Radak (David Kimhi) on Psalms

A Mikhtam of David: – We have already written in the Psalm “Hear me when I call” (iv.) of the meaning of the word Mikhtam. Preserve me: – The שׁ (of שָֽׁמְרֵנִי) is lengthened with ga'ya. O Almighty: – Thou, Lord, art mighty and potent, therefore I call unto Thee to preserve me. for I put my trust in Thee: – and in no other beside Thee.

Thou (fem.) hast said to the Lord, Thou art my Sovereign Lord: – He addresses his soul and says: Thou hast said and confessed to the Lord that He is thy God and Sovereign Lord; and such (address) is proper for thee; and thou shalt say unto Him likewise: The good I do is not unto Thee: – They (Rashi and Rabbi Moses ha-Cohen ibn Giktilla) have interpreted (the clause): “The good which Thou doest to me it is not incumbent upon Thee to do, for I am not worthy of it, but it is entirely due to Thy loving-kindness.” And my revered father, of blessed memory, has interpreted: “The good I do is not done to Thee,” meaning that it does not reach Thee (personally), for one cannot dispose for, or help, or give to Thee; but it is

To the holy ones who are in the earth: – The form of expression is like (that of לאישׁ in): “To a man (לאישׁ) as thou art thy wickedness (may reach)” (Job 35:8). And because I love Thee I love those who are holy, and I do good to them. And excellent ones all my delight is in them: – To those who are most excellent of heart among all the children of men, and better than they – my delight is in them to do them good, because they keep and do Thy commandments. And for this reason he calls them holy and excellent. And, according to the former interpretation, they interpret for the holy ones (לקדושׁים) thus: “I am not worthy of Thy goodness, but for the holy ones Thy goodness is worthy.” In my opinion the words to the holy ones depend upon Thou hast said to the Lord, meaning, after thou hast said to the Lord that He is thy Sovereign Lord, thou shouldest say also to the holy ones which are in the earth that thou wilt humble thyself before them, and yield them superiority over thyself, and learn from their works; and all is with a view to perfection, that thou shouldest learn the love of God. And in this way our sages of blessed memory have said (Babli, Pesahim 22b): “‘Thou shall fear the Lord thy God’ (Deut. 6:13) – i.e. to multiply the disciples of the wise.” And he says, which are in the earth, meaning, Walk in the steps of the holy ones whom thou shalt find in thy way, and learn from their works. In my opinion וְאַדִּירֵי (excellent ones) is not construct, for similar examples are to be found, as שׁקופים חַלּוֹנֵי (windows narrow), (1 Kings 6:4); נעמנים נטעי (pleasant plants) (Is. 17:10); and such like. And the meaning of holy ones and excellent in whom is all my delight is that one should love them and walk in their ways – viz. of the holy ones which are in the earth; the way of the holy ones, the servants of God, I love, but the way of the others, who serve another god, I hate; and I say:

Their sorrows shall be multiplied which after another hasten: – viz. away from them (the holy and excellent) – the men, that is, who hasten to another god. This form, מהרו, is the only instance of its use in the Kal in the sense of “hastening”; but there is the possibility that it is used in the sense of dowry (מהר) and gift (Gen. 34:12); and as “a dowry shall he pay him for her” (ימהרנה מהר, Exod. 22:15). Or the sense in which מהרו אחר is to be taken is: I shall cleave to the holy and excellent ones and the sorrows of the men shall multiply – the sorrows, that is, of those who hasten to other men to walk in other ways which are not the ways of the Lord; and this is the correct interpretation. Their drink-offerings of blood will I not pour out: – Far be it from me that I should pour out their drink-offerings which are of blood. (It is to be taken) on the analogy of “and ye have brought (that which was taken by) violence” (Mal. 1:13); as though meaning their drink-offerings are not wine, but blood; for burnt-offerings and drink-offerings with wicked works neither profit nor deliver, but harm, as it says: “the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination” (Prov. 21:27). Nor take their names upon my lips: – And even the names of these men I will not bring up upon my lips.

The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and my cup: – I have no other portion beside Him as these men have, whose inheritance and portion is silver and gold and the pleasures of the world; but, as for me, the Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and my cup. The portion, the inheritance, the cup, and the lot are identical; it is simply a repetition of the idea with a change of terms to give emphasis, as is the custom of the language; the meaning being, in all my words and in all my affairs He is my inheritance and to Him is my devotion (directed). And the interpretation of Thou maintainest my lot (is): – Thou didst help me when I chose this inheritance for myself, as they say (Babli, Yoma 38b): “He who comes to be cleansed is helped (by Heaven).” And the word, תומיך (maintainest) is written with hireq equivalent to sire; and so “Behold, I add (יוסף) to thy days” (Isaiah 38:5); “Behold, I add (יוסף) to do a marvellous work” with hireq equivalent to sere (ibid. 29:14).

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant (places): – The inheritances which have fallen to me have fallen for me in pleasant places, and in the possession of good and right knowledge. Yea, I have a goodly heritage: – The tav (of נחלת, heritage) is in the place of he, and is not a sign of the construct; and similarly we find “My strength and song (זמרת) is Jah” (Exod. 15:2; Is. 12:2; Ps. 118:14); “Give us help (עזרת) against the adversary” (ibid. 60:13); “How is the city of praise (תהלת) not forsaken?” (Jer. 49:25), and such like. And the reason (for the use of) Yea is: because the way of the men of the world when they divide anything among themselves is for everyone to covet the portion of his fellow, and for it to seem in his eyes as though his fellow's portion is better than his own. But it is not so with me, Yea for mine is a goodly heritage and portion, and I am not envious of another's, for mine is the good portion.

1 will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: – (in the same sense) as we have interpreted Thou maintainest my lot. Yea, by night: – This was the beginning (of help) for me from the Lord, that He gave me counsel and helped me when I chose this good part for my own; and likewise within me every day do my reins admonish me: – that I should not abandon this way, but hold to it with all my might. And he says by night, because at night a man is isolated from the preoccupations of the world and his mind is free. And he says my reins, for they are the counsellors, as they say (Babli, Berakhoth 61a) “The reins counsel an understanding heart.”

I have set the Lord always before me: – In all my ways will I remember Him. As something which is before a man always so that it departs not from his eyes and mind, so have I placed the glory of God always before me; for I know that He is at my right hand and is my help; therefore I shall not be moved wherever I come and go. And the great teacher Moses ben Maimon, of blessed memory, has expounded the passage thus (Guide of the Perplexed, 3, 51): Because He is at my right hand: – “He is, as it were, my right hand, which a man cannot forget for the twinkling of an eye on account of the quickness of its movement, and because of this I shall not be moved: – meaning, ‘I shall not fall.’”

Therefore my heart is glad: – Because I have put Thee before me always my heart is glad. and my glory exulteth: – that is, the soul, which is the glory of the body; for I am confident that when it is separated from the body it will cleave to its Creator. My flesh also: – while I am still alive shall dwell in security: – for Thou shalt deliver me from all harm. And in the Haggadic interpretation (Shoher Tob and Babli, Baba Bathra 17a) (the explanation is given): “after death, when worm and corruption shall have no power over it, (shall my flesh dwell in security).”

For Thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol: Neither wilt Thou suffer Thine holy one to see the pit: – For I know that while I hold fast to life, that is the right way that I am in – and this is what he means in saying Thy holy one – I know that Thou wilt not leave my soul to go down to Sheol with the body, but wilt raise it to Thy glory. And in the Haggadic interpretation (Shoher Tob) (the explanation is given): “Everyone who hears himself reviled and holds his peace, in judgment is called ‘holy one.’” Thou wilt not suffer: a repetition of the thought with a change of words.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In Thy presence is fulness of joy: At Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore: – (To be understood) as a prayer that God may teach him the way by which he may attain to the life of the world to come; meaning, that He will make him understand and discern the way in which the soul shall live when it is separated from the body and attain to fulness of joy in Thy presence and to pleasures at Thy right hand; for those joys and pleasures will be for evermore, for all eternity, and to them there shall be no end; and this is the soul's delight. The reason (for using the expressions) in Thy presence and at Thy right hand is: that the “presence” and “the right hand” are the Glory, as, “the upright shall dwell in Thy presence” (Ps. 140:14); and so it is written of the right hand (ibid. ex. 1): “Sit thou at My right hand.”