Passage

Psalms 40.9-10

Book: Psalms · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"7. Then said I, Lo, I am come; In the roll of the book it is written of me: 8. I delight to do thy will, O my God; Yea, thy law is within my heart."

"9. I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great assembly; Lo, I will not refrain my lips, O Jehovah, thou knowest. 10. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great assembly."

"11. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Jehovah; Let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. 12. For innumerable evils have compassed me about; Mine iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; And my heart hath failed me." (Psalms 40:7-12, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"7. Then I said, “Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll. 8. I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”"

"9. I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know. 10. I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great assembly."

"11. Don’t withhold your tender mercies from me, Yahweh. Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me. 12. For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head. My heart has failed me." (Psalms 40:7-12, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"7. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, 8. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. ^{within: Heb. in the midst of my bowels}"

"9. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. 10. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation."

"11. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. 12. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me. ^{falleth: Heb. forsaketh}" (Psalms 40:7-12, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"7. Then said I, 'Lo, I have come,' In the roll of the book it is written of me, 8. To do Thy pleasure, my God, I have delighted, And Thy law [is] within my heart."

"9. I have proclaimed tidings of righteousness In the great assembly, lo, my lips I restrain not, O Jehovah, Thou hast known. 10. Thy righteousness I have not concealed In the midst of my heart, Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation I have told, I have not hidden Thy kindness and Thy truth, To the great assembly."

"11. Thou, O Jehovah, restrainest not Thy mercies from me, Thy kindness and Thy truth do continually keep me. 12. For compassed me have evils innumerable, Overtaken me have mine iniquities, And I have not been able to see; They have been more than the hairs of my head, And my heart hath forsaken me." (Psalms 40:7-12, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: David
Audience: Israel in covenantal assembly worship
Location: Jerusalem temple liturgical tradition
Time period: Davidic monarchy

Theological reading

Psalm 40:9-10 is a Davidic basar-doxology in the personal-testimony register. The speaker has proclaimed glad tidings (bisarti tzedeq), announced God's righteousness in the great assembly, and refused to keep silent. The verses bundle five attributes of God that the psalmist announces: righteousness, faithfulness ([[H0530 - emunah|emunah]]), salvation (yeshuah), lovingkindness ([[H2617 - hesed|hesed]]), and truth ([[H0571 - emet|emet]]). The verb basar here names the public-liturgical act of proclaiming God's character to the worshipping community. The psalm's earlier verses (vv. 7-8), "Lo, I am come... I delight to do thy will", are deployed by Hebrews 10:5-7 (in the same context that culminates at Hebrews 10.38) as Christ's words in His incarnational obedience, which means the basar-doxology of vv. 9-10 carries a Christological resonance: the Messianic Servant proclaims God's righteousness in the great assembly.

Key words

H1319 - basar, basar, the verb to proclaim glad tidings; bisarti tzedeq
H0530 - emunah, emunah (v. 10)
H2617 - hesed, hesed (v. 10)
H0571 - emet, emet (v. 10)

Quoted in

H1319 - basar

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.