Persecute

As we are studying the life of David over the next couple weeks on Sunday night with the students, they are memorizing Psalm 23.  In light of that, they have a challenge set up for them:  they learn it, and I will recite it in Hebrew for them.

Now Psalm 23 is one of my favorite psalms, probably second only to Psalms 27 and 89.  But I will be honest, it has been a long time since I did a study of it!  Truth be told, I am fairly certain it with in Hebrew class with Dr. Crutchfield at Columbia International University when the oral recitation of Psalm 23 was part of our final.  And in pulling out my Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, (or BHS, from here on out) to review the passage, I stumbled across a root verb I'd forgotten was in in the passage.  Radaph:  to persecute, pursue, chase down

I know, I know... none of those words appear in our version of this psalm.  In my opinion, the English translators didn't do verse six justice.  Our Bibles read it as "Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life..."  Very nice, sweet, flowery, and tame.  It doesn't communicate the original connotation of persecution or pursuing, normally of a hostile intent.  Maybe we don't like the thought of God chasing us down like a army pursues a retreating enemy, but there it is, plain as day.

Like so many out there, I struggle with my view of God as anything other than an angry dictator waiting to punish me for any wrong move.  Was it my childhood?  Perhaps.  However, I tend to blame my perfectionist nature, and I am often my own worst enemy.  Maybe that is why I love the literal translation of this verse.  Goodness and lovingkindness don't merely meander along behind me throughout my life.  No, instead God sends goodness to persecute me, lovingkindness to pursue me,  mercy to hunt me down.  Like a wolf goes after a helpless lamb, my Good Shepherd is on pursuit.