One of the most beautiful artifacts of Judaism is Psalm 23, a song composed 3000 years ago by David, second king of ancient Israel. As is so often the case in the Bible, the deep profound truth in this passage is muddied by over-anthropomorphism of the collective wonder of the universe, refered to by David (according to English translations) as "The Lord". This attempt to personify the awesome powers that govern reality, gives rise to the image of an old man on a cloud somewhere. An old man who's always watching you... even when you masturbate. In order to salvage David's creation from this unfortunate gibberish, I've modernized Psalm 23.
The lyrics are traditionally divided into six "verses" (although King David himself took no part in this division). Thus I've divided it into six pieces, one for each verse. I'm working from the English translation commisioned by King James I of England-- this is a necessary evil, since I can't read ancient Hebrew. For more commentary, see after the song.
COMMENTARY
The overarching theme is one of abundance, providence, plentitude, bounty. David was really onto something here; and what was true in his day is even more so in ours, when the innate harvests of the world are enhanced by technology the ancient Israelites couldn't even dream of.
First verse. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
The first thing we'll do is get rid of "The Lord", that annoying anthropomorphism, originally composed as if to suggest the deep laws of reality were walking around somewhere in human form. In David's time, writers tended to write with lots of nuance and symbolism. David knew that the abundant "source" he was singing about wasn't really some sentient "Cosmic King" commanding everything from a distant castle. He merely used the words he did, because it was a convenient symbol for the uncomprehendable ebb and flow of all things. David didn't expect that readers three millenia later would take "The Lord" literally, much less ascribe silly opinions to this deity, such as "The Lord hates fags". Since the whole theme of the song is abundance, that's a better agent than a concrete, capricious deity.
"Shepherd" is used to connote the idea of benevolent guidance; a shepherd is a person who guides sheep, leading them to grass and fending off wolves. It has, however, a kind of disempowering connotation, literally suggesting that the guided are "a bunch of sheep". Hence, "guide" is much more fitting.
The verb "want" is originally meant in a somewhat archaic sense, similar to "need". According to this sense, a person is "wanting" when they're missing something vital. Thus, what David's really saying is, "All my needs are provided for". Even this rephrasing is sub-optimal, because it focuses on the bad (needs) instead of the good (the things which are needed). See my article, Toward Frames and Away Frames. I changed the sense of "want" while preserving the word itself, and also made the sentence more positive-directed, in one swoop by changing it from "I shall not want" to "I have whatever I want".
Second verse. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters."
The full thrust of this verse is lost in our society, where less than 3% of us work in agriculture, and many of those work in factory farms. Once upon a time, there was a direct correlation between green pastures and still waters, and having plenty of food to eat. So what David is really getting at is, once again, natural abundance. Since there's already enough of that in the song, I decided to stretch the metaphor a bit so it would cover freedom and travel, themselves specific forms of abundance. Hence the addition of "or anywhere else I desire". The verse could read, "He leadeth me to a cruise in the Bahamas", if that's where you wanna go.
Third verse. "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
First, I swapped the beginning to "And so my spirits are high." This means the same thing, and continues to use the ethereal metaphor of the spirit, yet makes the song palatable without having to swallow any metaphysics about the human soul; the verse makes sense whether you believe you have some intangible "spirit" or not.
"The paths of righteousness" are all-too-often read in a moralistic sense: that this "Lord" has a picky book of legislation (including things like "women shall not be teachers") and that He will lead us to follow His rules. Even if this was what David really meant, it wouldn't even be internally consistent with the rest of the Bible, which is chock full of "The Lord" doing the exact opposite, tempting people time and again to stray from His own laws. Contrast all this with "right action", the notion of taking hold of life and doing what needs to be done.
The hardest part of this verse to modernize was "for his name's sake". What's going on here is that the one thus led, shouldn't just use that guidance selfishly, but should contribute back to the whole. Hence "thriving and generous".
Fourth verse. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
This is my favorite of the six. Especially the first bit, up to the colon: it just sounds awesome; there's a good reason Sam Raimi made this the prayer of Peter Parker's aunt in Spider-Man the movie.
Contrary to common belief, the word "evil" here does not mean "morally wrong or bad" (dictionary sense 1), but rather "harm; mischief; misfortune" (the much more obscure dictionary sense 9). In order to clarify this, and at the same time turn an away-frame into a toward-frame, I changed "I will fear no evil" to "only good will come to me".
The rest of the changes to this verse are fairly straightforward, given the above commentary. King David wasn't a massochist; the "rod" and the "staff" he refers to are more of a symbol of the laws of physics and metaphysics, which shape and direct all the cosmos in the same way a shepherd's rod and staff shape and direct a bunch of lambs.
Fifth verse. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."
Once again, David whips out some symbolism whose once-powerful thrust is dulled as our society moves toward fast food and microwave dinners. The table represents feasts, parties, and social get-togethers in general; things once tied more intimately with eating. As for "in the presence of mine enemies", I always thought this would read a lot better with the simple insertion of "even": "even in the presence of mine enemies". Without that, there's almost a gloating, prideful note, like David is going to eat his divine cheerios in front of his cowering rivals. Maybe toss them the odd cheerio bone-- if he's feeling generous. No, the point rather is that even in the clutches of enemies, we still find abundance and joy. Finally, no reason to have the unnecessary "enemies" away-frame, so replace the whole thing with "Everyone".
Anointing someone's head with oil was an ancient ritual. You'd pour (vegetable or olive) oil over their head to show them very high honor. All I did was make this more explicit, getting rid of a very obsolete metaphor.
Appropriately, about when I got to rewriting the part about the overflowing, a beautiful girl surprised me with a huge icy mug of beer, practically overflowing! Perhaps it's a sign? :)
Sixth verse. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
I barely changed this verse. I changed "mercy" to "love", since love is the source of all true mercy anyway, and mercy implies some sort of defeat or scarcity to begin with. Changing "the house of The Lord" to "this world" is just a device to eliminate "The Lord". Then, to make sure this doesn't deprive the line of its power, "dwell" is changed to "thrive". Besides that, the tense was changed from future to present, much to the chagrin of any feudal monarchs who'd rather their serfs put off "dwelling in the house of the Lord" til some vague, distant afterlife.
FURTHER READING
The Modernized Lord's Prayer
Declarative Vs. Supplicative Prayer
Examples of Positive Affirmations
Ten Metaphors On Life
The lyrics are traditionally divided into six "verses" (although King David himself took no part in this division). Thus I've divided it into six pieces, one for each verse. I'm working from the English translation commisioned by King James I of England-- this is a necessary evil, since I can't read ancient Hebrew. For more commentary, see after the song.
----------------------------------------------
Natural abundance is my guide,
I have whatever I want.
It's natural to relax in green pastures,
Beside calm waters, or anywhere else I desire.
And so my spirits are high.
I naturally take right action,
Thriving and generous.
Yea,
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
Only good will come to me:
For abundance is everywhere;
The natural laws of the world are on my side.
I enjoy the world's plentitude like a feast,
Sharing it with Everyone:
I am honorable and honored;
My cup is overflowing.
Surely goodness and love follow me
All the days of my life:
And I prosper within this world,
Forever.
----------------------------------------------
Natural abundance is my guide,
I have whatever I want.
It's natural to relax in green pastures,
Beside calm waters, or anywhere else I desire.
And so my spirits are high.
I naturally take right action,
Thriving and generous.
Yea,
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
Only good will come to me:
For abundance is everywhere;
The natural laws of the world are on my side.
I enjoy the world's plentitude like a feast,
Sharing it with Everyone:
I am honorable and honored;
My cup is overflowing.
Surely goodness and love follow me
All the days of my life:
And I prosper within this world,
Forever.
----------------------------------------------
COMMENTARY
The overarching theme is one of abundance, providence, plentitude, bounty. David was really onto something here; and what was true in his day is even more so in ours, when the innate harvests of the world are enhanced by technology the ancient Israelites couldn't even dream of.
First verse. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
The first thing we'll do is get rid of "The Lord", that annoying anthropomorphism, originally composed as if to suggest the deep laws of reality were walking around somewhere in human form. In David's time, writers tended to write with lots of nuance and symbolism. David knew that the abundant "source" he was singing about wasn't really some sentient "Cosmic King" commanding everything from a distant castle. He merely used the words he did, because it was a convenient symbol for the uncomprehendable ebb and flow of all things. David didn't expect that readers three millenia later would take "The Lord" literally, much less ascribe silly opinions to this deity, such as "The Lord hates fags". Since the whole theme of the song is abundance, that's a better agent than a concrete, capricious deity.
"Shepherd" is used to connote the idea of benevolent guidance; a shepherd is a person who guides sheep, leading them to grass and fending off wolves. It has, however, a kind of disempowering connotation, literally suggesting that the guided are "a bunch of sheep". Hence, "guide" is much more fitting.
The verb "want" is originally meant in a somewhat archaic sense, similar to "need". According to this sense, a person is "wanting" when they're missing something vital. Thus, what David's really saying is, "All my needs are provided for". Even this rephrasing is sub-optimal, because it focuses on the bad (needs) instead of the good (the things which are needed). See my article, Toward Frames and Away Frames. I changed the sense of "want" while preserving the word itself, and also made the sentence more positive-directed, in one swoop by changing it from "I shall not want" to "I have whatever I want".
Second verse. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters."
The full thrust of this verse is lost in our society, where less than 3% of us work in agriculture, and many of those work in factory farms. Once upon a time, there was a direct correlation between green pastures and still waters, and having plenty of food to eat. So what David is really getting at is, once again, natural abundance. Since there's already enough of that in the song, I decided to stretch the metaphor a bit so it would cover freedom and travel, themselves specific forms of abundance. Hence the addition of "or anywhere else I desire". The verse could read, "He leadeth me to a cruise in the Bahamas", if that's where you wanna go.
Third verse. "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."
First, I swapped the beginning to "And so my spirits are high." This means the same thing, and continues to use the ethereal metaphor of the spirit, yet makes the song palatable without having to swallow any metaphysics about the human soul; the verse makes sense whether you believe you have some intangible "spirit" or not.
"The paths of righteousness" are all-too-often read in a moralistic sense: that this "Lord" has a picky book of legislation (including things like "women shall not be teachers") and that He will lead us to follow His rules. Even if this was what David really meant, it wouldn't even be internally consistent with the rest of the Bible, which is chock full of "The Lord" doing the exact opposite, tempting people time and again to stray from His own laws. Contrast all this with "right action", the notion of taking hold of life and doing what needs to be done.
The hardest part of this verse to modernize was "for his name's sake". What's going on here is that the one thus led, shouldn't just use that guidance selfishly, but should contribute back to the whole. Hence "thriving and generous".
Fourth verse. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
This is my favorite of the six. Especially the first bit, up to the colon: it just sounds awesome; there's a good reason Sam Raimi made this the prayer of Peter Parker's aunt in Spider-Man the movie.
Contrary to common belief, the word "evil" here does not mean "morally wrong or bad" (dictionary sense 1), but rather "harm; mischief; misfortune" (the much more obscure dictionary sense 9). In order to clarify this, and at the same time turn an away-frame into a toward-frame, I changed "I will fear no evil" to "only good will come to me".
The rest of the changes to this verse are fairly straightforward, given the above commentary. King David wasn't a massochist; the "rod" and the "staff" he refers to are more of a symbol of the laws of physics and metaphysics, which shape and direct all the cosmos in the same way a shepherd's rod and staff shape and direct a bunch of lambs.
Fifth verse. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."
Once again, David whips out some symbolism whose once-powerful thrust is dulled as our society moves toward fast food and microwave dinners. The table represents feasts, parties, and social get-togethers in general; things once tied more intimately with eating. As for "in the presence of mine enemies", I always thought this would read a lot better with the simple insertion of "even": "even in the presence of mine enemies". Without that, there's almost a gloating, prideful note, like David is going to eat his divine cheerios in front of his cowering rivals. Maybe toss them the odd cheerio bone-- if he's feeling generous. No, the point rather is that even in the clutches of enemies, we still find abundance and joy. Finally, no reason to have the unnecessary "enemies" away-frame, so replace the whole thing with "Everyone".
Anointing someone's head with oil was an ancient ritual. You'd pour (vegetable or olive) oil over their head to show them very high honor. All I did was make this more explicit, getting rid of a very obsolete metaphor.
Appropriately, about when I got to rewriting the part about the overflowing, a beautiful girl surprised me with a huge icy mug of beer, practically overflowing! Perhaps it's a sign? :)
Sixth verse. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."
I barely changed this verse. I changed "mercy" to "love", since love is the source of all true mercy anyway, and mercy implies some sort of defeat or scarcity to begin with. Changing "the house of The Lord" to "this world" is just a device to eliminate "The Lord". Then, to make sure this doesn't deprive the line of its power, "dwell" is changed to "thrive". Besides that, the tense was changed from future to present, much to the chagrin of any feudal monarchs who'd rather their serfs put off "dwelling in the house of the Lord" til some vague, distant afterlife.
FURTHER READING
The Modernized Lord's Prayer
Declarative Vs. Supplicative Prayer
Examples of Positive Affirmations
Ten Metaphors On Life
Posts
2 comments:
I am a self-proclaimed anti-theist and am mostly fed up with organized religion's corrupt. The fanaticism that's inspired by the bible and word's like "lord" ultimately corrupted the perception of many religious poems and bible verses. The people, like David, who wrote the many of these religious poems were brilliant poets and wrote with many abstract metaphors. The clergy who propagate religious dogma conveniently misinterpret messages within the verses as either we should be fearing God, worshiping God, or giving the church money so God does not smite us. The real message about life gets lost. Anyways, this diatribe was taken right out of William Blake's playbook.
What I really like about this is that you do realize how so much of the bible is misinterpreted, (like Halcyon said) but you also seem to see the world as giving and abundant. Very nice "translation" and I agree, "I walk through the valley of shadow and death" is a great phrase.
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