Ps 23:1 – Page 2

Psalm 23:1 and 2 in Tlingit

Constance Naish and Gillian Story (in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 91f. ) tell this story of a misunderstood version of Psalm 23 in Tlingit:

“‘The Lord is my shepherd…and I am His sheep — isn’t this the sense in which we understand this phrase as the result of long familiarity with the Twenty-third Psalm? But couldn’t it mean instead, ‘The Lord is the one who herds sheep for me?’ It was in some such sense that a Tlingit interpreter for some of the early missionaries understood it. His interpretation of the opening verses of this Psalm was later translated back again from Tlingit into English like this:

‘The Lord is my goat hunter;
I don’t want Him.
He knocks me down on the mountain:
He drags me down to the beach …

“The Tlingits had no domestic animals, apart from hunting dogs, and a mountain goat was the closest thing they knew to a sheep. Who would think of herding the sure-footed mountain goats? But in the northern limits of the Tlingit area goats could be hunted, so — ‘The Lord is my goat hunter.’

“‘I shall not want’ is not the normal form of expression for a modern speaker of English, and a Tlingit who had newly learned English, when most of his people still spoke nothing but Tlingit. might well be expected to be stumbled by it. ‘I shall not want’ — surely an object must be supplied? Hence the interpretation comes out, ‘I don’t want Him.’

“‘He maketh me to lie down …’ Familiarity with a shepherd’s care for his sheep helps us to understand this, but how would one make a mountain goat lie down? How did ‘green pastures’ become ‘the mountain’? In this area the forests of spruce and hemlock come right down to the water’s edge and at the lower levels are broken only by muskeg swamps or by groups of houses in cleared land. At the higher levels on the mountains there are clearings where the little plant called deer cabbage grows in abundance, the nearest equivalent to a meadow as we know it. So with no knowledge of the pasture or the shepherd comes the statement, ‘He knocks me down on the mountain.’

“‘He leadeth me beside the still waters.’ What happened to this sentence? There is more than one word in Tlingit that could be used to translate the word ‘lead.’ Probably the interpreter used the one that means ‘to lead on a string.’ as a protesting animal might be led. He failed to visualize correctly the picture presented in the Psalm. As for the ‘still waters.’ a little word meaning really ‘down to the water’s edge’ was probably used here. Since the beach is the most common ‘water’s edge’ in this area of coastlands and islands, this was the picture conjured up for the Tlingit listeners: ‘He drags me down to the beach.’”

Metrical translations of Psalm 23 from the British Isles

Following are a number of translations of Psalm 23 into metre from a number of languages in the British Isles.

The English translation by George Herbert (publ. 1633)

The God of love my shepherd is,
And He that does me feed:
While He is mine, and I am His,
What can I want or need?

He leads me to the tender grass,
Where I both feed and rest;
Then to the streams that gently pass:
In both I have the best.

Or if I stray, He does convert
And bring my mind in frame:
And all this not for my dessert,
But for His holy name.

Yea, in death’s shady black abode
Well may I walk, not fear:
For You are with me; and Your rod
To guide, Your staff to bear.

Nay, you do make me sit and dine,
Ev’n in my enemies’ sight:
My head with oil, my cup with wine
Runs over day and night.

Surely Your sweet and wondrous love
Shall measure all my days;
And as it never shall remove,
So neither shall my praise.

The Welsh translation by Edmund Prys (publ. 1621) (click or tap here)

Yr Arglwydd yw fy ’mugail clau,
    ni âd byth eisiau arnaf:
Mi a gâf orwedd mewn porfa frâs,
    ar lan dwfr gloywlas araf.
Fe goledd f’enaid,
    ac a’m dwg rhyd llwybrau diddrwg cyfion,
Er mwyn ei enw mawr dilys
    Fo’m tywys ar yr union.
Pe rhodiwn (nid ofnwn am hyn)
    yn nyffryn cysgod angau,
Wyd gyda mi, a’th nerth,
    a’th ffon, ond tirion ydyw’r arfau:
Gosodaist fy mwrdd i yn frâs,
    lle’r oedd fy nghâs yn gweled:
Olew i’m pen, a chwppan llawn,
    daionus iawn fu’r weithred.
O’th nawdd y daw y doniau hyn
    i’m canlyn byth yn hylwydd:
A minnau a breswyliaf byth
    a’m nyth yn nhy yr Arglwydd.

The Irish translation by Norman McLeod (publ. 1836) (click or tap here)

Is é Dia féin is áodhaire dhamh,
    Aon easbhuidh orm ni bhíaidh.
Do bheir se orm go luighím sios,
    A ninbhir fhéir mhínlígh:
A’s fós re taobh na nuisgeadhuidh,
    Ag siubhal sios go mall,
Ata se do mo threórughadh,
    Go mín réidh ann ’sgach ball.
Aiseógair m’anam dhamh air ais:
    Treorochuigh se mo chéim
A slighe ghlan na fíréuntacht,
    Do bhrigh dheagh‐anma féin.
Seadh fós, da siubhlóchuin eadhon thríd,
    Glean dhorcha sgáil’ an bháis,
Aon olc na urchóid theacht oram,
    Ni heagal liom ’sní cás;
Do bhrigh go bhfuil tu leam do ghnáth;
    Do lorg ’sdo mhaide tréun,
Atáid ag tabhárt cómhfhurtacht
    A’s fuasgladh dhamh a m’fheidhm.
Gléusfa tu bórd a radhárc mo nam’d:
    Le hola d’úng mo cheann;
A taosgadh ta mo chupán fós,
    Ag meud an lainn tá ann.
Ach leanfuidh maith a’s trócair diom,
    A’n fhaid a bhias me beó;
A’s cómhnochad a náras Dé,
    Air feadh mo ré, ’smo ló.

Digitized by Bible Societies in Ireland with the help of MissionAssist

The Manx translation by Mark, Sodor and Mann (publ. 1761) (click or tap here)

Yn Chiarn eh-hene nee mish y rere,
    Tra ta mee huggey geam;
Yn bochill mie nee goaill kiarail,
    Nagh bee’m dy bragh ayns feme.
Ayns faiyr meenure as lane dy vlaa,
T’eh kinjagh fassagh mee;
    Reesht m’y leeideil gys fynneraght,
    Yn raad ta geillyn roie.
My chree waggântagh t’eh chyndaa,
    Er graih e ennym hene;
As gynsagh mee cre’n aght dy hooyl,
    Ayns raaidyn jeeragh, glen.
Ga dy beïn shooyl ayns coan y vaaish,
    Cha bee’m ayns dooyt erbee;
Dty ’latt, dty lorg nee m’y endeil,
    As kinjagh gerjagh mee.
Neayr’s ta my Yee jeh mooad’s e ghraih,
    Er reayll my vea ass gaue;
Yn vea shen neem’s y hymney da,
    As ayns e hiamble ceau.

The Scottish Gaelic translation (publ. 1992) (click or tap here)

Is e Dia fhèin as buachaill dhomh,
cha bhi mi ann an dìth.
Bheir e fa-near gu’n laighinn sìos
air cluainean glas’ le sìth:

Is fòs ri taobh nan aibhnichean
thèid seachad sìos gu mall,
A ta e ga mo threòrachadh,
gu mìn rèidh anns gach ball.

Tha ’g aisig m’anam dhomh air ais:
’s a treòrachadh mo cheum
Air slighean glan’ na fìreantachd,
air sgàth dheagh ainme fhèin.

Seadh, fòs ged ghluaisinn eadhon trìd
ghlinn dorcha sgàil a’ bhàis,
Aon olc no urchuid a theachd orm
chan eagal leam ’s cha chàs;

Air son gu bheil thu leam a-ghnàth,
do lorg, ’s do bhata treun,
Tha iad a’ tabhairt comhfhurtachd
is fuasglaidh dhomh am fheum.

Dhomh dheasaich bòrd air beul mo nàmh:
le ola dh’ung mo cheann;
Cur thairis tha mo chupan fòs,
aig meud an làin a th’ann.

Ach leanaidh maith is tròcair rium,
an cian a bhios mi beò;
Is còmhnaicheam an àros Dhè,
ri fad mo rè ’s mo lò.

The Scots translation by T.T. Alexander (publ. 1928) (click or tap here)

E’en as a shepherd tents his sheep,
    The Lord for me doth fend;
He mak’s me rest, whaur pasture’s best,
    And wimplin’ waters wend.
Sood my soul ail, He mak’s it hale
    And airts my feet to gang,
For His name’s sake, the bonny gait,
    Whaur’s nocht o’ ill or wrang.
Whaun I am boon to traivel doon
    The mirky Glen o’ Daith,
Nae dreid I bruik, His stave and crook
    Sal haud me free o’ skaith.
Wi’ ample fare Thou dost prepare
    My board, while faemen glow’r;
Wi’ eintment fine my heid dis shine,
    My bicker’s skailin’ ow’re.
Guidness and mercy a’ my days
    Are siccar at my side;
And in God’s hame I’ll be fu’ fain
    For evermair to bide.

Digitized by MissionAssist

Translation commentary on Psalm 23:1

Parallelism may not appear evident in this verse. However, it is the dependence of line b on line a to complete its sense that makes the second line parallel to the first. In some languages this dependence will have to be more explicitly stated.

Yahweh is often spoken of as the shepherd of Israel (see 28.9; 77.20; 78.52; and especially Ezek 34.11-16). In many languages where domestic animals such as sheep, camels, or llamas are cared for, the translation of shepherd normally presents no difficulty. However, in those parts of the world where domestic animals such as sheep and goats wander freely as scavengers, there may be no term for shepherd, and the practice of tending such animals is largely unknown. Even in some parts of the world where sheep are raised, a shepherd is a person sent out to look after the sheep because such a person is either too young or too incompetent to do more serious tasks. Therefore it is essential in any situation to consider the connotations attached to the local practice of shepherding. In this verse the shepherd is The LORD, and the best translations may be the ones suggested in the comments on the title.

I shall not want: the verb means to lack, to be without, not to have (see 8.5, where the verb means “be less”). New Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible have “I lack nothing”; New International Version “I shall not be in want.” Knox‘s rhetorical question is effective: “how can I lack anything?” The use in English of the verb want (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New English Bible) can be misunderstood, since the usual meaning of “to want” is “to desire.”

In some languages it will be necessary to make clear the relation between Yahweh being one’s shepherd and the consequence of not lacking anything; for example, “Because the LORD is my shepherd, I shall not lack anything” or “The LORD is the one who watches over me; therefore I shall have need of nothing.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Psalm 23 as classical Chinese poetry

John Wu Ching-hsiung (1899-1986) was a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, a renowned jurist who studied in Europe and the United States, and served as a professor of law at Soochow University, as a judge and the Acting President of the Shanghai Provisional Court, and as the Vice President of the Commission for the Drafting of the Constitution of the Republic of China, before becoming the Minister of the Republic of China to the Holy See. Wu has written extensively, not only on law but also on Chinese philosophy, and has also written his autobiography, Beyond East and West, in English. Wu was a devout Catholic and had a personal relationship with Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975). Wu began translating the the Psalms in 1938, and was encouraged by Chiang to translate the entire New Testament, which he corrected in his own handwriting. (…) John Wu Ching-hsiung’s translation of the Psalms (first draft in 1946, revised in 1975) was translated into Literary Chinese in the form of poetic rhyme, with attention paid to the style of writing. According to the content and mood of the different chapters of the original psalm, Wu chose Chinese poetic forms such as tetrameter, pentameter, heptameter [4, 5 or 7 syllables/Chinese characters per stanza], and the [less formal] Sao style, and sometimes more than two poetic forms were used in a single poem. (Source: Simon Wong)

John Wu Ching-hsiung himself talks about his celebrated and much-admired (though difficult-to-understand) translation in his aforementioned autobiography: (Click or tap here to see)

“Nothing could have been farther from my mind than to translate the Bible or any parts of it with a view to publishing it as an authorized version. I had rendered some of the Psalms into Chinese verse, but that was done as a part of my private devotion and as a literary hobby. When I was in Hongkong in 1938, I had come to know Madame H. H. Kung [Soong Ai-ling], and as she was deeply interested in the Bible, I gave her about a dozen pieces of my amateurish work just for her own enjoyment. What was my surprise when, the next time I saw her, she told me, “My sister [Soong Mei-ling] has written to say that the Generalissimo [Chiang Kai-shek] likes your translation of the Psalms very much, especially the first, the fifteenth, and the twenty-third, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd!”

“In the Autumn of 1940, when I was in Chungking, the Generalissimo invited me several times to lunch with him and expressed his appreciation of the few pieces that he had read. So I sent him some more. A few days later I received a letter from Madame Chiang [Soong Mei-ling], dated September 21, 1940, in which she said that they both liked my translation of the few Psalms I had sent them. ‘For many years,’ she wrote, ‘the Generalissimo has been wanting to have a really adequate and readable Wen-li (literary) translation of the Bible. He has never been able to find anyone who could undertake the matter.’ The letter ends up by saying that I should take up the job and that ‘the Generalissimo would gladly finance the undertaking of this work.’

“After some preliminary study of the commentaries, I started my work with the Psalms on January 6, 1943, the Feast of the Epiphany.

“I had three thousand years of Chinese literature to draw upon. The Chinese vocabulary for describing the beauties of nature is so rich that I seldom failed to find a word, a phrase, and sometimes even a whole line to fit the scene. But what makes such Psalms so unique is that they bring an intimate knowledge of the Creator to bear upon a loving observation of things of nature. I think one of the reasons why my translation is so well received by the Chinese scholars is that I have made the Psalms read like native poems written by a Chinese, who happens to be a Christian. Thus to my countrymen they are at once familiar and new — not so familiar as to be jejune, and not so new as to be bizarre. I did not publish it as a literal translation, but only as a paraphrase.

“To my greatest surprise, [my translation of the Psalms] sold like hot dogs. The popularity of that work was beyond my fondest dreams. Numberless papers and periodicals, irrespective of religion, published reviews too good to be true. I was very much tickled when I saw the opening verse of the first Psalm used as a headline on the front page of one of the non-religious dailies.”

A contemporary researcher (Lindblom 2021) mentions this about Wu’s translation: “Wu created a unique and personal work of sacred art that bears the imprint of his own admitted love and devotion, a landmark achievement comparable to Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. Although its use is still somewhat limited today, it continues to attract readers for the aforementioned qualities, and continues to be used in prayers and music by those who desire beauty and an authentic Chinese-sounding text that draws from China’s ancient traditions.”

The translation of Psalm 23 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter and the rhyme scheme is -ou (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

良牧

主乃我之牧。所需百無憂。令我草上憩。引我澤畔游。吾魂得復蘇。仁育一何周。更為聖名故。率我正道由。雖經陰谷裏。主在我何愁。爾策與爾杖。實令我心休。讌我群敵前。感爾恩施優。靈膏沐我首。玉爵盈欲流。慈惠共聖澤。長與我為儔。行藏勿離主。此外更何求。
靠。孤兒兮無父。惟主兮是怙。求主痛擊群姦兮。折其臂膀。窮究妖孽兮。降以淪喪。惟我天主兮。永古為王。與主為敵兮。靡有不亡。主已垂聽兮。謙者之音。必賜慰藉兮。堅固其心。伸彼冤屈兮。保彼焭獨。莫令凡人兮。擅作威福。

Transcription into Roman alphabet with the rhyme scheme highlighted:

liáng mù

zhǔ nǎi wǒ zhī mù 。 suǒ xū bǎi wú yōu 。 líng wǒ cǎo shàng qì 。 yǐn wǒ zé pàn yóu 。 wú hún dé fù sū 。 rén yù yī hé zhōu 。 gēng wéi shèng míng gù 。 shuài wǒ zhèng dào yóu 。 suī jīng yīn gǔ lǐ 。 zhǔ zài wǒ hé chóu 。 ěr cè yǔ ěr zhàng 。 shí líng wǒ xīn xiū 。 mā wǒ qún dí qián 。 gǎn ěr ēn shī yōu 。 líng gāo mù wǒ shǒu 。 yù jué yíng yù liú 。 cí huì gòng shèng zé 。 cháng yǔ wǒ wéi chóu 。 xíng cáng wù lí zhǔ 。 cǐ wài gēng hé qiú 。

This translation of Psalm 23 has also been set to music by individual artists (see Hu Mingzhe’s 胡明哲 version ) and is used in Catholic hymnals .

With thanks to Simon Wong.

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Verse: Psalm 23:1