Psalm 7 sheds some light on the mysteries of the human spirit. The mind can be a trap. David wonders why a righteous king like Saul persecutes him. Is it then David himself? Is David doing something wrong unknowingly? Maybe he’s acting out of self-interest? It’s hard to really know and not deny ,I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness, and I will sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High.,
- Text Psalm 7
- Hebrew text of Psalm 7 – תהילים ז
- Listen to Psalm 7
- Explanation of Psalm 7 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
- Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 7
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 7
A lament of David, which he sung to the Eternal over the Binjamite Cush. O Lord my God, in you I take refuge, deliver me from my persecutors, save me, they will tear me apart like lions and drag me down, and no one will save me. O Lord my God, if I have done any wrong, if there is injustice in my hands, if I have returned evil for good, or robbed my enemy without cause, then let the enemy pursue me, overtake me, trample and trample me down in the dust, robbing me of my honor and my life.
……….He bears corruption in his heart, pregnant with misfortune he gives birth to deceit. He digs a well and deepens it, but falls into the pit he himself has dug. The disaster turns against him, the violence falls on his own head. I will praise the Eternal for his righteousness, and I will sing the name of the Eternal, the Most High.
Hebrew text of Psalm 7 – תהילים ז
A mistake for David who sang to Jehovah about the words of Cush ben-Yimini. O Jehovah, my God, in you I have taken refuge, save me from all my persecutors and rescue me. C Pan-yetraf like a lion my soul is torn apart and there is no savior. D Jehovah my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands. If I have repaid my evil and redeemed my empty purses. And the enemy of my soul will pursue and overtake and trample to the land of my life and my honor to the dust will dwell in a basket. 7 O Jehovah, stand up in your mouth, carry through my transgressions, and show me the judgment of a commandment. 8. The committee of nations will turn around and return to it. 9 Yahweh will judge the peoples, Yahweh will judge me as righteous and righteous against me. Let the evil of the wicked be ended and the righteous will be prepared. Ya protect me from God, a righteous savior. 12 God is a righteous judge and God is angry every day. 13 If he does not return his sword, he will sharpen his bow and straighten it. Yad and he prepared the instrument of death, his arrows for the kindlings will work. Behold, Ichbal-Oen, and labor conceived, and gave birth to a lie. 16 A pit is dug and dug and it falls into the waste, it will work. 17 His labor will return to his head, and his pride will descend upon him. 18 Ode Yahweh as his righteousness and praise the name of Yahweh Most High.
Listen to Psalm 7
Listen to Psalm 7 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 7 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
Psalm 7 is about the mysteries of the human spirit.
Our Jewish Tz adikkim (righteous ones) are the doctors of the soul. They are able to reach places that no medical or scientific expert can reach. The most difficult thing is the human mind. Psalm 7 sheds some light on the mysteries of the human spirit.
King Saul is David’s toughest enemy David was constantly threatened by enemies. The most difficult enemy was King David who constantly pursued David. Again and again Saul promised to stop, but then started his action again . Twice David had the opportunity to deal with Saul, and twice he showed mercy. On both occasions Saul repented of his crimes. Saul was tormented by jealousy and this led to depression that caused him to pursue David.
D avid speaks about his enemy Saul and the enemy within him
O Lord my God, in You I take refuge, deliver me from all my persecutors and deliver me. This assumes that when a righteous person like Saul wants to kill him, perhaps the fault lies with David himself. What is inside David that causes Saul’s hatred? Maybe it’s David’s character.
Lest he tear me to pieces like a lion, and drag me away, with no one to save me. The soul can be torn by jealousy. This piece of verse may allude to Saul as a lion, but also to David’s own actions.
O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands, if I have done evil to him who was at peace with me, yes, I have saved him who oppressed me without cause, may the enemy be against me persecute, and overtake, and tread my life under foot upon the earth, and cast down my soul in the dust. David says he has treated others right. He even let his enemy go in two matters. If not then may she take David to earth.
David questions his own motives in releasing Saul. The Kotzker Rebbe tells that Reuben convinces his brothers not to kill Joseph but to throw him into the pit to save him later. Reuben’s grace is not without dark motives that the Midrash plays upon when Reuben later returns to the well in terms of repentance. The Midrash praises Reuben as the first man to repent. Adam and Cain also repent, but Reuben’s repentance is different. He realizes that his grace was surrounded by self-interest, for his father was able to hold him responsible for his younger brother’s safety. What would Ruben say? How could he face Jacob? This realization that one can do a mitzvah with mixed motives was a new insight and gave Reuben the status as the first man to repent.
Likewise, David wonders whether the mercy he shows towards Saul does not have a self-interest in it that he is not aware of. If so, may the enemy pursue me and overtake me, and trample my life to the ground, and cast my soul into the dust.
the mind of man is a trap The mind of man is so tricky that we can think one thing but feel something completely different on another level. It is so deep that we can fall into this trap. It is difficult to really know and not to deny. I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness, and I will sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High.
performing mitzvot to see through the limitations of this mortal life
As the tzaddikim say: we have mitzvot and by performing them we can see through the fog, see through the limitations of this mortal life.
Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 7
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
A shiggayon of David, which he sang unto the Lord concerning Cush the Benjamite.
A shiggayon of David : Menachem says (p. 170) that this too is one of the names of a melody named after the instrument, and so he explained ,on shigyonoth, [in Habakkuk 3:1]. But our sages (Psalm 7:18) declared it an expression of error, that he had confessed and prayed the error he had committed in reciting a song about the fall of Saul, as it is stated (in II Sam 22:1) : ,And David spake unto the Lord, etc., However, the content of the psalm does not indicate this, because it speaks of the nations (in verse 9): ,May the Lord judge the people., I therefore say that he recited it concerning Ishbi in Nob (II Sam. 21:16 ), which happened to him as a punishment for Saul; as our Rabbis explained that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: ,By you was Doeg the Edomite exiled; by you were slain Saul and his sons, etc. ,as it is stated in Helek, (Sanh 95a ) The faults that David asked of the Holy One, blessed be He, [was] that he [himself] be delivered into the hands of his enemies and that his descendants should not be destroyed. (The last sentence does not appear in all editions. ) [Therefore, because his life was in danger,] David turned back his prayer and prayed that he might not fall into the hands of his enemies. This is its meaning: an error that David sang before the Lord because he had wrongly said to the Holy One, blessed be He, to deliver him into the hands of his enemies because of Saul, who was slain because of him. Another explanation: Concerning the fault of the skirt of Saul’s coat, which he had cut.
Cush : Just as the Cushite hath an unusual skin, so Saul hath an unusual deed:
Verse 3
Lest he tear my soul as a lion, neither tear me in pieces with any man, to save [me].
tearing it to pieces : Heb. פרק, an expression of (Exodus 32:2): ,Break off the gold rings (פרקו).,
Verse 4
O Lord my G-d, if I have done this, if there is any unrighteousness in my hands;
if I have done this : What is outlined behind it.
Verse 5
If I had repaid the one who did evil to me, and I had stripped my adversary into the void,
if I had repaid the one who did evil to me : If I would repay him according to his deeds.
I had stripped my opponent in the void : I destroyed his garment when I cut off the hem of his coat. Did I do it to destroy him and strip him and empty him, and [was it done] with hatred? Only to let him know that he was delivered into my hand to kill him, and I killed him not. [The word] חלצה is an expression of stripping off clothing.
Verse 7
Arise, O Lord, in Your wrath; rise up with wrath against my adversaries, and awaken for me the judgment which You have commanded.
Arise, O Lord, with Your wrath : against mine enemies, such as Ishbi and his brothers and the Philistines, that I should not be delivered into their hands.
exalt Yourself : show me the vengeance of Your anger when You become angry with them.
and awake for me : that I might be able to execute the judgment of vengeance which You have commanded upon them. Where have You dedicated [it]? “You will break them with a rod of iron” (above 2:9). “Then I will be an enemy to your enemies” (Exodus 23:22). I found this in Midrash (Middle Ps 7:6, Tan. Ki Thissa 20, Buber 13 with variations).
Verse 8
And [if] a congregation of kingdoms surrounds you, return high above them.
And [if] a gathering of kingdoms surrounds You : If troops of nations follow You to save them, do not listen to their voice. Distance Yourself and return to Your place on high; repoxa in old French, rest. Another interpretation: return to the top to show that You have the upper hand.
Verse 9
May the Lord judge the people; Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to my innocence that is upon me.
May the Lord judge the people : Turn away the punishment from us and place it on the nations.
judge : An expression of chastening.
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness : But judge Israel according to the good deeds they have done, and not according to their sins.
Verse 10
May evil destroy the wicked, and may You establish the righteous, for the righteous God tests the hearts and the loins.
destroy : Heb. יגמר, literally to finish. An expression of destruction, and so interpreted Menachem (p.57): (77:9), ,destroyed (גמר) his word,; (12:2), “a devout man has (גמר) perished,” and so all. (This does not appear in certain editions.)
and may You confirm the righteous… test the hearts : You know who the righteous man is that You can confirm him.
the righteous G‑d : That is Your name.
Verse 12
G-d is a righteous judge and G-d is angry every day.
a righteous judge : You are to judge with righteousness.
is wroth every day : when He sees the deed of the wicked.
Verse 13
If he does not repent, he will try his sword; He has trodden down and prepared His bow.
If he does not repent : [i.e., if] the wicked [does not repent] of his wickedness.
he will try His sword : The Holy One, blessed be He, will hold His sword before him. ילטוש means pretext in old French, to polish, to dress; and He will trample His bow under foot.
Verse 14
And He has prepared for him deadly weapons; He will make arrows for pursuers.
And … for him : And for the wicked man the Holy One, blessed be He, has prepared deadly weapons.
for pursuers : Hebrew לדלקים, for pursuers, as (in Gen. 31:36): ,that you pursue (דלקת) me., And this is the meaning: His arrows to kill the wicked who pursue the righteous, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make them and prepare them to defeat them. Every [instance of] דליקה is an expression of pursuit.
Verse 15
Behold, he is troubled with iniquity; he conceives mischief and gives birth to lies.
Behold, he hath trouble : Hebrew יחבל an expression of conception and birth, as (in Song of Songs 8:5): “there was thy mother in travail with thee (חבלתך).”
he conceives mischief and gives birth to lies : Whatever he begets and toils, all betrays him. The saying goes: whatever happens, the reduction increases.
Verse 18
I will thank the Lord according to His righteousness, and I will praise the name of the Lord Most High.
I will thank the Lord according to His righteousness : When He executes strict justice with righteousness, to judge the wicked according to their wickedness.
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
Often we repent out of self-interest. We would like to get something in return from G-d: wealth, health, happiness, etc. But is this self-interest correct? Recently I heard a lecture by a rabbi who talked about the repentance of tzaddikim (righteousness). They do this completely without self-interest. Because, they say, the only thing that exists is G-d, so in what way could we act out of self-interest? Actually, we should follow the example of the tzaddikim. Repentance is only intended to grow towards G-d and because G-d is the only thing that exists, we must realize that it is not important whether or not we feel we get anything in return. We always get something in return, after all we are growing towards G-d. That is all that matters and that is also the greatest reward we can receive: becoming one with G-d. With the help of the mitzvot we can come closer to G-d. That is also why G-d granted the mitzvot; not as a limitation of life, but rather as an expansion of life. The mitzvot take us to G-d, to infinity.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92.