For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness;
Thou hast set me at large when I was in distress:
{Or, Be gracious unto me}Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
O ye sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor?
How long will ye love vanity, and seek after falsehood? [Selah
But know that Jehovah hath set apart for himself {Or, one that he favoreth}him that is godly:
Jehovah will hear when I call unto him.
{Or, Be ye angry}Stand in awe, and sin not:
Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. [Selah
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in Jehovah.
Many there are that say, Who will show us any good?
Jehovah, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Thou hast put gladness in my heart,
More than they have when their grain and their new wine are increased.
In peace will I both lay me down and sleep;
For thou, Jehovah, {Or, in solitude}alone makest me dwell in safety.
Querverweise zu Psalm 4,6 Ps 4,6
Surely every man walketh {Or, as a shadow}in a vain show;Surely they are disquieted {Or, for vanity}in vain:He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
For thou {Hebrew: settest him to be blessings. See Genesis 12:2.}makest him most blessed for ever:Thou makest him glad with joy in thy presence.
Be not thou afraid when one is made rich,When the {Or, wealth}glory of his house is increased:
For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away;His glory shall not descend after him.
Though while he lived he blessed his soul(And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself),
{Hebrew: Thou shall go, or, It shall go.}He shall go to the generation of his fathers; {Or, Who never more see}They shall never see the light.
Man that is in honor, and understandeth not,Is like the beasts that perish.
Why art thou {Hebrew: bowed down.}cast down, O my soul?And why art thou disquieted within me?Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise himFor the help of his countenance.
I searched in my heart how to cheer my flesh with wine, my heart yet {Or, holding its course}guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what it was good for the sons of men that they should do under heaven {Hebrew: the number of days of their life.}all the days of their life.
I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards;
I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit;
I made me pools of water, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared;
I bought men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem;
I gathered me also silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, {Or, concubines very many The meaning of the Hebrew is very uncertain.}musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom {Or, stood by me}remained with me.
And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them; I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor; and this was my portion from all my labor.
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh {Or, after the king, even him whom they made king long ago? Or, after the king in those things which have been already done?}after the king? even that which hath been done long ago.
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
The wise man's eyes are in his head, and the fool walketh in darkness: and yet I perceived that one event happeneth to them all.
Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then said I in my heart, that this also is vanity.
For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever; seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. And how doth the wise man die even as the fool!
So I hated life, because the work that is wrought under the sun was grievous unto me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
And I hated all my labor wherein I labored under the sun, seeing that I must leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
And who knoweth whether he will be a wise man or a fool? yet will he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.
Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor wherein I had labored under the sun.
For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with {Or, success}skilfulness; yet to a man that hath not labored therein shall he {Hebrew: give.}leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
For what hath a man of all his labor, and of the {Or, vexation}striving of his heart, wherein he laboreth under the sun?
For all his days are but sorrows, and his travail is grief; yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest. This also is vanity.
There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.
For who can eat, or who can {Or, hasten thereto}have enjoyment, {According to Septuagint Version and Syraic. apart from him.}more than I?
For to the man that pleaseth him God giveth wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that pleaseth God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
For they gat not the land in possession by their own sword,Neither did their own arm save them;But thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance,Because thou wast favorable unto them.
Wherefore do ye {Hebrew: weigh.}spend money for that which is not bread? and your {Or, carnings}labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm, a Song.God be merciful unto us, and bless us,And cause his face to shine {Hebrew: with us.}upon us; [Selah
And I will say to my {Or, life}soul, {Or, life}Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry.
For the Chief Musician; set to {That is, Lilies, a testimony}Shoshannim Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock;Thou that {Or, art enthroned}sittest above the cherubim, shine forth.
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy might,And come to save us.
{Or, Restore}Turn us again, O God;And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, {Or, living in mirth and splendor every day}faring sumptuously every day:
{Or, Restore}Turn us again, O God of hosts;And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:
{Or, Restore}Turn us again, O Jehovah God of hosts;Cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony {Or, unto}against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.
Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.
Blessed is the people that know the {Or, trumpet sound}joyful sound:They walk, O Jehovah, in the light of thy countenance.
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant;And teach me thy statutes.
Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.