Psalm 15
A BLAMELESS WALKER
by David
a liturgical psalm
1 Who’s fit for the Temple
Where Yahweh meets his people?
Who’s allowed to dwell
On his holy hill?
2 Be a blameless walker,
A righteous one,
A truthful talker,
3 No slandering tongue;
No friend betrayer,
Or evil-sayer.
4 Vile ones, abhor.
But honor those
Who fear the Lord.
Keep your oaths,
No matter the price.
5 Lend without interest.
Never tell lies
Against the innocent,
In spite of bribes.
Listen and learn,
And so stand firm!
This is interesting. Hebrew poetry, as most readers of this blog would know, seems to be based mostly on rhythm of ideas, not rhythm of sounds. Ms. Boerger seems to have tried to keep that rhythm of ideas, while adding rhythm of sounds, but not a strict meter, nor absolutely perfect rhymes.
Her version might be easier to learrn or to sing than some of the standard versions. If I were editing this for style, I’d change “Vile ones” to “The vile,” to avoid the having the reader (or the hearer) think first that the words are addressed TO the vile, instead of speaking ABOUT the vile. I realize that context quickly makes this clear, but found “vile ones” needlessly jarring.
Hi Jim,
Thanks for your input. As I told Wayne, this is a work in progress and your comment is exactly the kind of intelligent review I’m seeking.
~Brenda
Hi Brenda,
Its great to see you posting here, or at least see your work posted here. I attended SIL with you years ago. I used to blog here but left a few years ago. Perhaps Wayne will pass this message on to you.
Suzanne