The Grammar of Ps. 26:1b

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Introduction

The MT of Psalm 26:1b reads:

וּבַיהוָ֥ה בָּ֝טַ֗חְתִּי לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד׃

There are two different but syntactically viable options for reading the clause. The phrase לֹא אֶמְעָד is either:

  • a circumstantial verbal clause: "I have trusted in YHWH without wavering" (JPS1917, NRSV, CEV, ESV, TOJB, RSV, NASB, NLT, NEB, TOB, BFC, NFC, NVI, RVR95, ZÜR),

or

  • an independent finite verbal clause: "I have trusted in YHWH. [Therefore] I shall not waver" (NJPS, DBT, KJV, NIV, NBS, BDS, FRDBY, NVS78P, PDV2017, S21, LUT, ELB, HFA, NGÜ, EÜ).

The first option qualifies the psalmist's trust as unwavering. The second option shows the result of trust in YHWH, "I have trusted in YHWH. [Therefore, because I have trusted in YHWH,] I shall not waver".

Argument Maps

I shall not waver


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[Independent clause]: לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד is an independent clause expressing the consequence of the previous clause: "(Therefore) I shall not waver."
 + <Meaning of מעד>: The word מעד ('to slip') "elsewhere, and especially when used metaphorically in the Psalter, does not refer to conscious or unconscious lapses in thought or behavior.... To 'slip' is to suffer misfortune or disaster, especially as a consequence of leaving the right way" (Mosca 1985:224 :A: cf. Hupfeld II :C:). This usual meaning of the verb works well if לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד is understood as an independent clause expressing the consequence of the previous clause.
  + [Meaning of מעד]: E.g., Pss. 18:37; 37:31.
  + <Poetic function>: The clause לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד (v. 1) at the beginning of the psalm is echoed by רַ֭גְלִי עָֽמְדָ֣ה בְמִישׁ֑וֹר (v. 12) at the end of the psalm. Because the latter refers to living in security, the former probably also refers to living in security (Mosca 1985:225ff :A:).
   + <Sound parallel>: אמעד sounds like עמדה (Mosca 1985:225ff :A:).
   + <"Interchange of expected subjects">: A foot is a more natural subject for מעד ('my foot will not stumble'), and a person is a more natural subject for עמד (in the Qal there are only 2 other times foot is the subject). In Ps 26 the reverse of the natural expectation is seen: the subject of מעד is a person and the subject of עמד is a foot (Mosca 1985:225 :A:).
 + <LXX>: The LXX, the oldest known interpretation of this psalm, reads לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד as an independent clause expressing the consequence of the previous clause.
  + [LXX]: LXX: ἐλπίζων οὐ μὴ ἀσθενήσω ("since I trust, I shall not grow weak")
 + <Psalm 21:8>: In Psalm 21:8, not stumbling (בַּל־יִמּֽוֹט) is a consequence of trusting in YHWH (בֹּטֵ֣חַ בַּיהוָ֑ה).
  + [Psalm 21:8]: כִּֽי־הַ֭מֶּלֶךְ בֹּטֵ֣חַ בַּיהוָ֑ה וּבְחֶ֥סֶד עֶ֝לְי֗וֹן בַּל־יִמּֽוֹט׃
 - <Implausibility in context>: It seems out of place to assert confidence before all the evidence has been presented and justice is rendered (Kwakkel, 120). #dispreferred


Argument Mapn0Independent clauseלֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד is an independent clause expressing the consequence of the previous clause: "(Therefore) I shall not waver."n1Meaning of מעדE.g., Pss. 18:37; 37:31.n4Meaning of מעדThe word מעד ('to slip') "elsewhere, and especially when used metaphorically in the Psalter, does not refer to conscious or unconscious lapses in thought or behavior.... To 'slip' is to suffer misfortune or disaster, especially as a consequence of leaving the right way" (Mosca 1985:224 🄰 cf. Hupfeld II 🄲). This usual meaning of the verb works well if לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד is understood as an independent clause expressing the consequence of the previous clause.n1->n4n2LXXLXX: ἐλπίζων οὐ μὴ ἀσθενήσω ("since I trust, I shall not grow weak")n8LXXThe LXX, the oldest known interpretation of this psalm, reads לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד as an independent clause expressing the consequence of the previous clause.n2->n8n3Psalm 21:8כִּֽי־הַ֭מֶּלֶךְ בֹּטֵ֣חַ בַּיהוָ֑ה וּבְחֶ֥סֶד עֶ֝לְי֗וֹן בַּל־יִמּֽוֹט׃n9Psalm 21:8In Psalm 21:8, not stumbling (בַּל־יִמּֽוֹט) is a consequence of trusting in YHWH (בֹּטֵ֣חַ בַּיהוָ֑ה).n3->n9n4->n0n5Poetic functionThe clause לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד (v. 1) at the beginning of the psalm is echoed by רַ֭גְלִי עָֽמְדָ֣ה בְמִישׁ֑וֹר (v. 12) at the end of the psalm. Because the latter refers to living in security, the former probably also refers to living in security (Mosca 1985:225ff 🄰).n5->n4n6Sound parallelאמעד sounds like עמדה (Mosca 1985:225ff 🄰).n6->n5n7"Interchange of expected subjects"A foot is a more natural subject for מעד ('my foot will not stumble'), and a person is a more natural subject for עמד (in the Qal there are only 2 other times foot is the subject). In Ps 26 the reverse of the natural expectation is seen: the subject of מעד is a person and the subject of עמד is a foot (Mosca 1985:225 🄰).n7->n5n8->n0n9->n0n10Implausibility in contextIt seems out of place to assert confidence before all the evidence has been presented and justice is rendered (Kwakkel, 120). n10->n0


(I have trusted) without wavering


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[Circumstantial]: לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד is a circumstantial clause: "I have trusted in YHWH without wavering." #dispreferred
 + <Negative circumstantial clauses>: Negative clauses are often circumstantial. "As circumstantial verbal-clauses, we find sometimes affirmative clauses, but far more frequently negative clauses, and among these a certain number of expressions which may be regarded simply as equivalent to negative adverbial ideas" (GKC § 156). #dispreferred
  - [Negative circumstantial clauses]: E.g. Gen 44:4; Exod 34:28; 1 Sam 30:2; Job 20:26; Isa 27:9; Ps 35:8; Prov 5:6; Isa 30:14 (cf. GKC §156 :G:).#dispreferred
 - <Meaning of מעד>: The word מעד ('to slip') "elsewhere, and especially when used metaphorically in the Psalter, does not refer to conscious or unconscious lapses in thought or behavior.... To 'slip' is to suffer misfortune or disaster, especially as a consequence of leaving the right way" (Mosca 1985:224 :A:). "It does not work well with the notion of 'trusting' (בטח)" (Hupfeld II:129 :C:).
 - <Tense of אמעד>: Whereas the verb בטחתי is qatal, the verb אמעד is yiqtol. If the negative clause with מעד modified the previous clause circumstantially, then we would have expected מעדתי (qatal) instead of אמעד (yiqtol) (Hupfeld II:129 :C:).


Argument Mapn0Circumstantialלֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד is a circumstantial clause: "I have trusted in YHWH without wavering." n1Negative circumstantial clausesE.g. Gen 44:4; Exod 34:28; 1 Sam 30:2; Job 20:26; Isa 27:9; Ps 35:8; Prov 5:6; Isa 30:14 (cf. GKC §156 🄶).n2Negative circumstantial clausesNegative clauses are often circumstantial. "As circumstantial verbal-clauses, we find sometimes affirmative clauses, but far more frequently negative clauses, and among these a certain number of expressions which may be regarded simply as equivalent to negative adverbial ideas" (GKC § 156). n1->n2n2->n0n3Meaning of מעדThe word מעד ('to slip') "elsewhere, and especially when used metaphorically in the Psalter, does not refer to conscious or unconscious lapses in thought or behavior.... To 'slip' is to suffer misfortune or disaster, especially as a consequence of leaving the right way" (Mosca 1985:224 🄰). "It does not work well with the notion of 'trusting' (בטח)" (Hupfeld II:129 🄲).n3->n0n4Tense of אמעדWhereas the verb בטחתי is qatal, the verb אמעד is yiqtol. If the negative clause with מעד modified the previous clause circumstantially, then we would have expected מעדתי (qatal) instead of אמעד (yiqtol) (Hupfeld II:129 🄲).n4->n0


Conclusion

The clause לֹא אֶמְעָד is probably not a circumstantial clause ("without wavering") as GKC and many modern translations claim, but rather an independent clause expressing the result of the previous clause: "therefore, I shall not waver" (cf. KJV: "therefore I shall not slide"; so also LXX). This interpretation works better with the tense of the verb (yiqtol, not qatal), and, perhaps more importantly, it works better with the semantics of מעד ('to slip' >> 'to waver'). In conclusion, then, we have translated v. 1b as I have trusted in YHWH. I shall not waver.[1]

Research

Translations

Ancient

  • MT: וּבַיהוָ֥ה בָּ֝טַ֗חְתִּי לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד׃
  • LXX: ἐλπίζων οὐ μὴ ἀσθενήσω (NETS: and since I hope in the Lord, I shall not grow weak)
  • Aquila: οὐκ ἀτονήσω
  • Symmachus: οὐ περιτραπήσομαι
  • Sexta: οὐ μὴ σαλευθῶ
  • Iuxta Hebr: et in Domino confidens non deficiam.
  • S: ܒܡܪܝܐ ܣܒܪܬ ܠܐ ܐܙܘܥ܂ (Taylor 2020: "I have put my hope in the Lord; I will not stumble").
  • TgPss: ובמימרא דייי התרחיצית לא אזדעזע׃ (Stec 2004: "and I have trusted in the LORD; I shall not be moved").

Modern

  • NET: and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
  • NJPS: I have trusted in the LORD; I have not faltered.
  • JPS: And I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
  • NRSV: and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
  • DBT: and I have confided in Jehovah: I shall not slip.
  • CEV: and I have trusted you without doubting.
  • ESV: and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
  • KJV: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
  • TOJB: I have trusted also in Hashem without wavering.
  • RSV: and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
  • NASB: And I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
  • NLT: I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
  • NIV: I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.
  • NEB: and put unfaltering trust in the LORD.

German

  • LUT: darum werde ich nicht fallen.
  • HFA: nichts soll mich davon abbringen.
  • NGÜ: werde ich nicht zu Fall kommen.
  • EB: ich werde nicht wanken.
  • Einheitsübersetzung: ich werde nicht wanken.
  • GNB2018: nichts hat mich davon abbringen können.
  • ZÜR: ohne zu wanken.
  • SCH2000: nichts soll mich davon abbringen.

French

  • TOB: et j'ai compté sur le Seigneur sans fléchir.
  • NBS: j'ai mis ma confiance dans le Seigneur, je ne chancellerai pas.
  • BDS: Je me confie en l’Eternel, ╵je ne faiblirai pas.
  • FRDBY: et je me suis confié en l'Éternel: je ne chancellerai pas.
  • BFC: et j'ai en toi une confiance inébranlable.
  • NVS78P: Je me suis confié en l'Éternel, je ne chancellerai pas.
  • PDV (2017): Je fais confiance au Seigneur, je ne risque pas de tomber.
  • NFC: j'ai en toi une confiance inébranlable.
  • S21: Je me confie en l’Eternel: je ne faiblis pas.

Spanish

  • RVR95: he confiado asimismo en Jehová sin titubear.
  • NVI: ¡en el Señor confío sin titubear!


Dictionaries & Lexicons

  • BDB: Slip; slide; totter; shake.
  • DCH: slip, falter, give way. The subject of the verb in Ps. 26:1 is the worshipper.
  • HALOT: Stagger, cause to shake (hiphil).
  • SDBH: Lexical Domain: shake>unfaithful. Gloss: to waver.

Secondary Literature

  • ALTER: And the LORD I have trusted. I shall not stumble. (NOTE: "For I have walked in my wholeness /... I shall not stumble. The simple, and conventional, metaphor of walking secure is beautifully expressive in this poem. It is picked up at the end, again in an envelope structure, when the speaker proclaims, 'My foot stands on level ground.'") (Robert Alter, The book of Psalms: a translation with commentary 2007, 197, 199).
  • AUFFRET: en YHWH j'ai eu confiance; je ne vacille (m'd) pas (Auffret VT 56.3 [2006]: 304; "La voix de l'action de grâce: Étude structurelle du Psaume 26," Nouvelle Revue Théologique 111.2 [1989], 218).
  • BELLINGER: and in Yahweh I have trusted without wavering (W. H. Bellinger Jr., Psalm XXVI: A Test of Method, VT 43.4 [1994]: 452).
  • BOTHA: and I trust in Yahweh; I do not falter. (Phil Botha, “Poetry and Perlocution in Psalm 26,” OTE 24.1 [2011]: 32).
  • CRAIGIE: and have trusted in the Lord. I shall not slip. (NOTE a: The metrical structure is uncertain; it is possible that v 1 should be interpreted as four short lines rather than two long lines. But the parallelism links the two middle clauses, contributing to the uncertainty of the analysis" (Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, 2nd ed., vol. 19, Word Biblical Commentary, 2004, 222). "The prayer to be judged by God is a necessary prerequisite to entering the temple and participating in worship; it presupposes the (priestly) questions concerning admission to the temple: “who shall dwell …?” (15:1) and “who shall ascend …?” (24:3). To such questions, the psalmist responds: “Judge me,” implying “see if I am worthy to enter your house.” Having invited judgment, he then affirms his “integrity” and “trust,” that is the moral nature of his living and the spiritual nature of his trust. His affirmation is not one of sinlessness, only of the integrity of his desire and trust as a qualification for participation in worship. And on the basis of his affirmation, and perhaps also on the basis of a statement from the priest and servants at the gate (implied, rather than stated), the worshiper expresses certainty that his prayer has been heard and that “he shall not slip,” viz. he would stand in God’s house among the worshipers (cf. v 12)" (Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, 2nd ed., vol. 19, Word Biblical Commentary, 225).
  • DIEWERT: and I have trusted in Yahweh, without wavering (David A. Diewert, Psalm 26: Its Content, Structure, and Setting," M.A. Thesis, 1982, 7).
  • GKC: 1. The statement of the particular circumstances under which a a subject appears as performing some action, or under which an action (or an occurrence) is accomplished, is made especially (apart from relative clauses, see § 155) by means of noun-clauses connected by Wāw with a following subject (see further on this kind of circumstantial clause in § 141 e), and by verbal-clauses (see § 142 d). Very frequently, however, such statements of the particular circumstances are subordinated to the main clause by being simply attached, without Wāw, either as noun-clauses, sometimes extremely short (see c), or as verbal-clauses (see d-g). 3. As circumstantial verbal-clauses, 3 we find (1) sometimes affirmative clauses (see below), but far more frequently (2) negative clauses (see f) , and among these (3) a certain number of expressions which may be regarded simply as equivalent to negative adverbial ideas (see g) (GKC § 156:1, 3, 751-52).
  • HUPFELD: the negated verb מעד (as well as the negated verb מוט in the niphal) is used “only in the physical sense of firmness, security of life or prosperity... or in the general moral sense (firmness of virtue or piety)” and that it does not fit well with the notion of “trusting” (בטח)" (Hermann Hupfeld, Die Psalmen, 1858, II: 129).
  • IBN EZRA: ובה' בטחתי - שיעזרני להיות לבי שלם, על כן לא מדעתי. AND I HAVE TRUSTED IN THE LORD WITHOUT WAVERING. I have trusted in the Lord to help me be whole-hearted. Hence I do not waver. (NOTE 4: "Our verse literally reads: I have trusted in the Lord. I do not waver. Hence Ibn Ezra’s interpretation" (Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra’s Commentary On The Book of Psalms Translated and Annotated by H. Norman Strickman, 2009, 194).
  • JUSTISS: Therefore I cannot stumble ("26:1a begins with a simple imperative followed in 26:1b by a subordinate clause with כי and a qatal clause with fronted subject אני. Michel follows the Arabic grammarians in this case, understanding such a clause as “compound nominal clause”... This is a clause “whose predicate consists of an entire clause—nominal clause or verbal clause.” He maintains that these kinds of clauses are essentially circumstantial, i.e. they express a state, in the formula “with subject X it is thus...” This fits the context well here because the psalmist is not literally speaking about the event of his walking, but rather describing himself as a man of integrity. 26:1c continues with a syndetic qatal clause giving another established fact about the psalmist’s character as one who trusts in YHWH. 26:1d contains a negated yiqtol which Michel would treat as a negative result/consequence. It is also possible to see this verb as expressing a substantial action. “If an action occurs as the result of the acting subject’s nature or the circumstance of the situation then the [yiqtol] describes a modal action which in German is best rendered through one of the helping verbs...” The psalmist simply cannot waiver given his nature as a man of integrity and trust in YHWH. Translation: Vindicate me, Oh LORD, for I walk in my honesty and trust in the LORD. Therefore I cannot stumble Joseph Justiss, "The idealized David of Psalm 26: An Exegetical and Theological Analysis," unpublished paper, 2011, 9).
  • KWAKKEL: and I have trusted in YHWH, without wavering.(NOTE D: "Cf. GK, § 156; E. König, Historisch-kritisches Lehrgebäude der hebräischen Sprache, Bd. 2/2, Leipzig 1897, § 154"; "It should be noted, then, that the first element mentioned in the psalmist's more detailed description of his 'honest life' does not boast of a remarkable performance, but simply that he has trusted in YHWH..., and moreover, 'without wavering'...  In the psalms 'wavering' or 'slipping' is mostly used in metaphors referring to someone's 'fate' rather than to someone's behaviour.  If this lead is followed, it must be concluded that lo 'em'ad at the end of verse 1expresses the psalmist's conviction that he is protected from disaster or that this will be so in the future.  Such an idea would be conceivable at the end of the psalm, but here it seems out of place, for in verse 1b the psalmist has just started to substantiate his initial request in which he asks the very thing that - according to this interpretation - he seems to confidently expect at the end of verse 1. Therefore it would be better to interpret lo em'ad, as a circumstantial clause giving additional force to the words which precede it. Consequently,  m'ad refers to the psalmist's behaviour... the clause thus says that the psalmist has been steadfast in his trust in YHWH") (Gert Kwakkel, According to My Righteousness, 2021, 112, 113, 120).
  • MALBIM: ובין במצפון ואמונת הלב כי בה' בטחתי בטחון חזק שלא אמעד ממנו בשום פעם And between my conscience and the faith of my heart, because in God I trusted with a strong confidence that I would never stumble from Him.
  • METZUDAT DAVID: לא אמעד. לזה מהראוי שלא אמעד "I will not stumble. That's why I shouldn't stumble".
  • MOSCA: and in YHWH have I trusted - I shall not stumble. ("lo' 'em'ad , "I shall not falter," refers to the speaker's confidence in a favorable decision. Within the poem, this understanding finds additional support in the connection, both of sound and of sense, between lo' 'em'ad and ragli ameda [v.12a]" Paul G. Mosca, "Psalm 26: Poetic Structure and the Form-Critical Task," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 47.2 [1985], 223, 225).
  • PEROWNE: and in Jehovah I have trusted without wavering (NOTE a: "לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד, a subjoined adverbial clause, "without being moved," like לֹֽא־יֵ֫דָ֥ע XXV. 8, and not a distinct and independent assertion") (Perowne, 263, 265).
  • POTGIETER: and I trust in Yahweh; I do not falter. (A. Potgieter,‘Walking wisely: Sapiential influence in Psalm 26’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 69.1 [2013]: Art. #1378, 6).
  • RADAK: כי אני בתמי הלכתי וביהוה בטחתי לא אמעד: כלומר בתם לבבי ובכל אשר היה לי בטחתי ביי', לפיכך אין ראוי לי שאמעד
  • ROSS: and I trust in the LORD without wavering. (NOTE 1: The clause לֹ֣א אֶמְעָֽד is here subordinated as an adverbial clause, "without moving" or without wavering") (Ross, 607).
  • SNIJDERS: et je me suis conne en Jahve; je ne chancellerai pas. (L. A. Snijders, "Psaume XXVI et l'innocence" in Studies on Psalms, 1963, 112-130).

References

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26:1

  1. ↑ This is similar to the beginning of Psalm 23—"YHWH is my shepherd. [Therefore] I shall not lack."