Psalm 3 Text
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Psalm 3/Text
Choose a Psalm Navigate Psalm 3
Victory is YHWH's!
Psalm 3
Please note: Resources for Psalm 3 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.
Listen & Read: Psalm 3
Read along and listen to our audio recordings for Psalm 3. Choose between simple, unaffected audio recordings (in Hebrew or English), or a dramatized reading that takes into account our emotional and discourse analyses. You can also choose between a text-only view, or a view overlaid with our summary At-a-Glance, Expanded Paraphrase, or Participant Analysis tracking.
| Simple Reading (Hebrew) |
Simple Reading (English) |
| Dramatic Reading (Hebrew) |
Dramatic Reading (English) |
Text Only (Hebrew and English) The text below is divided according to the psalm's poetic lines. For additional information, see our Poetic Structure layer.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) The Close-but-clear translation (CBC) exists to provide a window into the Hebrew text according to how we understand its syntax and word-to-phrase-level semantics. It is not intended to be used as a stand-alone translation or base text, but as a supplement to Layer-by-Layer materials to help users make full use of these resources. |
|---|---|---|
מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀ אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃
|
1 | A psalm. By David. When he was fleeing from Absalom, his son.
|
יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י
|
2a | YHWH, how my adversaries have become many!
|
רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃
|
2b | Many are those rising against me.
|
רַבִּים֮ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י
|
3a | Many are those saying about me,
|
אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃
|
3b | "There is no victory for him in God!" Selah.
|
וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י
|
4a | But you, YHWH, are a shield for me,
|
כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃
|
4b | my honor, and the one who lifts my head.
|
ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א
|
5a | I call aloud to YHWH,
|
וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃
|
5b | and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah.
|
אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה
|
6a | I lay down and fell asleep.
|
הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃
|
6b | I woke up, because YHWH supports me.
|
לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם
|
7a | I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people
|
אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֝בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃
|
7b | who have taken position against me all around.
|
ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י
|
8a | Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God!
|
כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי
|
8b | For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw.
|
שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃
|
8c | You have broken wicked people's teeth.
|
לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה
|
9a | Victory is YHWH 's!
|
עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃
|
9b | Your blessing is on your people. Selah.
|
Structure Overlay Below, the text has been overlaid with our summary structural analysis. For details on the structure, see the Structure At-a-Glance here.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) |
|---|---|---|
| מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִ֑ד בְּ֝בָרְח֗וֹ מִפְּנֵ֤י ׀ אַבְשָׁל֬וֹם בְּנֽוֹ׃ | 1 | A psalm. By David. When he was fleeing from Absalom, his son. |
| יְ֭הוָה מָֽה־רַבּ֣וּ צָרָ֑י | 2a | YHWH, how my adversaries have become many! |
| רַ֝בִּ֗ים קָמִ֥ים עָלָֽי׃ | 2b | Many are those rising against me. |
| רַבִּים֮ אֹמְרִ֪ים לְנַ֫פְשִׁ֥י | 3a | Many are those saying about me, |
| אֵ֤ין יְֽשׁוּעָ֓תָה לּ֬וֹ בֵֽאלֹהִ֬ים סֶֽלָה׃ | 3b | "There is no victory for him in God!" Selah. |
| וְאַתָּ֣ה יְ֭הוָה מָגֵ֣ן בַּעֲדִ֑י | 4a | But you, YHWH, are a shield for me, |
| כְּ֝בוֹדִ֗י וּמֵרִ֥ים רֹאשִֽׁי׃ | 4b | my honor, and the one who lifts my head. |
| ק֭וֹלִי אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֶקְרָ֑א | 5a | I call aloud to YHWH, |
| וַיַּֽעֲנֵ֨נִי מֵהַ֖ר קָדְשׁ֣וֹ סֶֽלָה׃ | 5b | and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah. |
| אֲנִ֥י שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה | 6a | I lay down and fell asleep. |
| הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי כִּ֖י יְהוָ֣ה יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃ | 6b | I woke up, because YHWH supports me. |
| לֹֽא־אִ֭ירָא מֵרִבְב֥וֹת עָ֑ם | 7a | I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר סָ֝בִ֗יב שָׁ֣תוּ עָלָֽי׃ | 7b | who have taken position against me all around. |
| ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י | 8a | Rise up, YHWH! Save me, my God! |
| כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כָּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי | 8b | For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw. |
| שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃ | 8c | You have broken wicked people's teeth. |
| לַיהוָ֥ה הַיְשׁוּעָ֑ה | 9a | Victory is YHWH's! |
| עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֖ בִרְכָתֶ֣ךָ סֶּֽלָה׃ | 9b | Your blessing is on your people. Selah. |
Expanded paraphrase The expanded paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today. It is based on the CBC translation and uses italic text to provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences.
This resource is forthcoming.
Participant Tracking Text Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? Our full analysis can be found in the Participant Analysis layer.
