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Psalm 17
"Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry"
Verse 15 at the Michaelerkirche in Vienna
Other name	Psalm 16 Exaudi Domine iustitiam meam
Language	Hebrew (original)

Psalm 17 is the 17th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry". In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, it is psalm 16 in a slightly different numbering system, "Exaudi Domine iustitiam meam". Its authorship is traditionally assigned to King David.

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

1. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
3. Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4. Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7. Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
8. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9. From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10. They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
11. They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
12. Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13. Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
14. From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Commentator C. S. Rodd notes that the text is uncertain in a number of places, making the exact meaning doubtful, for example in verses 3, 4 and 14.

Analysis

Charles and Emilie Briggs summarize this psalm as follows: "Psalm 17 is a prayer for divine interposition on behalf of the righteous (v. 1-7). The psalmist has been tested by God in mind and conduct and approved (v. 3-4a); he has kept the divine ways and avoided wicked deeds (v. 4b-5), therefore he invokes God with confidence (v. 6a). He prays again that his Saviour may show kindness and keep him as the pupil of the eye (v. 6b-8a); that he may be sheltered from his greedy and arrogant enemies (v. 8b-10), who surround him to prey upon him (v. 11-12). Again he prays for divine interposition and deliverance by the slaying of the wicked (v. 13-14a); that penalty may be visited on them to the third generation, but that he himself may enjoy the divine presence (v. 14b-15)."

The Briggs believe Psalm 17 to have been written in the Persian period, after Zerubbabel but before Ezra's reforms, possibly by the same author as Psalm 16. Rodd suggests that the context could possibly be a declaration on innocence made before the supreme temple tribunal in accordance with the directive on difficult cases in Deuteronomy 17:8–13.

Uses

Judaism

• Verse 2 is found in the repetition of the Amidah during Rosh Hashanah.
• Verse 8 is part of the prayers of the Bedtime Shema.

Christianity

• Verse 8, Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, is used in the office of Compline.
• In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 17 is appointed to be read on the morning of the third day of the month.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 17 in a metred version in German, "Herr Gott, erhör die Grechtigkeit", SWV 113, as part of the Becker Psalter. Willy Burkhard composed in 1937 a setting for unison voices and organ, as his opus 49.The Irish hymn "mo ghrá Thu" is based on Psalm 17

References

1. "Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 16". Archived from the original on 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
2. "Psalms – Chapter 17". Mechon Mamre.
3. "Psalms 17 - JPS 1917". Sefaria.org.
4. ^ Rodd, C. S., 18. Psalms in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary Archived 2017-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, p. 372
5. Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. (1970), Footnote a to Psalm 17 in the New American Bible Revised Edition
6. Charles Augustus Briggs; Emilie Grace Briggs (1960) . A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms. International Critical Commentary. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T & T Clark. p. 127.
7. Charles Augustus Briggs; Emilie Grace Briggs (1960) . A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms. International Critical Commentary. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T & T Clark. p. 112.
8. The Complete Artscroll Machzor for Rosh Hashanah, page 349
9. The Complete Artscroll Siddur, page 293
10. "Night Prayer (Compline)". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
11. Church of England, Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed by John Baskerville in 1762, pp. 196ff

11^https://www.lyricsondemand.com/a/aoifenifhearraighlyrics/moghrthsalm17lyrics.html

Sources

• Coogan, Michael David (2007). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol Ann; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 (Augmented 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195288810.

External links

• Pieces with text from Psalm 17: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Psalm 17: Free scores at the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Psalm 17 in Hebrew and English - Mechon-mamre
• Text of Psalm 17 according to the 1928 Psalter
• A prayer of David. / Hear, LORD, my plea for justice; pay heed to my cry text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Psalm 17:1 introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
• Psalm 17 – Shelter Under the Shadow of His Wings enduringword.com
• Psalm 17 / Refrain: Deliver me, O Lord, by your hand. Church of England
• Psalm 17 at biblegateway.com
• Hymns for Psalm 17 hymnary.org

• Psalms