Psalm 69 was composed prophetically by King David, describing the plight of the Jewish people during this long and difficult exile. Psalm 69 is about the suffering of the Jewish people and their ultimate redemption by G-d. According to Rabbi Rubin, the Psalm answers the unanswerable and strikes the deepest point of the soul.
- Text Psalm 69
- Hebrew text of Psalm 69 – תהילים סט
- Listen to Psalm 69
- Explanation of Psalm 69 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
- Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 69
- Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
- Psalm 1 to 92
Text Psalm 69
For the conductor, on shoshannim, by David. Save me, O G-d, for water has come up to my soul. I have sunk into muddy depths and there is no place to stand; I got into the deep water and the current swept me away. I have grown weary of calling; my throat is parched; my eyes fail as I wait for my G-d. Those who hate me for nothing are more numerous than the hairs of my head; mighty are those who would cut me off, who are my enemies because of lies; what I have not stolen, I will then return.
…For G‑d listens to those in need, and He does not despise His prisoners. Heaven and earth will praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them, When God saves Zion and builds the cities of Judah, and they dwell there and possess it. And the seed of His servants inherit it, and those who love His name dwell in it.
Hebrew text of Psalm 69 – תהילים סט
- To David’s victory over the Shoshanim. B Save me, God, for water has come up to the soul. 3 I drowned in a shadowy dove, and there is no refuge for me in the depths of the waters, and my oat has washed me away. D I reached the end of my reading, my throat was sore, my eyes were full of hope for my God. Many are the hairs of my head, my self-haters, my enemies are false, which I have not robbed, and I will restore them. And God, you know my iniquity and my sins have not been removed from you. 7 Let not your lines dry up in me, O Lord Jehovah of hosts, let not those who ask you, God of Israel, speak of me. 8 Because I have brought shame upon you, I have covered my face with a word. 9 I was a stranger to my brothers and a stranger to my mother’s children. Because the jealousy of your house has consumed me, and the scourges of your winter have fallen upon me. Yea, weep in the fasting of my soul, and be my disgrace. 12 And I will put a sackcloth on my shame and I will be a parable to them. 13 The gate-dwellers and hired drunkards will cry out to me. Yad and I prayed to you, O Lord, at the will of God, in your great mercy, answer me with the truth of your Yeshua. Thou hast saved me from the dust, and saved me from the depths of the waters. 16 Don’t let a flood of water wash over me and don’t swallow me up with the fire of its mouth. 17 Answer me, Jehovah, for your mercy is good, and the abundance of your mercies has turned to me. 18 And do not hide your face from your servant, for I am soon troubled by my cloud. 19 It is near to my soul that is exiled for the sake of my enemies. For you knew my shame and shame and my words against you for all my troubles. 12 Shame broke my heart and my hope for wandering and nowhere and for comforters and I did not find. 22 And they gave me a head in my ignorance, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar. 23 Let there be a table before them for dust, and for the peaceable for mokesh. Their eyes will be darkened by mirrors and their conditions will always stand still. So pour out your wrath on them and the horn of your mouth will overtake them. So shall their castle be a soul in their tents, may God dwell. 27 For you who have been smitten have been persecuted and the pain of your wounds will be told. Give power to iniquity upon their iniquity, and let them not come to your righteousness. 9 They will wipe out the book of life and with the righteous they will not write. And I am poor and in pain, your salvation, God, exalt me. I will glorify the name of God in song and magnify with thanksgiving. Live and be kind to the Lord from the song of a beaming cow. See the humble, let the prayers of God be glad, and let your hearts live. Because Jehovah hears the cries of the wicked, and does not despise his prisoners. Heaven and earth, seas, and everything that treads in them shall be glorified. Because God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah and they will live there and inherit it. And the seed of his servants shall inherit it, and the lovers of his name shall dwell in it.
Listen to Psalm 69
Listen to Psalm 69 in Hebrew.
Explanation of Psalm 69 by Rabbi Yitzchok Rubin
The Psalm begins with a cry of despair from the Jew who feels so alone. He struggles to the surface of the water that surrounds him and prays to the Creator to save him.
David says that the hatred against Jews is enormous. Jews are victims of extortion, forced to pay high taxes, give up their property, and much more. The lives of Jews will be destroyed by the undeserved hatred. Jews are hated because they serve G-d. The Jew haters despise G-d and show their hatred by trying to destroy the Jewish people.
The Psalmist invokes the pure and abundant goodness of G-d that is without ulterior motive.
The Psalm goes on to describe the many ways in which Jews are hurt. They never get a chance to catch their breath before new terror takes place.
But Jews are bound to the love of Hashem through those who came before them. They will reap what they have sown and in time they will understand everything. Hidden suffering, but because of this they are getting closer to the time when they will live in Hashem’s chosen dwelling place.
Commentary by Rashi on Psalm 69
Per verse the commentary of Rashi, the Jewish Bible commentator who lived from 1040-1105. Rashi is considered the teacher of teachers. All traditional Jews regard Rashi as an authority on the Jewish Bible and Talmud. Hence it is important to record his commentary on the Psalms. Rashi uses new Hebrew supplemented with Old French words. His language is sometimes somewhat oracularly short. For further explanation it is wise to consult an orthodox Jewish rabbi.
Verse 1
For the conductor, on shoshannim, of David.
on shoshannim : Concerning Israel, who is like a rose (שושנה) among thorns, pricked by thorns, and he prayed for them.
Verse 2
Save me, O God, for water has come up to my soul.
for waters have come up to my soul : the nations
Verse 3
I am sunk in the miry depths, and there is no place to stand; I got into the deep water and the current swept me away.
in muddy depths : In the mire, the mud of the deep.
and the current : That is the flow of the power of the river, fil in Old French, current.
Verse 4
I have grown weary of crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail as I wait for my G-d.
is parched : Hebrew נחר, dry, as (Job 30:30): ,to be burned (חרה) with heat.,
mine eyes fail : Every long hope is called “failing of the eyes” (Deut. 28:32): “and seeking for them all the day long.” [Similarly] (Lev. 26:16): “that make the eyes sore”; (Job 11:20), “and the eyes of the wicked shall fail.”
Verse 5
Those who hate me for nothing are more than the hairs of my head; mighty are those who would cut me off, who are my enemies because of lies; what I have not stolen, I will then return.
who are my enemies because of lies : They hate me because of a lie, because I do not follow their lies to accept their error.
will I then return : When they gather against me, I will bribe them with money that I did not steal from them.
Verse 7
Let not those who hope in You be put to shame by me, O Lord G-d of hosts; let not those who seek You be put to shame by me, O G‑d of Israel.
Let not those who hope in You be put to shame by me : Do not leave me in their hands, lest those who hope in You be put to shame by what befalls me, and say: Has not this happened to one who hopes in the Holy One, blessed be He ?,
Verse 9
I was a stranger to my brothers and a stranger to my mother’s sons.
for my brothers : for Esau.
Verse 10
For the envy of Your house has consumed me, and the humiliations of those who blaspheme You have fallen on me.
the envy of Your house : They saw the love You showed us when Your house still existed, and they were jealous of me.
Verse 11
And I grieved my soul when I fasted, and it was a disgrace to me.
And I grieved my soul when I fasted : In my fasting.
it was a disgrace to me : When I weep and fast before You, they mock me.
Verse 13
They talk about me, those who sit in the gate, and [they make] melodies [about me] to those who imbibe strong drink.
melodies : they made me for those who imbibe strong drink.
Verse 14
But as for me, may my prayer to You, O Lord, be in an acceptable time. O G-d, with Your abundant goodness, answer me with the truth of Your salvation.
But, as for me, may my prayer be to Thee, O Lord : may the time of my prayer be a desired time.
Verse 16
Let not the flood engulf me, nor let the mire swallow me up, nor let the abyss close its mouth upon me.
and don’t let … close : And don’t let it wash over me.
abyss : This strange care [will not close] its mouth to shut me up.
close : Heb. תאטר, such as (Judges 3:15): ,with a withered (אטר) right hand, that he does not use it.
Verse 19
Come close to my soul, save it; because of mine enemies, deliver me.
Come close to my soul : (Come close to me).
deliver me : Heb. גאלה, [equivalent to] גְאוֹל אוֹתָה.
Verse 21
Humiliation has broken my heart and I have become sick; I hoped for sympathy but there was none, and for comfort but I found none.
I have become sick : Heb. ואנושה, I am sick, as (Micah 1:9): ,For she is sick unto death (אנושה) [of] her wounds,, and as (II Sam. 12:15): ,and the child (sic), became fatally ill (ויאנש), ‘of Bathsheba. Now if you’re wondering how this ,aleph, serves as a radical and also as a prefix indicating the first person, this is how a word starts with ,aleph., For example (Mal. 1:2): ,and I loved (וָאֹהַב) Jacob; (Prov. 8:17), ,I will love (אֵהָב) those who love me., It is similarly equivalent to וַבהַב (Zeph. 1:2): ,I will utterly destroy (אָסֹף אָסֵף), as אֶאֶסֹף.
on sympathy : Hebrew לנוד, to shake. That friends should come to me and shake [their heads] over me and comfort me.
Verse 22
They put gall in my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
in my food : Hebrew בברותי, in my food, as (II Sam. 13:6): ,Now let Tamar my sister come, etc. , That I (ואברה) may eat from her hand.,
Verse 23
May their table become a trap for them, and [their hope] for peace become a snare.
for peace : If they hope for peace, may their peace become a snare Verse 27
For You, those whom You smote they pursued, and of the pain of those You wounded they tell.
For : this nation which You smote.
They pursued : For You were a little angry and they helped harm
cause.
and of the pain of those whom You wounded, they tell : their words, to sum up: “Let us destroy them while they are in pain.”
Verse 32
And it will be more pleasing to the Lord than a young bull grown up, with horns and hooves.
And it will appeal more to the Lord : My praise to the Lord.
more than a young bull that has reached maturity : That is the bull that was sacrificed by Adam, who was created at his peak. On the day it was called שּׁוֹר, on the same day he brought it, for a bull on the day of its birth is called שּׁוֹר, as it is said (Lev. 22:27): A bull (שור), a lamb, or a goat being born. On that same day it looked like a ,ר, which is three years old.
with horns and hooves : His horns preceded his hooves, because he was created on his height with his horns and his head came out of the ground first; the earth thrust them forth in the manner in which all creatures are born, so that his horns went before his feet.
Further explanation of the above Jewish comments
It seems that anti-Semitism defies all logic or reasoning. The Jewish sages relate (Sifri, Behaloscha 9:10): “It is a well-known rule, Esau hates Jacob.” Christians (Romans) are considered descendants of Esau (Edom), according to the Talmud. History shows that many Christians hate Jews, as Esau hated Jacob. Christian anti-Semitism has been going on for more than 2,000 years.
In the same way it is related (Talmud, Tr actate Shabbat 89a): ,Why was [Mount] called Sinai? Because from there hatred [in Hebrew the word for hatred is ,sinah,] has spread to the nations of the world. , In other words, it is part of G-d’s master plan that Jews are hated by the rest of the world. The adversity is what keeps Jews unique, separate, and focused on their mission. As Balaam said (Numbers 23:9) – when he blessed the Jews – ,Behold, it is a nation that will dwell alone and will not be numbered among the nations.,
Rashi reports at Exodus 15:7: If the hand alone crushes the enemy, then when it is lifted up with its great pride, it will [certainly] cut down those who rise up against Him. And if with His great pride only His enemies are broken down, how much more, when He sends His fierce wrath upon them, it will consume them.
G‑d always brings down those who rise against Him, the Mechilta reports. And who are those who rise against Him? These are those who rise up against Israel, and so he [the psalmist] says, “Behold, your enemies are stirring.” And what moves that? “Against thy people they plot cunningly” (Psalm. 83:3,4). For this reason he calls them the enemies of the Omnipresent.
Psalm 1 to 92
Would you like to read more Psalms with a Jewish interpretation? Go to: Psalms 1 through 92.