Psalm 138
By: Jeff A. Benner
Dead Sea Scroll
Alphabet
Verse 1
|
Masoretic
Text |
 |
|
King
James |
{A
Psalm of David.} I will praise thee with my whole
heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. |
|
Literal
from Masoretic |
To
David, I will praise you with all my heart, before God I
will make your music. |
|
Dead
Sea Scroll |
 |
|
Literal
from DSS |
To
david, I will praise Yahweh with all my heart,
before Yahweh God I will make your music. |
Verse 2
|
Masoretic
Text |
 |
|
King
James |
I
will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name
for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast
magnified thy word above all thy name. |
|
Revised
Standard |
I
bow down toward thy holy temple and give thanks to thy
name for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness; for
thou hast exalted above everything thy name and thy
word. |
|
Literal
from Masoretic |
I
will bow down toward your holy temple and I will praise
your name over your mercy, and over your truth because
you made great over all your name your word. |
|
Dead
Sea Scroll |
 |
|
Literal
from DSS |
I
will bow down toward your holy temple and I will praise
your name over your mercy, and over your truth because
you made great over all your name your word. |
Verse 3
|
Masoretic
Text |
 |
|
King
James |
In
the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst
me with strength in my soul. |
|
Revised
Standard |
On
the day I called, thou didst answer me, my strength of
soul thou didst increase. |
|
Literal
from Masoretic |
In
the day I called and you answered me you made me bold in
my soul strength. |
|
Dead
Sea Scroll |
 |
|
Literal
from DSS |
In
the day I called and you answered me you made me bold in
my soul strength. |
Verse 4
|
Masoretic
Text |
 |
|
King
James |
All
the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O' YHWH, when
they hear the words of thy mouth. |
|
Revised
Standard |
All
the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O' YHWH, for
they have heard the words of thy mouth; |
|
Literal
from Masoretic |
They
give thanks to you Yahweh, all the kings of the land,
because they heard words of your mouth. |
|
Dead
Sea Scroll |
 |
|
Literal
from DSS |
They
give thanks to you Yahweh, all the kings of the land,
because they heard words of your mouth. |
Verse 5
|
Masoretic
Text |
 |
|
King
James |
Yea,
they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is
the glory of the LORD. |
|
Revised
Standard |
and
they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is
the glory of the LORD. |
|
Literal
from Masoretic |
And
they sing in the paths of Yahweh because great is the
glory of Yahweh. |
|
Dead
Sea Scroll |
 |
|
Literal
from DSS |
And
they sing in the paths of Yahweh because great is the
glory of Yahweh. |
Verse 6
|
Masoretic
Text |
 |
|
King
James |
Though
the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the
lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. |
|
Revised
Standard |
For
though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly; but the
haughty he knows from afar. |
|
Literal
from Masoretic |
Because
high is Yahweh, and the low he will see and the proud
from a distant place he knows. |
|
Dead
Sea Scroll |
 |
|
Literal
from DSS |
Because
high is Yahweh, and the low he will see and the proud
from a distant place he knows. |
Verse 7
|
Masoretic
Text |
 |
|
King
James |
Though
I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me:
thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of
mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. |
|
Revised
Standard |
Though
I walk in the midst of trouble, thou dost preserve my
life; thou dost stretch out thy hand against the wrath
of my enemies, and thy right hand delivers me. |
|
Literal
from Masoretic |
If
I walk in among trouble you will revive me, over the
anger of my enemies you will send your hand you will
rescue me, your right hand. |
|
Dead
Sea Scroll |
 |
|
Literal
from DSS |
If
I walk in the middle of trouble you will revive
me, over the anger of my enemies you will send your hand
you will rescue me, your right hand. |
Verse 8
|
Masoretic
Text |
 |
|
King
James |
The
LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy
mercy, O' YHWH, endureth for ever: forsake not the
works of thine own hands. |
|
Revised
Standard |
The
LORD will fulfil his purpose for me; thy steadfast love,
O' YHWH, endures for ever. Do not forsake the work of thy
hands. |
|
Literal
from Masoretic |
Yahweh
will end on behalf of me, Yahweh, your mercy is for
eternity, the works of your hands will not sink. |
|
Dead
Sea Scroll |
 |
|
Literal
from DSS |
Yahweh
will end on behalf of me, Yahweh, your mercy is for
eternity, the works of your hands will not sink. |
Differences between the two texts
The text is written in
the Late Hebrew Script, but the name of God, יהוה
Yahweh, is always written in the Middle Hebrew script
(see the bottom of the "alphabet" image at the top of
the page).
In many instances the letter "vav" as found the Dead
Sea Scrolls is removed by the Masorites and replaced with the
"cholam" nikkud (vowel pointing). For instance, the
Dead Sea Scroll has אלוהים
elowhiym the Masoretic text has אלהים
elohiym.
In some instances the letter "yud" as found in the
Dead Sea Scrolls is removed by the Masorites and replaced with
the "chireq" nikkud (vowel pointing). For instance,
the Dead Sea Scroll has דויד
daviyd the Masoretic text has דוד
david.
The suffix ך with the "qamats"
nikkud following it (pronounced 'ka') represents the possessive
pronoun "your" in the Masoretic text. In the Dead Sea
Scrolls this possessive pronoun is written as כה
kah.
The suffix ת with the "qamats"
nikkud following it (pronounced 'ta') represents the pronoun
"you" in the Masoretic text. In the Dead Sea Scrolls
this pronoun is written as תה
tah.
Besides the grammatical differences there are only three
differences in the Psalm. The name Yahweh appears twice in verse
one in the Dead Sea Scrolls but is absent in the Masoretic text.
In verse seven the Masoretic text has the word קרב
qerev meaning "among" while the Dead Sea
Scrolls has the word תוך
tavek meaning "middle" or "midst."
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