Psalm 39 Participant Analysis
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Psalm 39/Participant Analysis
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Psalm 39
Please note: Resources for Psalm 39 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.
Participant Analysis
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? It is often helpful for understanding literary structure, speaker identification, etc.
For a detailed explanation of our method, see the Participant Analysis Creator Guidelines.
There are 4 participants/characters in Psalm 39:
Profile List
| David (v. 1) |
| "a person" (v. 12) |
| YHWH (vv. 5, 13) |
| "Lord" (v. 8) |
| The wicked (v. 2) |
| "fools" (v. 9) |
| People (v.7) |
| "every person 'standing firm'" (v. 6) |
| "man" (v. 7) |
| "every person" (v. 12) |
Profile Notes
- The psalmist is identified as David in the superscription. He quotes himself twice (vv. 2, 5–6), being also the recipient of his inner speech in v. 2.
- YHWH is the addressee David's prayer (the psalm itself) and the quoted speech of vv. 5–6. He is the object of David's hope (v. 8) and is addressed as "YHWH" in vv. 5 and 13 and "Lord" in v. 8
- The wicked are mentioned only in passing (v. 2). David vows not to speak while in their presence, at the risk that they will either mock his afflicted state and consider him guilty, or mock the God who is apparently not answering his plea. If he were to speak, as fools, they would scorn him (v. 9).
- The impersonal group of the psalm are described as "every person 'standing firm'" in v. 6c, followed by the generic אִישׁ and third-person plural impersonals in v. 7. Finally, the generic אִישׁ and "every person" are repeated again in v. 12.
| Hebrew | Verse | English |
|---|---|---|
| לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ לִֽידוּת֗וּן מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃ | v. 1 | For the director. According to Yeduthun. A psalm. By David. |
| אָמַ֗רְתִּי אֶֽשְׁמְרָ֣ה דְרָכַי֮ מֵחֲט֪וֹא בִלְשׁ֫וֹנִ֥י | v. 2a | I decided, "I will guard my ways from sinning with my tongue. |
| אֶשְׁמְרָ֥ה לְפִ֥י מַחְס֑וֹם | v. 2b | I will keep a muzzle for my mouth |
| בְּעֹ֖ד רָשָׁ֣ע לְנֶגְדִּֽי׃ | v. 2c | while the wicked are still in my presence." |
| נֶאֱלַ֣מְתִּי ד֭וּמִיָּה הֶחֱשֵׁ֣יתִי מִטּ֑וֹב | v. 3a | I was completely mute. I stayed silent without a good result |
| וּכְאֵבִ֥י נֶעְכָּֽר׃ | v. 3b | and my pain was stirred up. |
| חַם־לִבִּ֨י ׀ בְּקִרְבִּ֗י | v. 4a | My heart became hot inside me; |
| בַּהֲגִיגִ֥י תִבְעַר־אֵ֑שׁ | v. 4b | when I was sighing a fire would burn. |
| דִּ֝בַּ֗רְתִּי בִּלְשֽׁוֹנִי׃ | v. 4c | I spoke with my tongue: |
| הוֹדִ֘יעֵ֤נִי יְהוָ֨ה ׀ קִצִּ֗י | v. 5a | "Teach me, YHWH, my end |
| וּמִדַּ֣ת יָמַ֣י מַה־הִ֑יא | v. 5b | —and the measure of my days, what is it?— |
| אֵ֝דְעָ֗ה מֶה־חָדֵ֥ל אָֽנִי׃ | v. 5c | let me know how frail I am! |
| הִנֵּ֤ה טְפָח֨וֹת ׀ נָ֘תַ֤תָּה יָמַ֗י | v. 6a | Look, you have set my days as handbreadths |
| וְחֶלְדִּ֣י כְאַ֣יִן נֶגְדֶּ֑ךָ | v. 6b | and my lifetime is like nothing before you." |
| אַ֥ךְ כָּֽל־הֶ֥בֶל כָּל־אָ֝דָ֗ם נִצָּ֥ב סֶֽלָה׃ | v. 6c | Truly, everyone is a breath, every person "standing firm." Selah. |
| אַךְ־בְּצֶ֤לֶם ׀ יִֽתְהַלֶּךְ־אִ֗ישׁ | v. 7a | Truly, humanity walks around as a shadow |
| אַךְ־הֶ֥בֶל יֶהֱמָי֑וּן | v. 7b | —people labor restlessly, but only in vain— |
| יִ֝צְבֹּ֗ר וְֽלֹא־יֵדַ֥ע מִי־אֹסְפָֽם׃ | v. 7c | they heap up, though they do not know who is about to gather it. |
| וְעַתָּ֣ה מַה־קִּוִּ֣יתִי אֲדֹנָ֑י | v. 8a | But now, what am I looking for, Lord? |
| תּ֝וֹחַלְתִּ֗י לְךָ֣ הִֽיא׃ | v. 8b | My hope, it is in you. |
| מִכָּל־פְּשָׁעַ֥י הַצִּילֵ֑נִי | v. 9a | Rescue me from all my offenses; |
| חֶרְפַּ֥ת נָ֝בָ֗ל אַל־תְּשִׂימֵֽנִי׃ | v. 9b | do not make me a fool's object of scorn. |
| נֶ֭אֱלַמְתִּי לֹ֣א אֶפְתַּח־פִּ֑י | v. 10a | I was mute. I would not open my mouth, |
| כִּ֖י אַתָּ֣ה עָשִֽׂיתָ׃ | v. 10b | because it was you who acted. |
| הָסֵ֣ר מֵעָלַ֣י נִגְעֶ֑ךָ | v. 11a | Take your affliction away from me; |
| מִתִּגְרַ֥ת יָ֝דְךָ֗ אֲנִ֣י כָלִֽיתִי׃ | v. 11b | because of the hostility of your hand I have wasted away. |
| בְּֽתוֹכָ֘ח֤וֹת עַל־עָוֺ֨ן ׀ יִסַּ֬רְתָּ אִ֗ישׁ | v. 12a | You have disciplined humanity with punishments on account of sin |
| וַתֶּ֣מֶס כָּעָ֣שׁ חֲמוּד֑וֹ | v. 12b | and like a moth you have caused their desirable things to disintegrate. |
| אַ֤ךְ הֶ֖בֶל כָּל־אָדָ֣ם סֶֽלָה׃ | v. 12c | Truly, every person is a breath. Selah. |
| שִֽׁמְעָ֥ה־תְפִלָּתִ֨י ׀ יְהוָ֡ה | v. 13a | Hear my prayer, YHWH, |
| וְשַׁוְעָתִ֨י ׀ הַאֲזִינָה֮ | v. 13b | and listen to my cry for help. |
| אֶֽל־דִּמְעָתִ֗י אַֽל־תֶּ֫חֱרַ֥שׁ | v. 13c | Do not keep silent at my weeping, |
| כִּ֤י גֵ֣ר אָנֹכִ֣י עִמָּ֑ךְ | v. 13d | because I am a sojourner with you, |
| תּ֝וֹשָׁ֗ב כְּכָל־אֲבוֹתָֽי׃ | v. 13e | [I am] a temporary resident, like all of my ancestors. |
| הֶשַׁ֣ע מִמֶּ֣נִּי וְאַבְלִ֑יגָה | v. 14a | Look away from me so that I may recover, |
| בְּטֶ֖רֶם אֵלֵ֣ךְ וְאֵינֶֽנִּי׃ | v. 14b | before I pass away and am no more. |
- v. 1. For the qere לִֽידוּת֗וּן and the ketiv לידיתון, see the textual note.
- v. 14. For the revocalization *הֶשַׁ֣ע* (MT: הָשַׁ֣ע), see the lexical note.
- v. 2. As an instance of inner speech, "the psalmist’s opening words are addressed to himself."[1]
- Is the addressee in vv. 2–7 the congregation or YHWH?
- It is possible that the addressee of vv. 2–7 are the psalmist's community.[2] YHWH is absent throughout vv. 2–7, with the exception of the quoted speech in vv. 5–6b. The shift of addressee between vv. 7–8 could be indicated by the interactional discourse marker "But now," as a conversation-management tool.[3] On the other hand, Occam's razor probably dictates that YHWH is the addressee throughout the psalm, so that is our preferred interpretation. It is also preferable that the two instances of the refrain (vv. 6c, 12c) be addressed to the same person (see below).
- Is the addressee in v. 12c the congregation or YHWH?
- If the addressee of vv. 2–7 were identified with the congregation, the same could plausibly be the case for the second refrain in v. 12c.
Participant Relations Diagram
The relationships among the participants may be abstracted and summarized as follows:
Participant Analysis Summary Distribution
Notes:
- YHWH is present throughout the psalm, with the exception of v. 7 and the introduction of the psalmist's inner musings and vow of silence (vv. 2–4). David, predictably, appears in first-person speech throughout.
- The wicked/fools appear once in each of the two larger poetic sections of the psalm (vv. 2–6b; 6c–12).
- The concentrated presence of the generic people coincides precisely with the absence of the other three participants (v. 7).