What is the Twenty-Third Psalm really saying?
The Twenty-Third Psalm is probably the most well-known Psalm in the Bible. Although there are many translations of the 23rd Psalm, the original version was published in the King James Version of the Bible. It was first published in Hebrew. This is unique because the psalm starts out talking in third-person, the Psalmist is talking about the Lord. Then the psalmist switches to first-person as if he is talking directly to God. He uses metaphors to describe God as the Shepherd and his people as his flock.
In the 23rd Psalm, there are two controlling metaphors. The first appears in verses 1-4; the metaphor is, “The Lord is my Shepherd” (1). In verses 5 and 6, there is a shift and the metaphor is more “The Lord is my host.” In verses 5 and 6, the speaker is talking about being at a table with his enemies. It is almost like the Lord is the host at dinner. He gathers my enemies and he anoints my head with oil and gives me a drink.
In the beginning, the speaker states “The Lord is my Shepherd/I shall not want/He maketh me to lie down in green …show more content…
Rods and staffs are common for a shepherd to have use when tending to his flock. Sheep are known to get lost and lose sight of the shepherd and could potentially face harm. This could refer to “the valley of the shadow of death.” He could be referring to the sheep getting lost and wondering around looking for the Shepherd. In reading the 23rd Psalm, the Psalm goes from third-person in verses 1-4 to talking in first-person in verses 5-6. The speaker is talking about one single person. He uses the words “thy” and “thou” meaning that it is talking about him. There is no “we” or “they”, so It is a single person talking about the Lord and then to the
The Twenty-Third Psalm is probably the most well-known Psalm in the Bible. Although there are many translations of the 23rd Psalm, the original version was published in the King James Version of the Bible. It was first published in Hebrew. This is unique because the psalm starts out talking in third-person, the Psalmist is talking about the Lord. Then the psalmist switches to first-person as if he is talking directly to God. He uses metaphors to describe God as the Shepherd and his people as his flock.
In the 23rd Psalm, there are two controlling metaphors. The first appears in verses 1-4; the metaphor is, “The Lord is my Shepherd” (1). In verses 5 and 6, there is a shift and the metaphor is more “The Lord is my host.” In verses 5 and 6, the speaker is talking about being at a table with his enemies. It is almost like the Lord is the host at dinner. He gathers my enemies and he anoints my head with oil and gives me a drink.
In the beginning, the speaker states “The Lord is my Shepherd/I shall not want/He maketh me to lie down in green …show more content…
Rods and staffs are common for a shepherd to have use when tending to his flock. Sheep are known to get lost and lose sight of the shepherd and could potentially face harm. This could refer to “the valley of the shadow of death.” He could be referring to the sheep getting lost and wondering around looking for the Shepherd. In reading the 23rd Psalm, the Psalm goes from third-person in verses 1-4 to talking in first-person in verses 5-6. The speaker is talking about one single person. He uses the words “thy” and “thou” meaning that it is talking about him. There is no “we” or “they”, so It is a single person talking about the Lord and then to the