Lectionary Year A
July 7, 2002
Psalm 45:10-17

Initial Acquaintance/Rough Translation

A. Comparing Translations

(JFC) The New English Translation and the New Living Translation differ some:

10b Observe and pay attention! Forget your homeland and your family! - NET
Take to heart what I say. Forget your people and your homeland far away. - NLT

11 Then your king will be attracted by your beauty. - NET
For your royal husband delights in your beauty; - NLT
After all, he is your master! Submit to him! - NET
Honor him for he is your lord. - NLT

12 Rich people from Tyre will seek your favor by bringing a gift. - NET
The princes of Tyre will shower you with gifts. People of great wealth will entreat your favor. - NLT

13 The princess looks absolutely magnificent, - NET
The bride, a princes, waits within her chamber, - NLT
Decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold. - NET
dressed in a gown woven with gold. - NLT

16 Your sons will carry on the dynasty of your ancestors; - NET
Your sons will become kings like their father. - NLT
you will make them princes throughout the land. - NET
You will make them rulers over many lands. - NLT

B. Textual Criticism

(JFC) Hebrew numbering, 12 At ywIx]T;v.hiw, a hithpael imperative, several Septuagint manuscripts transpose the end of the sentence before this word and add a conjunction to begin, here, the next sentence/verse. Such an emendation could make good sense, if not better sense.

13 Some Septuagintal and other manuscripts find rco-tb;W, the daughter Sara/Princess, to need some revision, e.g., rco-otwonob., another construct, to be compared to verse 12, say the editors.

14 The editors would delete %l,m,-tb;, which would leave any readers, hearers, worshipers wondering where and/or to whom the princess is being led. It most probably was in the Masoretic text to answer those questions, surely.

15 and 16 are admittedly corrupt as printed, with suggestions to delete %l,M,l; lb;WT, and probably change tAab'Wm, hophal participle, to be brought in, to a noun, tAabim., and for %l', a second person pronoun, with 2 Manuscripts (comparing with the Syriac version/translation), Hl', changing it into a third person pronoun, and in verse 16, change hn"l.b;WT, a hophal imperfect to read, hn"l.beWT, a poel(?) and to delete hn"ya,boT., and perhaps delete the last word, %l,m,, (or read lky'hb).

C. Rough Translation

(JFC) English numbering 10 Hear daughter and look/perceive and incline your ear and forget/ignore your people/nation and the house of your father. 11 And will desire/long for the king your beauty for he is your master/lord and you bow down (hithpael, imperative) before/to him. 12 And daughter Princess/Sar in tribute/offering your face/presence will become weak rich/wealthy people/nation. 13 All the riches/wealth/abundance of the daughter of the king within/toward the inside with plaited (setting for gems) gold her clothing/garment. 14 In embroidered she is led to the king, virgins following after her female companions/attendants are being brought (hophal, participle) to you. 15 They are being brought in gladness and a rejoicing they will enter into the palace/temple/sanctuary of the king. 16 To your generations there will be your offspring they will constitute the rulers in all the earth. 17 I will cause to remember our name in all generations and a generation unto this will give thanks unto forever and ever.



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