Psalms · Psalm 4

"To the conductor with melodies" — David established this psalm so that the Levites who conduct the melodies when singing on the platform should recite it. The expression of נצוח denotes those who apply themselves to the service, as the matter is stated (Ezra 3:8): “and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and upwards to conduct the work of the house of the Lord.”

'For the Leader; with string-music' — The Gaon said: this psalm is David's, and he gave it to one of the musicians to play continually, as in 'netzach' (forever). But others said: 'the menatzeach' is the officer appointed over the musicians, as in 'and overseers over them' (2 Chronicles 2:2) — and this is correct. And the lamed of 'la-menatzeach' takes a patach vowel because he is a known, definite person. 'With string-music' — the meaning is that it has two melodies. Some say a musical instrument is called 'neginot.' In my opinion, Israel had string-melodies and songs set to many different tunes. 'With string-music' — the meaning is that this was the opening word of a [known] song, and its melody was recorded together with this psalm. So too 'la-ma'alot' and 'ha-ma'alot' (Of/The Ascents), 'al alamot' (upon Alamoth), 'ayelet ha-shachar' (the hind of the dawn), 'yonat elem' (the silent dove), and 'machalat' (Mahalath).

"For the Leader; with string-music. A Psalm of David" — Our rabbis of blessed memory said (Midrash Shocher Tov, ad loc.): this psalm was said with three kinds of praise — with direction (nitzu'ach), with melody (niggun), and with song (mizmor). And it appears that "the Leader" (ha-menatzeach) is the one who was in charge of the singers, and it was through the leaders that the psalms were recited; they would give them to the musicians and the singers, and you will not find anywhere "to the singer" or "to the musician," but only "to the Leader." And so in the prayer of Habakkuk (3:19): "for the leader, with my string-music"; and so it is written (I Chronicles 23:4): "to direct the work of the House of Hashem"; and it is written (ibid. 15:21): "with lyres, upon the Sheminith, to lead." And there was one who led over an instrument called "string-music" (neginot), and one over an instrument called "the Sheminith." And with the instruments the songs, the melodies, and the praises were recited, each according to its known melody among them; for it was a great wisdom, and it would arouse the wise soul, and it is counted among the secular sciences. And the instruments that were in the Temple for praise are: harps (nevalim), lyres (kinnorot), cymbals, trumpets, and the shofar. And the instruments were divided according to melodies known to them. Some of the melodies were called "alamot," as it is written (ibid., ibid., 3), and as it is written (Psalms 46:1): "upon alamot, a song." And some were called "neginot" (string-music), and this psalm was recited with it. And some of them are called "maskil." And some of them are called "michtam." And there is "shiggayon." And some of them are "nechilot." And "shigyonot." And there is "gittit." And there is one called after an instrument, "asor." And there is "ugav." And there is "minim." And each one is distinguished in its melody, as is known among the masters of that wisdom. And we find one verse stating (I Chronicles 23:5): "and four thousand praising Hashem with the instruments which I made for praise." And it is not known whether those who held the instruments in their hands were the same ones who recited the psalm with their mouths, or whether the singers were a separate group with their mouths, and opposite them were those who played the instruments. And we find another verse stating (ibid. II, 7:6): "and the Levites with instruments of the song of Hashem, which David the king made to give thanks to Hashem, for His kindness endures forever, with the praise of David in their hand; and the priests sounded trumpets opposite them." And it is further written (ibid. 29:28): "and the song was sung, and the trumpeters sounded." And the trumpets alone were in the hand of the priests, as it is written (Numbers 10:8): "and the sons of Aaron the priests shall blow the trumpets"; and the rest of the instruments were in the hand of the Levites. And so it is written (II Chronicles 29:26): "and the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets."

"For the leader" — that is to say, this psalm of David was given over to the Levite choirmaster to be played with musical accompaniment in the Temple.

"For the Leader." — Masters of song are called "menatzchim" (leaders), for their way is to outdo one another in the raising of the voice and its modulation. "With string-music." — From the language of "neginah," music made with modulation of the voice.

"For the leader" — this psalm was composed at the time there was a famine in David's days for three years; and the scoffers of the generation said it was because of David's sin. David then inquired of Hashem, and Hashem said: it is for Saul, and for his house of bloodguilt, because he killed the Gibeonites. So he appeased the Gibeonites, and the rain came down; and then he offered "sacrifices of righteousness" — meaning thanksgiving offerings, because his righteousness had been made clear, that the famine had not been because of his sin. This psalm is divided into three parts, marked by the word "Selah": (Part One) "When I call," he says — at the time I call in prayer, "answer me" — for three reasons: (1) because You are "the God of my righteousness," since You know my righteousness and my good deeds; (2) because of mercy, and because You are always accustomed to answer in time of trouble — and this is what is written, have You not always "relieved me in distress"; (3) because of grace and a free gift, as it is written, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious," even though he is not deserving — and this is what is written, "be gracious to me, and hear my prayer."

"in my distress You have relieved me" — in the days that have passed over me. From now on, be gracious to me and hearken to my prayer.

'When I call' — 'God of my righteousness' means: You are the First Cause who displays my righteousness. 'And in distress' (u-vatzar) is a noun, like 'batzar li' (when I was in distress).

"Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness" — the correct view is that this psalm, too, was said while he was fleeing from Absalom. And he said: "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness" — for You know that with me is the right, and with the one who is against me are wrong and violence, and You, God, are Judge over us. For every instance of "Elohim" means "judge," as we have explained: "surely there is a God (i.e., a judge) who judges on earth" (Psalms 58:12). And so human beings, the judges, are also called "ha-Elohim" (Exodus 22:8): "the matter of both of them shall come before the judges"; and "his master shall bring him to the judges" (ibid. 21:6). "You who set me free when I was in distress" — "You have set me free" (harchavta) is like "You will set me free" (tarchiv li), as we have explained, that in prophecies the past tense is used in place of the future, as though the thing had already been done. And so the holy spirit would appear upon his tongue, and he says: "You have set me free; be gracious to me, and hear my prayer."

"When I call" — At the time I call to You, answer me. "O God of my righteousness" — You are my God who deals righteously with me. Indeed, in the past, when I was in distress and difficulty, You set me free in a wide place; therefore, now too, be gracious to me.

"Sons of man" — The sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are called man. About Abraham it is stated (in Gen. 20:7): “Restore the man’s wife.” About Isaac it is stated (ibid. 24:65): “Who is that man...?” About Jacob, it is stated (ibid. 25:27): “and Jacob was a plain man.” "how long will my honor be disgraced" — How long will you disgrace me? (I Sam. 20:30): “that you choose the son of Jesse”; (ibid. 22:8), “when my son made a covenant with the son of Jesse”; (ibid. verse 9), “I saw the son of Jesse”; (ibid. 25:10), “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse?” I have no name. "will you constantly seek lies" — Will you chase to find lies, e.g., the Ziphites, who inform on me, yet show me friendliness, and other informers like them who were in Saul’s time (I Sam. 23:19): “Is David not hiding...in the hill of Hachilah?” And so, many.

'O sons of men' — Rabbi Moshe HaKohen, of blessed memory, said: this psalm, as its heading states above, addresses the sons of man because of the haughtiness of their heart in their youth: 'How long will you turn my glory to shame' — that which you desired will not stand, will not arise, and will not come to pass, for in truth you seek falsehood. And in Rabbi Moshe's view, he [David] is speaking about the supporters of Absalom.

"O you sons of men" — he speaks against the nobles of Israel who were with Absalom. And likewise "both sons of common man (adam), also sons of eminent man (ish)" (Psalms 49:3): "sons of adam" are the common people, "sons of ish" are the great ones. And so "are you not a man (ish), and who is like you in Israel?" (I Samuel 26:15); "Gideon son of Joash, a man (ish) of Israel" (Judges 7:14). "how long shall my glory" — [meaning] my soul, as he said in the preceding psalm, "many say of my soul"; or the meaning of "my glory" is — "be put to shame" — that I am king, and you put me to shame and drive me away from my kingdom. "you love vanity" — a thing that will not endure, namely, the kingship of Absalom. "and seek after falsehood. Selah" — and this "falsehood" (kazav) is a thing that has no permanence, as in (Isaiah 58:11): "whose waters fail not (yechazvu)."

"O sons of men" — You are men of high standing: how long will you turn my glory into shame? That is to say, in place of the honor due me, you put me to shame — as if to say: is it not the practice of the honorable to give honor to whoever deserves honor? Yet you love vanity. The opening words "how long" govern this clause as well, meaning: how long will you love to speak words of vanity and falsehood without ceasing?

"Men" (in "sons of men"). — Meaning: great and important, as in "are you not a man?" (I Samuel 26:15). "How long." — Until when, as in "how long, Hashem, will You be angry" (below, 79:5).

"Sons of men" — After this introduction, he turns to address the scoffers of the generation, who said that the famine came because of his [David's] sin. He says: you, sons of men, your way is the opposite of Hashem's way. "See how long my glory shall be put to shame" — how much you have striven to shame my glory. "You will love vanity, you will seek falsehood" — meaning, either you love to shame me by means of an empty thing that has no substance, and you make a great matter out of it in order to greatly raise a heel against me [i.e., to betray me], or, if you cannot even find an empty thing, "you will seek" and invent "a false thing" and a false accusation. (Part 2) "And know" — meaning, now know that Hashem answered me for two reasons: first, because "Hashem has set apart a devout one for Himself" — He distinguished the devout one through a wondrous, particular providence, to make clear his righteousness; second, because "Hashem will hear" always "when I call to Him." Therefore:

"has set apart" — Heb. הפלה, has separated.

'And know that Hashem has set apart' — like 'that Hashem shall make a distinction' (Exodus 9:4) — He has distinguished and made known who is His pious one, for He will hear when he calls to Him.

"Know that Hashem has set apart" — [the word הפלה means] separated and distinguished. Similarly, "and Hashem shall make a distinction between the cattle of Israel" (Exodus 9:4). And its meaning here is: He has set me apart from all Israel to be king, along the lines of "Hashem set apart the tribe of Levi" (Deuteronomy 10:5). And why? Because He knew me — "the godly man" — The godly man (chasid) is one who does good for his fellow beyond the strict letter of the law, and David did so for a number of people beyond the strict letter of the law — they would do evil to him, and he would do good to them. As we find with Saul, who confessed to him, saying (I Samuel 24:18): "For you have dealt well with me, whereas I have dealt evil with you." And so [David continues]: He has set me apart — "as His own" — and given me the kingship. How then can you plot to seize it from me and make another king? And even though you now see me in distress, know that: "Hashem will hear when I call to Him" — and He will bring me out of this distress.

"But know" — Take heed to know that just as Hashem has set apart every pious person to be His own, as His portion, so too has He set me apart as His portion; He will hear me when I call to Him, and you will not prevail against him.

"Set apart." — Separated, as in "and I will set apart on that day" (Exodus 32).

"Quake" — Tremble before the Holy One, blessed be He, and do not sin. "say [this] in your heart on your bed and be forever silent" — Bring back to your heart [the thought] that the Holy One, blessed be He, admonished [you] concerning that.

'Tremble' — because they would put him to shame instead of [giving him] honor, and would speak falsehood about him, he said 'tremble,' meaning: fear Hashem — ['ragzu' is used] like 'do not be afraid on the way' (Genesis 45:24), for the king seeks out those who mock him. Some say the meaning is: 'you thought falsehood in your heart — let it not come out of your mouth' — but this is not correct. For it is written, 'who speaks truth in his heart' (Psalm 15:2), and 'a heart that devises wicked thoughts' (Proverbs 6:18) — the speech of the heart is the essential thing, and the tongue is not; it is only an intermediary between the heart and the listeners. Rather, the explanation is that you should reflect in your heart at night, upon your bed, that you have no dealings with men, and you should not speak falsehood by day — and that is the meaning of 'and be silent, Selah.'

"Tremble" — an expression of fear, as in "and they shall tremble and be in anguish" (Deuteronomy 2:25). [David is saying:] Fear God, if you will not fear me. "and sin not" — any further, by pursuing me and rebelling against me. "commune with your own heart upon your bed" — for a person, upon his bed, finds his heart more free of worldly concerns, and then his intention is pure. David says to them: think in your hearts. And thus the thought of the heart is also called "speech," as in "who says in her heart" (Isaiah 47:8). And he says: "and be still. Selah" — meaning: be silent and cease rebelling against me. For the term דממה (stillness) denotes the cessation of speech and sound, as in "and they were silent, [waiting] for my counsel" (Job 29:21); "there was a stillness, then I heard a voice" (ibid. 4:16). And there is [a usage] where it denotes the cessation of action and movement, as in "He made the storm still" (Psalms 107:29); "my bowels boil and are not still" (Job 30:27); "and the sun stood still" (Joshua 10:13); "stand still until we come to you" (I Samuel 14:9); "to a silent stone" (Habakkuk 2:19) — and others like these. It is in this sense that [our verse says] "and be still, Selah," meaning: cease your deeds. Now our master, the righteous guide, Rabbenu Moshe ben Maimon, explained (Guide of the Perplexed I:50, I:59) that this verse commands eminent men of understanding to recognize the truth and the praise of God in their hearts, so that they not fall into error through speech; but this is not the subject of this psalm.

"Tremble" — Tremble before Hashem, and do not sin against me by speaking falsehood about me. "Commune, etc." — When you are upon your bed, which is the time when a person's thoughts are free of distraction, then consider in your heart that falsehood is evil in the eyes of the Omnipresent, and forever hold your peace from speaking falsehood.

"Tremble." — An expression of trembling motion, as in "the peoples have heard, they tremble" (Exodus 16). "And be still." — And be silent, as in "and Aaron was silent" (Leviticus 10:3).

"Tremble" — before Hashem, "and do not sin" by spreading slander about David. And against what you mention about him — the sin of Bathsheba — "say in your heart upon your bed" [think of] the iniquity of your own bed, that which you yourselves sinned in bed, "and be still" — and be silent from spreading slander about David. (Part 3) "Sacrifice" — he turns to address the priests who offer up the sacrifices: sacrifice the sacrifices that I have brought (and he calls them "sacrifices of righteousness," since they come to give thanks for the fact that David's righteousness has been made clear), "and trust in Hashem" that He will give rain upon the land.

"Offer up sacrifices of righteousness" — Perform righteous deeds, and it will be as if you are offering up sacrifices. "and trust in the Lord" — to lavish upon you goodness, and do not sin against Him for money, in the hope that you will be rewarded by Saul.

'Offer sacrifices of righteousness' — these are peace-offerings (shelamim), whose fat-portions are offered up — not for a guilt-offering, or a sin-offering, or a burnt-offering — but offered with the heart, that is, with [right] intention. And there is no argument against this from 'then You shall delight in sacrifices of righteousness, burnt-offering and whole-offering' (Psalm 51:21), for the meaning there is that 'and burnt-offering' corresponds to Reuben and Simeon. 'Offer' (zivchu) means: abandon empty words and give thanks to Hashem, who has granted His goodness to you.

"Offer the sacrifices of righteousness" — since you have done evil, you are now in need of atonement; so "offer" to Hashem "sacrifices of righteousness" — that is, sacrifices [offered] in repentance — and not like the sacrifices of the wicked, of whom it is said (Proverbs 21:27): "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination" — for they return to their wickedness after [offering] their sacrifices. Therefore he says: "sacrifices of righteousness." "and put your trust in Hashem" — not in your might, and not in your being a great multitude, but trust in Hashem alone. And [the verb] "trust" is construed with the particle אל (unto) just as it is with the particle על (upon). Thus: "Trust in Hashem with all your heart" (Proverbs 3:5); "Trust not in lying words" (Jeremiah 7:4).

"Offer" — Make your deeds righteous, and it will be reckoned to Hashem as sacrifices; then trust in Him, for there is hope. And why should you deal falsely with Him by flattering Saul in order to derive monetary benefit from him? Is it not better to take refuge in Hashem?

"Many say, “Who will show us goodness?”" — There are many Jews who see the nations of the world in wealth and tranquility, and say, “Who will show us goodness,” to be wealthy and achieve desires like these people? "Raise up over us" — Heb. נסה Raise up over us for a banner the light of Your countenance, an expression of (Isa. 62:10): “lift up a banner (נס)”;(ibid. 49:22), “I will raise My standard (נסי).” Another interpretation: נסה is reflordir(?) (resplendir) in Old French, gleam, as (Zech. 9:16), “crown stones gleam (מתנוססות).” But I do not envy them, for joy has been given into my heart from the time that the corn and the wine of the nations have increased. I am confident that if those who anger Him [have] such [tranquility], how much more will those who perform His will have it in the future, which is the day of the reception of their reward!

'Many' — he returns to mention the words of those who seek falsehood, for when I was in distress, those seeking falsehood would speak against me and my men. 'Who will show us good' — some say that the word 'nesah' belongs to the class of verbs whose final letter (lamed) is elided — the root being 'nas' — and it should have taken the pattern of 'ra'oh' and 'asoh,' coming in the manner of a form like 'and I will delight (va'esh'ah) in Your statutes' (Psalm 119:117). And it is correct that the heh functions like an alef, and the samech like a shin. There are verbs called 'hidden-ayin' [middle-radical-elided] — namely, all two-letter verbs, such as 'kam' (he arose), 'shav' (he returned) — all of which are as though one said 'kum,' 'shuv,' with the middle letter elided, corresponding to the 'ayin' [the middle root-letter] of the verb-pattern. And it is correct that the heh is like the alef and the samech like the shin, in the manner of 'Hashem shall lift up (yisa) His face to you' (Numbers 6:26), and like 'If one ventures a word with you, will you be weary?' (Job 4:2).

"Many there are who say" — these are the ones of whom he earlier said "sons of men," and of whom he also said "many there are who say of my soul" — they desire, and say in their rebellion: "Who will show us good?" — [meaning] that Absalom's rebellion should succeed, that David should die, and that his son should reign. My harm is "good" in their eyes, and they desire it; but You — "lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, Hashem" — not according to their thoughts. The word נסה has a samekh in place of a shin and a heh in place of an aleph, and it is equivalent to נשא (lift up). This may be explained in connection with what he said [earlier]: "and put your trust in Hashem." He is saying: the "many" have no intent but for the good of this world, and they desire it and say, "Who will show us good?" But I, and those with me, say: "Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, Hashem" — all our desire is for the light of Your countenance in the world to come.

"Many" — I have seen many who desire and say, "Who will show us good?" — meaning, they crave great wealth. "Lift up" — Raise up the light of Your countenance upon us, You, Hashem, to fulfill our desires.

"Lift up." — From the language of "nes" (banner) and "kelonas" (pole), and its meaning is raising and lifting up.

"Many say" — in the time of famine they will say, "Who will show us good" — that the rain will come, and that Hashem "will lift up upon them the light of His countenance" and His providence, which had been hidden from them during the famine and the hiding of [His] face.

'You have put' — they desire that we not see good, but I was glad when I saw them in good [fortune]. 'You have put' (natata) means: You gave me a good heart, to desire good for everyone. And Rabbi Yehuda ibn Bal'am said that the phrase 'from the time of their grain' is inverted [out of natural order], and the truth is 'from the time their grain and wine increased.' But there is no need to invert words spoken through the Holy Spirit.

"You have put gladness in my heart" — and behold, they repay me evil for good, for I had gladness in my heart at their prosperity; and this is [what follows]: "more than when their corn and their wine increase" — while they rejoice at my misfortune. And the sense of "You have put/given" is like what [the Sages] said (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 38b, and elsewhere): "One who comes to purify himself is helped [from Heaven]." It is a good way for a person to rejoice in the prosperity of his fellows; and one who walks in the good way, God assists him and guides him — and this is the sense of "You have put/given."

"You have put" — But it is not so with me, for You, Hashem, have put into my heart to be joyful with my portion more than those many who rejoice from the time their corn and wine increased.

"Their wine." — From the language of "tirosh," which refers to wine grapes.

"You have put" — and now "You have put gladness in my heart" from the time that their corn and their wine began to increase, when the famine ceased. And by means of this, "in peace, together, I will lie down and sleep" — he pictures it as though he lies down together with peace, for "You, Hashem, alone, will make me dwell in safety" — he takes up the phrasing from what is written: "Israel then dwells in safety, alone; the fountain of Jacob, in a land of corn and wine; indeed his heavens drip down dew" — meaning, once dew and corn and wine are found, Israel dwells in safety, alone, having no need to buy grain from other lands.

"In peace together, I would lie down and sleep" — If Israel were in peace together with me, I would lie down and sleep in confidence, and I would not fear any adversary or enemy. "alone in safety" — As (in Deut. 33:28): “secure and alone, the fountain of Jacob.” It is an expression of safety and tranquility, that he need not station troops with him.

'In peace' — without fear. 'Together' (yachdav) means: the many, and he is among them. And the word 'badad' (alone) — whether written with a lamed [prefix] or lacking it — means the same. Likewise the word 'la-vetach' (in safety) — there is also the form 'vetach' [without the lamed]. And behold, 'Hashem alone did lead him' (Deuteronomy 32:12) — and it is correct that this means Hashem alone. And so it is here too, or its meaning is: either 'they were together with me,' or 'I was alone' — and the sense is, 'You alone shall make me dwell.'

"In peace, together, I will lie down and sleep" — I used to desire their well-being, and even now, although they have done me harm, I [still] desire that we be "in peace together," I and they, so that when "I lie down and sleep" nothing will disturb my sleep, once they have made peace with me. "for You, Hashem, alone make me dwell in safety" — for I am confident that You will fulfill my desire and "make me dwell in safety" among them. And the meaning of "alone" [לבדד] is: You, Hashem, alone will do this, and my trust is in You and not in another.

"In peace" — Without fear I will lie down and sleep, [the two] together, close one upon the other; for one who is anxious and afraid has his sleep taken from him, so that he cannot fall asleep as soon as he lies down. But I have trusted in Hashem and do not fear, and therefore I will lie down and sleep together, close one upon the other. "For You, Hashem" — who rules over all, and it is in Your hand to settle me in safety, without fear.

"Alone." — Solitary, as in "dwells in safety alone" (Deuteronomy 33:28); meaning: without fear, for one who is afraid is scared to sit alone.