Table of Contents
Psalm 5
Psalm 5
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
8 Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12 For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
Notes
Cross Reference
Concordance
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>on nehiloth</b> Menachem interpreted all of them: nehiloth, alamoth, gittith, jeduthun, that they are all names of musical instruments, and the melody of the psalm was according to the melody fit for that instrument. However, [in the] Midrash Aggadah (Mid. Ps. 5:1,2,4) some explain “nehiloth” as an expression of heritage, but that is not the meaning of the word; moreover, the contents of the psalm do not deal with heritage. It is, however, possible to interpret נחלות as troops, like “a swarm (נחיל) of bees,” (Bava Kamma 114a, 81b), and like (II Sam. 22:5), “Bands (נחלי) of scoundrels would affright me,” which Jonathan renders: Bands (סיען) of sinners. [This is] a prayer concerning the bands of the enemies that come upon Israel, and the Psalmist recited this psalm on behalf of all Israel.</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>Give ear to my words, O Lord</b> when I have strength to ask before You and, when I have no strength to pray before You and the worry is confined to my heart…<b>consider my meditation</b> Heb. בינה. Consider the meditation of my heart. So it is explained in Midrash [Psalms 5:6]: In every [instance of] בינה in Scripture, the accent is under the “nun,” except this one and its fellow (in Job 34: 16): “And if you wish, understand (בִּנָה), hearken to this,” which is not a noun but an expression of “understand,” like (Prov. 23:1): “you should understand well (בין תבין) who is in front of you.” Therefore, the accent is under the “beth.”</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>in the morning You shall hearken to my voice</b> In the morning, I call out to You about them, because it is a time of judgment for the wicked, as it is stated (below 101:8): “Morning by morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land”; (Isa: 33:2), “Be their arm every morning”; (ibid. 28:19), “for every morning it shall pass.” <b>in the morning I shall arrange to You</b> my prayer concerning this. [The word]: אערך is an expression of arrangement (מערכה). Menachem (p. 138) classifies it in this manner. <b>and I shall look forward</b> that You execute justice upon them.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>For You are not a God Who desires wickedness</b> Therefore, I arrange my prayer to You in the morning (appears only in certain editions) and it befits You to destroy wickedness from the world. <b>evil does not abide with You</b> Heb. יגרך, it will not abide beside You.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>Confused people</b> who make themselves man, and in the language of the Mishnah, מערבבין, confused.</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>a man of blood and deceit</b> This [refers to] Esau and his descendants.</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>I…shall enter Your House</b> to thank You for Your great loving-kindness that You have wondrously bestowed upon us, to grant us revenge upon them.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>those who lie in wait for me</b> Heb. שוררי, those who look after me, who look forward to my betraying You, so that You should forsake me. [The word] שוררי is like (Num. 24:17): “I behold it (אשורינו), but it is not near.”</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>For there is no sincerity in his mouth</b> They appear as friends but they are enemies. <b>there is malice in their heart</b> Their thoughts are deceitful. <b>their throat is an open grave</b> to swallow others’ toil, like a grave that swallows up the body. <b>they make their tongue smooth</b> with words of flattery.</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>by their own counsels</b> which they formulate against Israel. Then all who take shelter in You shall rejoice.</html>
Verse 12
<html><b>and You shall shelter them</b> You shall shield and shelter them. <b>exult in You</b> when they see that You bless the righteous man, Jacob, and his seed.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>like a shield</b> which encompasses a man from three sides. <b>will</b> satisfaction, apayement in Old French; appeasement, kindness, peace of heart. <b>You shall encompass him</b> תעטרנו, You shall encompass him (in Sam. 23:26): “but Saul and his men were encircling (עוטרים) David and his men.”</html>