Psalm 16: The Path of Life

"Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth." Verses 2–4 are some of the hardest Hebrew in the Psalms; translations differ widely.

"Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup… The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage."

"I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope."

"For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

Lines and lots

"The lines are fallen" refers to measuring cords used to divide land by lot (Joshua 18:6–10). The Levites had no land; "the LORD is their inheritance" (Numbers 18:20; Deuteronomy 10:9). The speaker uses that language: God himself is his allotted share.

Miktam

Six psalms are called miktam (16, 56–60). Proposals: "inscription" or "engraved" (from ketem, "gold"), "atonement psalm," or an unknown musical term. The Greek has stēlographia, "an inscription on a stele," and the Vulgate "tituli inscriptio." The meaning is uncertain.

The shape of the poem

Three movements: trust and the rejection of other gods (vv. 1–4); the LORD as portion and inheritance (vv. 5–8); confidence for body and soul (vv. 9–11). "Right hand" closes both the second and third movements ("because he is at my right hand," v. 8; "at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore," v. 11): the speaker's security becomes his joy.

Sheol and "corruption"

16:10: "you will not abandon my soul (nafshi) to Sheol; you will not let your faithful one (hasidekha) see the pit (shahat)." Shahat means the pit or grave; it can also mean corruption or decay. The Greek translated diaphthoran, "corruption, decay" (Vulgate corruptionem; Giguet "la corruption"). In the original psalm the speaker likely prays to be kept from premature death. Peter (Acts 2:25–31) and Paul (Acts 13:35–37) quote the Greek and argue that since David died and decayed, the words point beyond him to the resurrection of Jesus.

The versions

Greek and Latin Psalm 15. The library's Vulgate combines English 16:10–11 into one verse, so its 15:11 is empty: an example of why the reader matches verses by content and marks numbering differences.