Translation commentary on Psalm 31:1 - 31:2

The translator will notice that in these two verses three different words are used for “to save”; and further notice should be taken of the fact that Revised Standard Version and other translations do not try to be completely consistent in the translation of these synonymous verbs as they appear in different psalms. The translator should feel free to use the most appropriate word in the context, without trying to be always consistent.

Petitions in prayer in English use the imperative mood, so that God is commanded to be or do something. In some languages it may be necessary to use a different style, more in keeping with prayer. One doesn’t command, but asks, petitions, or requests God to do something.

The psalmist’s plea for help and protection (verses 1-2) is phrased in familiar terms. For I seek refuge see comments on 2.12; be put to shame, see 6.10 and comments; righteousness, see comments on 5.8; deliver, see 17.13 and comments.

Anderson points out that righteousness here has the sense of keeping one’s pledged word; the psalmist appeals to God’s promise to protect him. Righteousness is expressed in some languages as “straight” or “just.” In some cases it will be necessary to recast in thy righteousness (Good News Translation “You are a righteous God”); for example, “you are a God who always does what is right,” “you are a God who acts fairly” or, because “fair” and “just judgment” is an important aspect of God’s dealing with his people, in some languages one may say “you are a God who judges fairly.”

In verse 2, for Incline thy ear see comments on 10.17 and 17.6; rescue is the verb that in 7.1 is translated “deliver”; refuge translates the word that in 27.1 is translated “stronghold”; and for strong fortress see comments on 18.2.

Incline thy ear to me may often be rendered by other figures of speech; for example, “put your ear on my words” or “have two ears for what I say.”

In many languages it is not natural to command someone to be an inanimate object such as a rock. However, it is normally possible to supplement an imperative with a simile; for example, “protect me as a rock protects a person” or “give me protection and shelter like a rock that shelters a person.”

Strong fortress may be expressed in a nonfigurative manner as in Good News Translation, or the translator may substitute another known figure such as a shield, or combine the nonfigure with a simile; for example, “defend me the way a strong fortress defends people.”

The translator should note that in verse 2c and 2d the common pattern used in parallelism, in which the literal item appears in the first line and the metaphor in the second, is set aside, since both rock and strong fortress (literally “house of fortress”) are both metaphors.

It should be noted that verses 1-3a of this psalm are almost exactly like Psalm 71.1-3.

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 31 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 31 from the 1946 edition is in pentameter and the rhyme schemes are -u and -en (the 1946 edition did not have verse numbers either):

無窮之望

主乃我所恃。莫教我向隅。願主昭大信。 營救莫躊躇。願主作磐石。俾我無憂虞。 願主為安宅。俾我得常居。既是我保障。且為令名故。 應賜我指引。脫我於網罟。 敬將吾靈魂。托付於爾手。至誠惟吾主。已將我拯救。 迷惑邪妄者。為我所深惡。眞神豈有他。我惟爾是怙。 爾知我艱辛。爾識我心苦。雖苦亦自甘。悅懌爾仁恕。 昔曾承主恩。綽綽有餘裕。何曾將吾身。委為敵人俎。 今日復罹難。求主申舊恩。鬱悒腸欲斷。憂苦目已昏。 愁煎生意枯。悲嘆歲月新。精力日以衰。罪多氣消沈。 蒙辱因敵眾。無顏見比鄰。相知競迴避。有如眼中釘。 雖存已若亡。棄置如舊瓶。 所聞惟讒謗。恐怖充塵氛。群奸相聚議。欲害吾孑身。 伶仃惟恃主。惟主是吾神。 禍福托主手。脫我於仇人。 願爾開慈顏。照護爾微臣。 莫令我觖望。應使彼吞聲。惡計既受挫。默默歸幽冥。 截彼誇誕舌。緘彼誑訛唇。庶幾傲慢子。不復誣精誠。 樂哉諸君子。事主尊且親。主有無窮福。特為爾貯存。肉眼未曾見。俗耳未曾聞。 雍雍卵翼下。熙熙承煦溫。毒計無從害。讒舌不得侵。群小見擯絕。爾為入幕賓。 偉哉造物主。待我恩何深。捍衛無不至。置我於堅城。 情急方寸亂。遽出怨主聲。主實未棄我。心期蒙玉成。 告爾諸虔信。愛主務加勤。忠貞承拔擢。驕暴被嚴懲。 願凡恃主者。養勇壯其心。

Transcription into Roman alphabet with the rhyme scheme highlighted:

wú qióng zhī wàng

zhǔ nǎi wǒ suǒ shì 。 mò jiào wǒ xiàng yú 。 yuàn zhǔ zhāo dà xìn 。 yíng jiù mò chóu chú 。 yuàn zhǔ zuò pán shí 。 bǐ wǒ wú yōu yú 。 yuàn zhǔ wéi ān zhái 。 bǐ wǒ dé cháng jū 。 jì shì wǒ bǎo zhàng 。 qiě wéi líng míng gù 。 yīng cì wǒ zhǐ yǐn 。 tuō wǒ yú wǎng gǔ 。 jìng jiāng wú líng hún 。 tuō fù yú ěr shǒu 。 zhì chéng wéi wú zhǔ 。 yǐ jiāng wǒ zhěng jiù 。 mí huò xié wàng zhě 。 wéi wǒ suǒ shēn è 。 zhēn shén qǐ yǒu tā 。 wǒ wéi ěr shì hù 。 ěr zhī wǒ jiān xīn 。 ěr shí wǒ xīn kǔ 。 suī kǔ yì zì gān 。 yuè yì ěr rén shù 。 xī zēng chéng zhǔ ēn 。 chuò chuò yǒu yú yù 。 hé zēng jiāng wú shēn 。 wěi wéi dí rén zǔ 。 jīn rì fù lí nán 。 qiú zhǔ shēn jiù ēn 。 yù yì cháng yù duàn 。 yōu kǔ mù yǐ hūn 。 chóu jiān shēng yì kū 。 bēi tàn suì yuè xīn 。 jīng lì rì yǐ shuāi 。 zuì duō qì xiāo shěn 。 mēng rǔ yīn dí zhòng 。 wú yán jiàn bǐ lín 。 xiāng zhī jìng huí bì 。 yǒu rú yǎn zhōng dīng 。 suī cún yǐ ruò wáng 。 qì zhì rú jiù píng 。 suǒ wén wéi chán bàng 。 kǒng bù chōng chén fēn 。 qún jiān xiāng jù yì 。 yù hài wú jié shēn 。 líng dīng wéi shì zhǔ 。 wéi zhǔ shì wú shén 。 huò fú tuō zhǔ shǒu 。 tuō wǒ yú chóu rén 。 yuàn ěr kāi cí yán 。 zhào hù ěr wēi chén 。 mò líng wǒ jué wàng 。 yīng shǐ bǐ tūn shēng 。 è jì jì shòu cuò 。 mò mò guī yōu míng 。 jié bǐ kuā dàn shé 。 jiān bǐ kuáng é chún 。 shù jī ào màn zǐ 。 bù fù wū jīng chéng 。 lè zāi zhū jūn zǐ 。 shì zhǔ zūn qiě qīn 。 zhǔ yǒu wú qióng fú 。 tè wéi ěr zhù cún 。 ròu yǎn wèi zēng jiàn 。 sú ěr wèi zēng wén 。 yōng yōng luǎn yì xià 。 xī xī chéng xù wēn 。 dú jì wú cóng hài 。 chán shé bù dé qīn 。 qún xiǎo jiàn bìn jué 。 ěr wéi rù mù bīn 。 wěi zāi zào wù zhǔ 。 dài wǒ ēn hé shēn 。 hàn wèi wú bù zhì 。 zhì wǒ yú jiān chéng 。 qíng jí fāng cùn luàn 。 jù chū yuàn zhǔ shēng 。 zhǔ shí wèi qì wǒ 。 xīn qī mēng yù chéng 。 gào ěr zhū qián xìn 。 ài zhǔ wù jiā qín 。 zhōng zhēn chéng bá zhuó 。 jiāo bào bèi yán chěng 。 yuàn fán shì zhǔ zhě 。 yǎng yǒng zhuàng qí xīn 。

With thanks to Simon Wong.