 8a I will give you understanding and I will teach you about the way in which you should walk.
אִֽיעֲצָ֖ה עָלֶ֣יךָ עֵינִֽי׃ 8b I will advise [you] with my eye upon you.
אַל־תִּֽהְי֤וּ ׀ כְּס֥וּס כְּפֶרֶד֮ אֵ֤ין הָ֫בִ֥ין 9a Do not be like a horse, like a mule in whom there is no understanding.
בְּמֶֽתֶג־וָרֶ֣סֶן עֶדְי֣וֹ לִבְל֑וֹם 9b One must restrict its walking with a bit and reins,
בַּ֝֗ל קְרֹ֣ב אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ 9c otherwise it will not come near you.
רַבִּ֥ים מַכְאוֹבִ֗ים לָרָ֫שָׁ֥ע 10a The sorrows of the wicked are many,
וְהַבּוֹטֵ֥חַ בַּיהוָ֑ה חֶ֝֗סֶד יְסוֹבְבֶֽנּוּ׃ 10b but the one who trusts in YHWH—faithfulness surrounds him.
שִׂמְח֬וּ בַֽיהוָ֣ה וְ֭גִילוּ צַדִּיקִ֑ים 11a Rejoice in YHWH and be glad, you righteous ones,
וְ֝הַרְנִ֗ינוּ כָּל־יִשְׁרֵי־לֵֽב׃ 11b and shout for joy, all you with integrity in your heart!