Aesthetically Speaking

Do you ever find the Psalms to be repetitious? Devoid of interesting language?  There's a reason why.

We've lost the art in the Psalms.  Translators have given us prosaic, word for word adaptations of these fine works of art.  "To translate a poem, one must make a new poem" says Andrew Shead in his article Theology in Poetry: The Challenge of Translating the Psalms.  Shead introduces us to the possibility of "poetical equivalence" as opposed to "functional equivalence" when translating biblical poetry from Hebrew to English (or any language).

"... For the translation of a poem to be truly equivalent to the original, it is necessary to find not only linguistic equivalents to its works, but aesthetically equivalent 'extra-linguistic substances'. This does not mean simply replicating the poetic forms of the original, any more than we simply replicate the original vocabulary.  Once Hebrew words are replaced with English equivalents, the sounds and rhythms of the original are destroyed and must be replaced by forms in the receptor language that can stand as equivalents to the original forms by producing an 'equivalent' aesthetic effect.  When the aesthetic dimension of a poem is ignored by the translators, the result cannot be considered properly equivalent to the original.  And the unfortunate reality is that English Bibles render Hebrew poetry as if it were prose " (136).

Shead goes on to explain a brief history of the injustice done to Hebrew poems, following with a charge to explore and revive the artistic beauty of Hebrew poetry.  His vision for better Hebrew poems includes:

1. Equivalence of sounds (assonance, alliteration, wordplay, onomatopoeie, rhythmic echoes, etc.)
2. Equivalence of parallelism, enjambment and word order
3. Equivalence of vocabulary (use literary words, not just 'spoken' ones)
4. Equivalence of metre
5. Acrostics, refrains and other frames

He gives examples of poetic equivalence for Psalms 46, 93 and 111.

Shead concludes by saying "Translating poetry is not the same as translating prose, and even the most direct translations need to find ways of representing the aesthetic substance of the original if they are to remain faithful to it. . . For 'poetry is experience: a poet's experience made articulate in language hewn to engender experience in its hearer.' (pp. 156-157)

With all of the in mind, I read Psalm 112 yesterday morning and recognized it was an acrostic poem.  Far from plumbing the depths of the original Hebrew on this one, I used some time on the bus today to create a poem that at least salvages the alphabetical aspect of the psalm.  Oh, that you and I might be like the man (or woman) described in this psalm!

Among the blessed is he who fears the Lord
Bursting with joy at His commands
Champions are his children in the land
Doted upon will be the upright generation

Expensive possessions are in his house
Forever his righteousness endures
Glowing light rises in the darkness for the upright
He is gracious, merciful and righteous

It is well with the man who deals generously and lends
Justice marks all his affairs
Kicked off their path? Not the righteous, never.
Lastingly, he his remembered forever

Mayhem does not fray him.
Never shaken his heart, fully trusting in the Lord
Of steady heart, he will not be afraid
Prior to looking in triumph on his adversaries.

Quill to the check, he gives to the poor
Righteous his acts and life, living forever
Strength is his, exalted in honor
The wicked man sees it and is angry
Unmade, he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
Vanishing will be the wicked's desire.

(Poetical adjustments by Eric Twietmeyer)

(Quotes from Stirred by a Noble Theme, Andrew Shead, Ed, Inter-Varsity Press, 2013)

Reading the Psalms through Four Lenses

One of the reasons I love the Psalms is that I am usually able to relate to some emotion expressed in these prayers/lyrics.  Someone else has been in a tough position--and their difficulties resolve by trusting in God.  Or, someone has remembered what God has done and they rejoice.  The Psalms greatly help connect me to the steadfast love of God, bring me into his presence and help change my attitude.

As bible students, we are aware that there is more going on in the Psalms than just something to make us feel better.  I find John Woodhouses' article "Reading the Psalms as Christian Scripture"  helpful, encouraging me to think more deeply about these prayers and lyrics.  Woodhouse proposes four related levels of meaning or lenses through which we may look in reading the Psalms:

1. Through the lens of our experience--recognizing words that directly express our own experience of difficulties in life and our faith in God. But we will often notice that there are at least parts of a psalm that we cannot directly make our own.  They do not really ‘fit’ us.
2. Through the lens of history: “Often this will mean understanding a Psalm as David’s words or words about David, or words related in some way to David’s Kingdom.  But we will notice again that there are ways in which the psalm does not really ‘fit’ even David.  He never ruled the world.
3. Through the lens of Jesus: “As we listen to the psalm we may consider how the psalm ‘fits’ Jesus.  How does the psalm illuminate the news that ‘Jesus is the Christ’? In what ways does Jesus fulfill the psalm? In what ways does this fulfillment surpass the David we hear in the Psalms?
4. Through the lens of being united with Christ: “I consider the wonder that I belong to the Christ.  By faith I am united to him.  This will mean that I identify, not first of all with the ‘I’ of the Psalms, but the people who benefit from the deliverance of the Christ.  I am among those who are blessed because they take refuge in him.  

• In a secondary and derivative sense we may then find that we join in the words of the Christ.  Just as we know that the one who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11), so we find that we join in his words of trust in God, his words of longing for deliverance, his prayers for the overthrow of the enemies of the Lord and of his Christ, his joy in God’s salvation.  For his deliverance is our deliverance.

 (pp. 56-57, Stirred By a Noble Theme, Andrew Shead, ed.)