Psalm 23: The LORD Is My Shepherd

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." "Still waters" are literally "waters of rest" (me menuhot).

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." At the darkest point, the speaker stops talking about God ("he") and speaks to him ("thou").

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." "Follow" is radaf, "pursue": the word used for enemies hunting someone. Here goodness and steadfast love are the pursuers.

Shepherds and kings

"Shepherd" was a royal title across the ancient Near East: Hammurabi calls himself "the shepherd" of his people, and Egyptian pharaohs carried the crook. David was a shepherd before he was king (1 Samuel 16:11). The rod (shevet) defended the flock; the staff (mish'enet) guided and supported.

Hospitality and oil

In the second half the image shifts to a host who protects a guest from pursuers; ancient hospitality bound the host to defend his guest (Genesis 19:8). Anointing the head with oil was a courtesy to guests (Luke 7:46) and a sign of joy.

"The shadow of death"

Tsalmavet is written as if it were tsel (shadow) + mavet (death), and the Greek (skias thanatou), Latin (umbrae mortis) and KJV follow that understanding. Many scholars think it is a single word, tsalmut, "deep darkness" (as in Job 10:21–22), later vocalized as a compound. Either way the image is of the darkest place; "death" may be a superlative ("deathly dark").

"For ever"

23:6 Hebrew le-orekh yamim means "for length of days," i.e. for a long life or as long as I live. The Vulgate is literal ("in longitudinem dierum"); the KJV's "for ever" is an interpretation. The Masoretic vowels (veshavti) look like "and I will return" (from shuv); the Greek and Latin read "and I will dwell" (from yashav), which most translations follow.

The versions

Greek and Latin Psalm 22. The library's Vulgate reads "Dominus regit me, et nihil mihi deerit" ("The Lord rules me"), whence the Douay-Rheims "The Lord ruleth me." Search "Psalm 22 LXX" on the site to find this psalm.