Bible HebrewPsalm 23 Psalm 23:1–3
Hebrew poetry: short balanced lines, and pronouns attached to the ends of verbs.
Psalm 23:1
מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד יְהוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר
Mizmōr lədhāwidh yəḥawwe rōʿī lō ʾeḥsār
“A psalm of David. Yəḥawwe is my shepherd; I shall not lack.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמוֹר | mizmōr | a psalm |
| לְדָוִד | lədhāwidh | of / for David |
| יְהוָה | yəḥawwe | yəḥawwe |
| רֹעִי | rōʿī | my shepherd |
| לֹא | lō | not |
| אֶחְסָר | ʾeḥsār | I shall lack |
- לְדָוִד: לְ can mean “of”, “for”, “to” or “by”, so לְדָוִד can be read as “by David”, “for David” or “belonging to David”. Psalm headings are read in all of these ways.
- רֹעִי: A participle (“one who shepherds”) + י “my”, used as a noun: “my shepherd”. Again there is no “is”: “Yəḥawwe — my shepherd”.
- אֶחְסָר: Imperfect with the prefix א for “I”: “I lack” or “I will lack”. With לֹא: “I shall not lack”.
Psalm 23:2
בִּנְאוֹת דֶּשֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵנִי עַל־מֵי מְנֻחוֹת יְנַהֲלֵנִי
Binʾōth deshe yarbīṣēnī ʿal-mē mənuḥōth yənahălēnī
“In pastures of green grass he makes me lie down; beside waters of rest he leads me.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| בִּנְאוֹת | binʾōth | in pastures of |
| דֶּשֶׁא | deshe | grass |
| יַרְבִּיצֵנִי | yarbīṣēnī | he makes me lie down |
| עַל | ʿal | beside |
| מֵי | mē | waters of |
| מְנֻחוֹת | mənuḥōth | rest |
| יְנַהֲלֵנִי | yənahălēnī | he leads me |
- יַרְבִּיצֵנִי: Hiphil (causative) of רבץ, “lie down”: “he causes me to lie down”. The ending נִי is “me”.
- Whole verse: Both halves put the place first and the verb last: “in grassy pastures — he makes me lie down; beside restful waters — he leads me”. The two lines mirror each other, a common pattern in Hebrew poetry.
- מֵי: A construct chain: מֵי “waters of” + מְנֻחוֹת “rests”, meaning “restful waters”.
Psalm 23:3
נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶדֶק לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ
Nafshī yəshōvēv yanḥēnī vəmaʿgəlē-ṣedheq ləmaʿan shəmō
“He restores my soul (or: brings back my life); he leads me in paths of righteousness (or: right paths) for his name's sake.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| נַפְשִׁי | nafshī | my soul / life |
| יְשׁוֹבֵב | yəshōvēv | he restores |
| יַנְחֵנִי | yanḥēnī | he leads me |
| בְמַעְגְּלֵי | vəmaʿgəlē | in tracks of |
| צֶדֶק | ṣedheq | rightness |
| לְמַעַן | ləmaʿan | for the sake of |
| שְׁמוֹ | shəmō | his name |
- נַפְשִׁי: נֶפֶשׁ means “life, self, breath” as well as “soul”. With י: “my life, my self”.
- יְשׁוֹבֵב: From שׁוּב, “return”, in a rare stem that works like the Piel (the Polel): “he brings back, restores”.
- בְמַעְגְּלֵי: A construct chain, “tracks of rightness”. צֶדֶק can mean what is morally right or what is straight and proper, so “paths of righteousness” and “right paths” are both possible.
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