In honor of todays March for Life in Washington, the NABRE Facebook site has released a full version of Psalm 139. You can view that here. It includes not only the new text, but also the notes/commentary that will accompany it. I cannot reproduce that version here, but for comparison purposes, below you will find the '91 NAB Psalms version of Psalm 139:
For the leader. A psalm of David. O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
2 you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar.
3 My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, you know it all.
5 Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach.
7 Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee?
8 If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too.
9 If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea,
10 Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light" --
12 Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one.
13 You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew;
15 my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.
17 How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them!
18 Were I to count, they would outnumber the sands; to finish, I would need eternity.
19 If only you would destroy the wicked, O God, and the bloodthirsty would depart from me!
20 Deceitfully they invoke your name; your foes swear faithless oaths.
21 Do I not hate, LORD, those who hate you? Those who rise against you, do I not loathe?
22 With fierce hatred I hate them, enemies I count as my own.
23 Probe me, God, know my heart; try me, know my concerns.
24 See if my way is crooked, then lead me in the ancient paths.
So, what do you think?
8 comments:
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In v16 of the NABRE, what does all reference?
"all" probably refers to "all" of a person's days or actions. Anybody else have any thoughts or perhaps what the original langauges say?
Perhaps the Hebrew is ambiguous?
Overall, the 1991 version of this Psalm was not bad to begin with, the new version does smooth out a couple of the verses in the older Psalm and does improve it. I'm a little more curious of the changes to other Psalms that use vertical inclusive language such as Psalm 2, where the word 'he' (as referring to God) in at least 4 occurrences was changed.
"Probed me." Not good phrasing. Makes the psalm sound like a creepy alien abduction poem. Not to be to flip, but that phrase really should have been changed.
Verse 14 is closer to the Masoretic Hebrew used in the "King James" tradition, whereas the RSV utilizes the more ancient sources as does the traditional Vulgate. RSV: 14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. * Wonderful are thy works!
Douay Rheims: [14] I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified: wonderful are thy works,http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=223074 Check out this discussion about weird Psalm source text and translation in the
NAB.
@Mark I agree... I wish they had simply phrased it as "searched me"
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