Text of Psalm 23
Believers hear the traditional version of the prayer in Church Slavonic at church services. It is also used for personal appeal to the Lord, but it is difficult for unprepared Christians to understand the meaning of Psalm 23 in this form, so they alternatively use a translation of the text into Russian.
With accents in Church Slavonic
In Russian
Reading rules
The psalm is read during services in Church Slavonic:
The earth is the Lord's, and its fulfillment, the universe and all who live on it. He founded food on the seas, and prepared food on the rivers. Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who will stand in His holy place? He is innocent in his hands and pure in heart, who does not take his soul in vain, and does not swear by his sincere flattery. This one will receive blessings from the Lord, and alms from God, his Savior. This is the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your gates, O princes, and lift up the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord is strong and strong, the Lord is strong in battle. Lift up your gates, O princes, and lift up the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.
History of writing
Psalm 23 was set against the backdrop of events that took place long before the birth of Christ in human form. We are talking about events that took place 3000 years before the birth of Jesus. The song describes how the Ark of the Covenant was carried to Mount Zion, which became a great holiday for Christians.
The king dedicated several works of praise to the fact that the shrine, having left the house of Abaddarov, ended up in the tabernacle on the hills of Jerusalem. In Psalm 23, the prophet emphasized the approach of the ark, accompanied by a long procession, which, according to the lines from the text, arrived at the gates of the holy city.
Psalm of David 23
David was an extremely devoted man to the Lord.
He always trusted in Him and wanted to glorify his Creator. His main desire was to build a house for the Lord in Jerusalem, but because of the sin of adultery, God did not allow him to do this. All that King David could do was move the Ark of the Covenant and write down a few psalms about it. Other psalms of King David:
Psalm 23 is one of the songs of praise that David dedicated to God as he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
In what cases and how is Psalm 23 read?
There is a tradition according to which the 23rd Psalm is read on the first day of the week. Thus, people followed the caption to the text. The ancient chronology used by the Jews assumed that the week began on Saturday, now in the church calendar it is Sunday.
In the course of serving the Lord in the temple, they traditionally use prayer in the Old Church Slavonic language; for home communication with divine forces, it is allowed to read a translation into Russian. Every word is passed through the heart, appealing to heaven in peace and quiet. A good idea is to dim the lights, light a church candle or lamp. Clear your mind of unnecessary thoughts so that nothing distracts you from your conversation with the Almighty.
Stay focused, the intonation with which the words are spoken does not matter. There is no need to read the prayer loudly; you can do it silently. They use the song to express gratitude to God for the given help and support, to glorify His name.
Interpretation and meaning of prayer
If we talk about the general meaning of the entire song, then it is addressed to the greatness of the Lord. His holy deeds are glorified and how he created the earth is told. Since the psalm talks about the events that took place when David had already become king, the main purpose of the song is not a request, but gratitude. The song itself is quite short compared to others and has only 10 verses. Let's talk about them in more detail:
- Verses 1 and 2 describe the story of the creation of the world. These parts are similar to the first chapters of Genesis.
- Verses 4 and 5 talk about who is worthy to be near God. There are several theories about what David was talking about or about whom. Some scientists believe that we are talking about the Savior, others are sure that it is about ordinary believers.
- Verses 6 and 7 warn people about meeting the Lord. They serve as a reminder that a person can appear before God at any moment.
- The last lines are a kind of question about who God is.
There is a part in the song with these words: “Lift up your heights, O gates.” This is considered a kind of call to people to raise the gates of the city higher. This was necessary for the convenient passage of the procession to Jerusalem to transfer the ark.
Meaning
To better understand the meaning of the work, it is recommended to analyze its verses separately. Their interpretation is as follows:
- Verses 1 and 2 - the song begins with the words that the Almighty created the earth and everything on it, which means that there is nothing in human life that would not be subject to the One Creator. To enhance the effect of what has been said, David emphasizes the strength and hardness of the earth created by God; it, according to him, is not destroyed even by the elements of water. Verse 3 to 5 – the king describes a righteous man who has a place prepared next to the Lord. Such, in his opinion, must strictly follow the laws of God and earn His forgiveness in deed and word. Verse 6 and 7 - the lines in this part are instructions before meeting with the Almighty, which awaits every mortal. They can be interpreted differently; historians, for example, say that David meant the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem. Verse 8 to 10 – the prophet asks the question “Who is this Lord?” and immediately answers it, glorifying His name, expressing gratitude to Him for the protection granted to the Jewish people in the wars with the pagans.
Interpretation of the Psalm
The psalm describes the greatness of the Lord Creator, who created and is creating the earth. The song is usually interpreted in verse:
- Verses 1-2: David describes the creation of the earth, focusing on the fact that the Lord established it and according to His word it stands. The creation of the world is described, which echoes the first chapters of Genesis. The connection between the created and the Creator can be traced, i.e. the earth and everything that resides on it belongs to the Almighty. At the same time, the firmness of her position is indicated, despite the movable elements (water) surrounding her.
- Verses 4-5: He is described who is worthy to be with the Lord, who has earned it by his innocence. It is not entirely clear to whom exactly the author means: a person who fulfills the commandments of God and is considered righteous by law, or the words are prophetic and speak about Jesus Christ - the only righteous person.
- Verses 6-7: The author encourages people to be ready to meet the Lord. In a historical context, this is the arrival of the ark in Jerusalem, in a spiritual context, a person’s meeting with the Lord during the second coming or after death.
- Verses 8-10: David asks the people, who is their God? And he himself answers it - praising the works of the Lord and His intercession for the Jews in battles and battles with pagan enemies.
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Regarding the place “Lift up your gates,” it is worth saying that this expression is quite incomprehensible today, although in ancient times it sounded quite natural - the gates in ancient cities were very low, with a rising mechanism. They were made this way to avoid attack and for maximum protection of the city. Therefore, David exclaims and calls on the inhabitants of Jerusalem to rise up, i.e. gate - after all, the procession was quite large, and the ark was carried on the shoulders of the Levites. The more respectable the person passing through the gate, the higher they rose.
Important! David calls for the gates to be raised as high as possible, because the Lord is the most revered Person and deserving of the greatest glory.
Gate of Eternity. Psalm 23
Psalms of David... Through the centuries, the heartfelt words of the beloved king fly to us. So what if, according to some theologians, some of the psalms do not belong to the great psalmist? Our entire spiritual life is permeated with the prayers of the great king. Psalms are read at church services, read privately, at home, and read away from home and loved ones. Of particular importance are the reading of the psalms following Holy Communion. Psalm 23, to which this article is devoted, is also read. More precisely, we are talking about two verses of this psalm that give it a special meaning. In the Russian Bible of the Synodal Translation, verse 7 and verse 9 (refrain) sound like this (end of the psalm):
- Lift up your heights, O gates, and lift up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will enter!
- Who is this King of glory? - The Lord is mighty and strong, the Lord is mighty in battle.
- Lift up your heights, O gates, and lift up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will enter!
- Who is this King of glory? - The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.
There are a sufficient number of interpretations for this psalm. At A.P. Lopukhin’s explanation of verses 7 and 9 tells about a real event - the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant to the city of David, Jerusalem, to the sacred Mount Zion: “... when the procession was already approaching the narrow and small gates of Jerusalem, why did David exclaim: “Lift up your gates, O gates” . ... The gates in ancient cities were very low, with a lifting top. They are called eternal because they are of the most ancient origin. The procession approached Jerusalem and consisted of the Levites carrying on their shoulders the Icon of the Covenant, on the lid of which were decorations made of cherubs. The gates of Zion, with their top not raised, were not large enough for the Lord enthroned on the Cherubim to pass through. The more noble the person entering the gate, the more unhindered the entrance should be. This is where the “King of Glory” Himself now enters. This King of Glory is the Lord of hosts, “mighty in battle,” the One who is the conqueror of all nations and to whom David owes the taking of Mount Zion from the Jebusites” [1].
Thus, according to A.P. Lopukhin, “The King of Glory, the Lord of Hosts” enters the tabernacle. And the words “eternal gates” only mean that these gates are “of the most ancient origin.”
An illustration of the interpretation of A.P. Lopukhin may be the painting by Domenico Gargiulo “The Transfer of the Ark of the Covenant by King David to Jerusalem. Late 1640s." State Museum of Fine Arts named after. A. S. Pushkin.
This is a pictorial representation of the verses of the 6th chapter of 2 Samuel:
12. When it was reported to King David, saying, “The Lord blessed the house of Abeddar and all that it had for the sake of the ark of God,” David went and triumphantly carried the ark of God from the house of Abeddar to the city of David.
13 And when those who carried the ark of the Lord had walked six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a ram.
14. David galloped with all his might before the Lord; And David was dressed in a linen ephod.
15 So David and all the house of Israel carried the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
Saint Athanasius the Great sets a different direction of movement. In his opinion, this speaks of the ascension of the King of Glory: “This psalm preaches about the ascension of the Lord, about teaching the pagans, and about how they will be made worthy of heavenly villages” [2]. And further, an explanation of verses 7 and 9: “The angels serving the Savior on earth, during His ascension, let the heavenly Powers know to open the gates” [3].
According to Fedorit Kirsky, the exclamation “Who is this King of Glory?” belongs to the heavenly Powers, which did not see the deity of God, but saw only human nature: “If from what is happening in the Church, they will more accurately recognize God’s wisdom; then there is nothing strange that the heavens of Power did not know the mystery of the ascension of Christ, seeing human nature, but not seeing the Divinity hidden in it. ...The command is given to the eternal gates to open, because they have not yet been opened for human nature, and no man has ever passed through them. But God the Word who became man, having received our firstfruits, raised it to heaven” [4].
Euthymius Zigaben, in his interpretation of the indicated psalm, under the words “eternal doors” means Angelic guards: “From here on, David prophesies about the ascension of the Lord into heaven. He here represents the Angels who served Christ when He was on earth, ascending to heaven along with the ascending Christ, and some going to meet Him, and others commanding those who guarded the entrance to heaven to take the gates” [5]. And further: “And by gates we must mean Angelic guards and watches” [6].
Thus, the words “everlasting doors” from verses 7 and 9 have different interpretations, which do not contradict one another, but complement each other. However, an additional meaning of these verses appears if we turn to their exact presentation from the TaNakh. In Hebrew they look like this: וְהִנָּשְֹאוּ פּתְחֵי עוֹלָם And in exact translation they sound like this: “Arise, O Gate of Eternity.” Gate of Eternity! This has a slightly different meaning from the traditional translation. This can be confirmed by the Book of Psalms, “Tehillim”, published in 2011 by the publishing house “Knizhniki”, “Lechaim”. This is a translation of the Book of Psalms from Biblical Hebrew into Russian. According to the preface: “The Book of Tehillim is a collection of one hundred and fifty poetic works: hymns, prayers, teachings, compiled by different authors in different times and eras. Tegilim is the plural of the word tegilah (glorification)” [7]. In the Book of Tehillim the 23rd Psalm is designated as the 24th chapter. Verses 7 - 9 (the end of the psalm) read like this:
- Rise higher, Gateway! Open, Portals of Eternity! Let the King of Glory enter!
- Who is this King of Glory? - The Lord is Strong and Mighty, the Lord, Mighty in battle!
- Rise higher, Gateway! Open the Portals of Eternity! Let the King of Glory enter!
- Who is this King of Glory? - The Lord of Hosts, he is forever, the King of Glory! [8]
Portals of Eternity! Not eternal doors, but Portals of Eternity! It must be admitted that here not only a more concrete, but also a stronger, sacred image is revealed! Since the Book of Tehillim additionally contains Rashi’s commentaries, it is said regarding the word “Eternity”: “In his commentary, Rashi relies on the fact that in Scripture the word עולם means “eternity” in literal and figurative meanings, and not “universe”, as in the medieval and modern Hebrew" [9]. (Rashi is an acronym for the phrase Rabbi Shlomo Isaac; Shlomo ben Isaac; 1040, Troyes, - 1105, ibid., the largest medieval commentator on the Talmud and one of the prominent commentators on the Bible.)
In another Book of Psalms - the Book of Praises, translated into Russian by Rabanit Frima Gurfinkel and containing interpretations of Rabbi David Kimhi (Rabbi David bar Yosef Kimhi - Radak, lived ca. 1160-1235, the greatest commentator of Scripture and researcher of the language of the Torah), verses 7- 10 sounds like this:
- Lift up, gates, your heads, and you will be lifted up, gates of eternity, and the King of glory will enter!
- Who is this King of Glory? Lord, hero and hero, Lord, hero in battle.
- Lift up, gates, your heads, and you will be lifted up, gates of eternity, and the King of Glory will enter!
- Who is He, this King of Glory? Lord of hosts, He (is) the King of Glory! [10]
It also talks about the Gate of Eternity, which opens before the Lord of hosts, the King of Glory! The comments on the above verses by Rabbi David Kimchi are as follows: “You will gain great glory today when the King of Glory enters. Since the Glory of the Lord rested on the ark between two cherubim, the ark was given the name “Lord - King of Glory.” “The Gates of Eternity” are so called because until now the ark has passed from one place to another: from the desert to Gilgal, from Gilgal to Shiloh, from Shiloh to the land of Pelishtim, then Beth Shemesh, Kiryat Yearim, the house of Obed-Edom, and from there to the city of David. Now he was taken to the place where he will be forever” [11].
Interpretations of Rabbi David Kimchi and interpretations of A.P. Lopukhin are surprisingly in tune with each other. They are dedicated to the above chapters of Holy Scripture. However, why is the phrase “eternal doors” given in the previously presented interpretations and in the actual text of our Russian Bible? Here we can make a very cautious assumption that the orientation was not towards biblical Hebrew, but towards the Greek text. For example, in the Septuagint, (LXX) these words are displayed as follows: πύλαι αἰώνιοι, and the exact translation is “eternal doors”!
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that, as noted earlier, the 23rd Psalm is included in the sequence for Holy Communion. Eternity opens its doors to the King of Glory. However, in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, all believers become partakers of the Divine nature and eternal life. The amazing, beautiful frescoes of the Serbian Church of Saints Joachim and Anna (Royal Church) in the Studenica Monastery, (1314) depict the Eucharist (communion of the apostles). (The monastery was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986). These are absolutely wonderful frescoes on which we see the Savior Himself giving communion to the apostles, for whom the Portals of Eternity are opened and they are introduced to eternal life...
In this short, and perhaps imperfect, article, a timid attempt is made to clarify the last verses of the 23rd Psalm, as well as to find an answer to the question - for whom are the Portals of Eternity opened? The result of the article can be the heartfelt words from the work “Dogmatic Theology” by Archimandrite Alypius and Archimandrite Isaiah: “We can experience communion with eternity in prayer. When, having forgotten everything material, a person comes before God in prayer, then time seems to not exist for him.
Also, by partaking of the Divine Eucharist, we unite with the Risen Christ, each in our own measure, join the Kingdom of His Glory and enter eternity...” [12].
1 Explanatory Bible or commentary on all books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, edited by A.P. Lopukhina. Petersburg. T.4. 1904. pp. 183-184.
2 Saint Athanasius the Great. Creations in four volumes. Volume IV. - M.: Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery., 1994. Reprint reproduction of the publication: Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1902-1903, from the collections of the State Historical Library. pp. 100-101.
3 Ibid.
4 Works of Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus. Part two Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. Own printing house, 1905. pp. 113-114.
5 Explanatory Psalter by Euthymius Zigaben. Explained according to Patristic interpretations. Kyiv. Printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Dormition Lavra. 1907. Reprint. 1907. P. 187.
6 Ibid.
7 Book of Psalms. ["Tehilim"]. With comments by Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi). Translation from Hebrew by Meir Levinov. "Scribes"; "Lechaim." 2011. P. 177.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Book of Praises. With comments by Rabbi David Kimchi (Radak). Translation from Hebrew by Frima Gurfinkel. "Jewish Book". 2008. pp. 151-153.
11 Ibid.
12 Archimandrite Alipiy (Kastalsky-Borozdin). Archimandrite Isaiah (Belov). "Dogmatic Theology". With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra., 2000. P. 174.
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