Be wise now therefore, O you leaders. Be instructed you judges of the earth. Celebrate the guide with awe and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the child, but not in anger lest you perish from the way when wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in thee.
Text Notes
- Where the KJV translates YHWH as "Lord", in the K-JIV we often read "Guide". The 1611KJV rendered a personal Hebrew name by an Anglo Saxon title of nobility. In Psalms for Meditation, "guide" or related nouns are at least as accurate a translation of YHWH as "Lord".
- Here, the K-JIV has "celebrate" rather than the KJV "serve".
- "Trembling" may also be "quaking".
- The phrase "Kiss the child, but not in anger" is unclear in Hebrew. Several possible renderings.
Reflection
In meditation, I look inward to the guide, divine love within. Out of this sense of God, celebration and awe overwhelm me. And I find myself quaking! Kissing and anger? Can they go together? More questions to sit with. One thing seems sure: anger (though sometimes appropriate) can lead eventually to "perishing on the way". A better, blessed, way seems to be that of trust.
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