Psalm 43 is the 43rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, known in the English King James Version as "Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 42. In Latin, it is known as "Iudica me Deus". It is commonly attributed to the sons of Korah. In the Hebrew Bible, it comes within the second of the five books (divisions) of Psalms, also known as the "Elohistic Psalter" because the word YHWH is rarely used and God is generally referred to as "Elohim".Rodd, C. S., 18. Psalms in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary , p. 360
The psalm forms a regular part of Catholic liturgy.
Uses Catholic Church This psalm was traditionally recited or sung, following the Rule of St. Benedict of 530 AD, in the Office for the Lauds of Tuesday, following Psalm 50.
Traditionally, a priest would recite the psalm before he ascended the altar to celebrate Mass. In the Roman Rite, the traditional Tridentine Mass has the psalm said by the priest and altar servers in call-and-response format, as part of prayers at the foot of the altar which initiated the Mass of the Catechumens. It is not said at Requiem Masses and Masses in Passiontide, as the fifth Sunday in Lent instead has the psalm for its Introit. Recitation of this psalm at the start of Mass was discontinued in 1964, with the Instruction on Implementing Liturgical Norms, Inter Oecumenici.
In the present Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 43 is recited or sung at Lauds on the Tuesday of the second week in the four-week psalter.
Coptic Orthodox Church In the Agpeya, the Coptic Church's book of hours, this psalm is prayed in the office of Terce. It is also in the Prayer of the Veil, which is generally prayed only by monks.
Book of Common Prayer In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the eighth day of the month.Church of England, Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed by John Baskerville in 1762, pp. 196ff
Text The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions.A 1917 translation directly from Hebrew to English by the Jewish Publication Society can be found here or here, and an 1844 translation directly from the Septuagint by L. C. L. Brenton can be found here. Both translations are in the public domain. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 42. #HebrewEnglishGreek 1 Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. 2 For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. 4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Verse 1 Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!: New King James Version "An ungodly nation" comes from words literally meaning a nation without Chesed, meaning kindness or love between people. Alexander Kirkpatrick notes that the "deceitful and unjust man" may be the leader of this nation, who may have "distinguished himself by treachery and malignity", but "it is better to understand the words collectively as a further description of the 'inhuman nation' in general, men of deceit and malignity".Kirkpatrick, A. (1906), Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Psalm 43, accessed 8 November 2021
Latin translations
Clementine Vulgate
The Clementine Vulgate was officially adopted as part of the Roman Breviary in 1592. The complete psalm is used in dialogue form in the prayers at the foot of the altar, which almost always begin the Tridentine Mass.
Pian translation
The Pian psalter or Versio Piana was completed in 1945 and printed in most breviaries thereafter.
Nova Vulgata
The Nova Vulgata, a new translation from the Hebrew was completed in 1979 for liturgical use. It is the version used in the current typical edition of the Liturgia Horarum.
Stuttgart Vulgate
The Stuttgart Vulgate, completed in 1969, is a non-liturgical version translated for scholarly use.
Musical settings Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase in German, "Gott, führ mein Sach und richte mich", SWV 140, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628. Michel Richard Delalande wrote a grand motet (S.38) to this psalm in 1693. Charles-Hubert Gervais set a Grand motet Judica me Deus in 1723.
Notes
References
External links
in Hebrew and English – Mechon-mamre Text of Psalm 43 according to the 1928 Psalter United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Grant me justice, O God; defend me from a faithless people; from the deceitful and unjust rescue me.a text and footnotes, usccb.org Psalm 43:1 introduction and text, biblestudytools.com Psalm 43 – From Depression to a Procession of Praise enduringword.com Psalm 43 / Give judgement for me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people. Church of England Psalm 43 at biblegateway.com Hymns for Psalm 43 hymnary.org