I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” – Psalm 16:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 18, 2019): Psalm 15 & 16

Henry Winkler once said that “Assumptions are the termites of relationships.” He’s right, but communication is hard. Part of the problem is that we often assume that we have communicated an idea when the reality is that no communication has taken place. The problem with assumptions is not just that they are the termites of relationships, the other side of the issue is that assumptions are also the essential filler of communication; assumptions fill in the gaps that we have left empty by what we have said. We think that we are being clear by what we say, but the truth is that every discussion we have is filled with gaps and we have to assume what it is that is supposed to be in those empty spaces. At the end of some of our misguided conversations, our joking response is often “don’t listen to what I say; listen to what I mean.” We are encouraging our listeners to make different assumptions. And sometimes that is a tough task,

When we turn to translation from one language to another, the problem is only magnified. The order of words is different from what we are used to, and sometimes unclear. We are not only making an assumption in the original language but then we have to extend that assumption into a different language.

Consider Psalm 16:2. The New International Version gives us this translation of the verse:   

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”

The King James Version offers this translation:

O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

Young’s Literal Translation offers us these words:

Thou hast said to Jehovah, `My Lord Thou [art];' My good [is] not for thine own sake;

It can be a little confusing. Exactly what is the Psalmist trying to tell us? First, we have the double use of Lord or Lord, but then there seems to be some disagreement as to whether it is God’s providence, or “good things,” that is being described, or is it our morality, or “goodness,” that should not be elevated to the level of God. It could even be that it is our proficiency or competence, our ability to do “good work,” that is being questioned by David. And part of the problem is that in the original text essentially only four words exist: Say Yahweh Adonai goodness. We have to make some assumptions, using both the words David wrote and the context of the writing.  

As far as the first question is concerned, Young’s Literal Translation decides to give us the actual word David used rather than use the word “Lord.” Whenever our Bible’s use the word “Lord” in all caps, it is referring to God. In this case, the word Jehovah or Yahweh, is used in the actual passage. The second Lord in the passage is the Word Adonai, which is sometimes used for God, but here it is used to indicate earthly leaders.

So what is the solution? We depend on our assumptions and the expertise of others and to possibly sum up this verse in this way; “I say to God in Heaven, ‘You are my leader on earth. Anything that can be considered good comes from you.’”

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 24