Psalm 11 describes how King David finds refuge with HaShem (G-d). The wicked will always try to shoot at the heart of my faith. But they shoot at the righteous when it is dark. So they cannot shoot accurately. If my heart is true, the arrows of the wicked cannot find their place. They may wound me sometimes, but they do not touch my soul if I remain aware of HaShem’s constant love.
- Text Psalm 11
- The Hebrew text of Psalm 11 – תהילים יא
- Listen to Psalm 11
- Explanation of Psalm 11 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
- Rashi’s commentary on Psalm 11
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 11
For the choir director. From David. In the Eternal I take refuge. How darest thou say to me, Flee to thy mountains like birds? For behold, the wicked bend the bow, and lay their arrow upon the string, to smite the upright in heart in darkness. When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Eternal dwells in his holy palace, the Eternal has his throne in heaven; his eyes watch, his eyes search the sons of men. The Eternal tries the righteous and the wicked; and whoever loves violence, him He hates. He rains upon the wicked coals of fire and brimstone, and scorching wind is the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous and loves righteousness; the upright will see His face.
The Hebrew text of Psalm 11 – תהילים יא
- To the victorious David, Jehovah, my secret. 2 For behold, the wicked will be guided by a bow like an arrow that shoots through the darkness to the right of the heart. 3 Because the drinkers will destroy the righteous what-verb. D Jehovah in his holy temple Jehovah in the heavens as his servants shall prophesy his eyelids shall test the sons of men. Yahweh is righteous, he will test the wicked and love Hamas, he hates his soul. And he will rain down on the wicked buckets of fire and brimstone and the spirit of Zilafot a portion of a cup. 7 For the Lord is righteous, the righteousnesses of a righteous lover will be found in his presence.
Listen to Psalm 11
Listen to Psalm 11 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 11 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
finding safety in HaShem
Psalm 11 begins with In the Lord I take refuge. How darest thou say to me, Flee to thy mountains like birds? This Psalm speaks to the constant Divine guidance with which HaShem guides the world. Yet there are wicked people who try to belittle faith. They say, ,You are mad birds flying without guidance. Go to your supposed mountain that is your faith. You will find nothing there except wind and stones on which you will fall to your death., They saw evidence for their arguments in David’s words. But David says, In the Lord I take refuge . I have found security in knowing that there is a Divine plan for me as an individual and nothing can move me from the truth.
the arrows of the wicked cannot really touch me The wicked will always try to shoot at the heart of my faith. But they shoot at the righteous when it is dark. So they cannot shoot accurately. If my heart is true, the arrows of the wicked cannot find their place. They may wound me sometimes, but they do not touch my soul if I remain aware of HaShem’s constant love.
grow and become more sensitive to the presence of HaShem.
The Lord tests the righteous . HaShem tests me so that I will grow and become more sensitive to His presence. The wicked; and whoever loves violence, him He hates. HaShem has no interest in testing the wicked because they have shown that they do not see the hand of HaShem in their daily lives
God sees everything and never disappears Because we have a limited mind we sometimes think that HaShem hides His face from us, but David tells us that HaShem loves the righteous and the upright will see His face. Everything is in His loving hands. Our challenge is to understand this truth at every level and at all times. David tried to find God everywhere, even when he had made mistakes. HaShem never disappears. HaShem is with us every step of our lives.
Rashi’s commentary on Psalm 11
Per verse the commentary of Rashi, the Jewish Bible commentator who lived from 1040-1105. Rashi is considered the teacher of teachers. All traditional Jews regard Rashi as an authority on the Jewish Bible and Talmud. Hence it is important to record his commentary on the Psalms. Rashi uses new Hebrew supplemented with Old French words. His language is sometimes somewhat oracularly short. For further explanation it is wise to consult an orthodox Jewish rabbi.
Verse 1
To the conductor of David; I took refuge in the Lord. How do you say to my soul, “Walk from your mountain, [you] bird”?
How sayest thou to my soul, “Walk from thy mountain,” etc. : This is by the commandment of (I Sam. 26:19): “For they have driven me out this day from holding the inheritance of the Lord,” for they expelled him from the [Holy] Land outside the [Holy] Land, and here he says: ‘I took refuge in the Lord [hoping] that He would restore me to cleave to His inheritance. How says You, who drive out my soul, against me, …
Walk from your mountain : Go over your mountain, you wandering bird. For every wandering person is likened to a bird that wanders from its nest, as it is written (in Proverbs 27: 8): ,As a bird that wanders out of its nest, so is a man that wanders out of his place., For your nest has gone astray, because like a wandering bird we have driven you from the whole mountain. The Masoretic spelling is נודו [ plural] because it is also explained in reference to Israel, that the nations say so to them.
Verse 2
For behold, the wicked tread upon the bow, and set their arrow upon the bow, to shoot in the darkness at the upright in heart .
For behold the wicked : Doeg and the informers of the generation who cause hatred between me and Saul.
to step : The expression of to step is appropriate for the arch, because if it is firm, he must place his foot on it when he wants to bend it.
the bow : They have bent their tongue treacherously [as] their bows (Jeremiah 9:2).
they put their arrow on the bow : literally, the string of the bow, corde darche in French, a bowstring.
in the dark : in secret.
the upright in heart : David and the priests of Nob.
to shoot : ajeter in French.
Verse 3
For the foundations were destroyed; what has the righteous done?
For the foundations were destroyed : By you the righteous priests of the Lord, who are the foundation of the world, were slain.
what hath the righteous done : David, who sinned not, what did he do in all this matter? [He said to Doeg:] You shall bear iniquity, not I.
Verse 4
The Lord is in his Holy Temple. The Lord – His throne is in heaven; His eyes see, His disciples try the sons of men.
The Lord is in His Holy Temple : Who sees and tests their deeds, and though His throne is in heaven and exalted, yet His eyes see you on earth.
Verse 5
The Lord tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
The Lord tries the righteous : And if, because I suffer and am pursued by you, you boast and say (under 71:11): “G-d has forsaken him,” it is not so, but such is the custom of the Holy One, blessed be He, to chasten and to test the righteous, but not the wicked. This flax worker, as long as he knows that his flax is of high quality, he beats it, but when it is not of high quality, he only crushes it a little because it breaks.
His Soul Hates : He lays up the reward for his iniquities for the ‘long world’, and then he pours [punishment] upon them [sic] in Gehinnom.
Verse 6
He will rain upon the wicked charcoal, fire, and brimstone, and a burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
charcoal : Hebrew פחים, an expression of charcoal (פחם).
burning : Hebrew זלעפות, an expression of burning. Menachem (p. 79) interprets it as expressing (Isaiah 28:2) ‘a storm of destruction (שער קטב)’. Likewise (in Lamentations 5:10) ‘because of the heat of (זלעפות) famine; (below 119:53), ,burned (זלעפה) seized me., That is, (as in Ezekiel 27:35), ,became greatly alarmed (שערו שער)., (The quotation from Menachem appears only in several early printed editions, and not in any manuscript.)
Verse 7
For the Lord is righteous; He loves [workers of] righteousness, whose faces approve of the straight [way].
For the Lord is righteous; He loves [workers of] righteousness : and has compassion on the righteous, and loves those whose faces see the straight [way], in whose eyes the straight way is right.
whose faces approve the straight [way] : This refers to ‘The Lord is righteous; He loves [workers of] righteousness and those whose faces approve of the straight [way]. ‘Our sages [Mid. Ps. 11:2, Sanh. 26a, Lev. Rabbah 5:5] interpreted ,the wicked tread upon the bow, as referring to Shebna and his company, and they interpreted ,the upright in heart, as referring to Hezekiah and his company.
For the foundations have been destroyed : If the foundations have been destroyed by them, what has the Righteous One of the world achieved? However, the order of the verses does not correspond to the Midrash.
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
G‑d constantly tests the Jewish believer. HaShem wants the Jew to become more sensitive to Gd’s presence. When we look at the history of the Jewish people in the Diaspora, we see that G-d constantly tests His people. He gives the non-Jews limited free rein to make things difficult for the Jews. He challenges the Jews: do you choose Me or the god of the Christians (JC). If the Jews remain faithful to the Torah and continue to serve God, nothing can happen to them. In this way the Jews can grow towards HaShem and receive His infinite love. This is what G-d requires of the Jews. Nothing more and nothing less. Only G-d can give infinite love to His people.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92.