Like many psalms, Psalm 23 is used in both Jewish and Christian liturgies. It has often been set to music.
Haredi educator
Tziporah Heller referred to it as perhaps the best-known of the psalms due to "its universal message of trust in God, and its simplicity."[6]
Text
Hebrew
The following table shows the Hebrew text[7][8] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the
JPS 1917 translation (now in the
public domain).
A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Interpretation of themes
The theme of God as a shepherd was common in ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. For example,
King Hammurabi, in the conclusion to
his famous legal code, wrote: "I am the shepherd who brings well-being and abundant prosperity; my rule is just.... so that the strong might not oppress the weak, and that even the orphan and the widow might be treated with justice."[10] This imagery and language were well known to the community that created the Psalm and was easily imported into its worship.
Psalm 23 portrays God as a good
shepherd, feeding (verse 1) and leading (verse 3) his flock. The "rod and staff" (verse 4) are also the implements of a shepherd. Some commentators see the shepherd imagery pervading the entire psalm. It is known that the shepherd is to know each sheep by name,[citation needed] thus when God is given the analogy of a shepherd, he is not only a protector but also the caretaker. God, as the caretaker, leads the sheep to green pastures (verse 2) and still waters (verse 2) because he knows that each of his sheep must be personally led to be fed. Thus, without its shepherd, the sheep would die either by a predator or of starvation, since sheep are known for their helplessness without their shepherd.
J. Douglas MacMillan argues that verse 5 ("Thou preparest a table before me") refers to the "old oriental shepherding practice" of using little raised tables to feed sheep.[11]: 78 Similarly, "Thou anointest my head with oil" may refer to an ancient form of
backliner – the oil is poured on wounds, and repels flies. MacMillan also notes that verse 6 ("Goodness and mercy shall follow me") reminds him of two loyal
sheepdogs coming behind the flock.[11]: 82
The header or first verse of the Psalm ascribes authorship to
King David, said in the
Hebrew Scriptures to have been a field shepherd himself as a youth. However, some scholars do not agree with this attributed authorship and hypothesize various other possibilities, commonly dating it to the
post-exilic period.[12]
Taken together, Psalms
22, 23, and
24 are seen by some as shepherd psalms, where the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep as a suffering servant and king.[13]
For Christians, the image of God as a shepherd evokes connections not only with David but with
Jesus, described as the "
Good Shepherd" in the
Gospel of John. The phrase "the valley of the shadow of death" is often taken as an allusion to the eternal life given by Jesus.
The
Reformation inspired widespread efforts in western Europe to make biblical texts available in vernacular languages. One of the most popular early English versions was the
Geneva Bible (1557). The most widely recognized version of the psalm in English today is undoubtedly the one drawn from the
King James Bible (1611).
The psalm is a popular passage for memorization and is often used in sermons. Many phrases in the English translation of the psalm have become individually popular in their own right, in particular, “the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”,
much of verse 4, and “
my cup runneth over”.
Use in funerals
In the 20th century, Psalm 23 became particularly associated with funeral liturgies in the English-speaking world, and films with funeral scenes often depict a graveside recitation of the psalm.[19] Official liturgies of English-speaking churches were slow to adopt this practice. The Book of Common Prayer has only Psalms
39 and
90 in its Order for the Burial of the Dead, and in the
Episcopal Church in the
United States, Psalm 23 was not used for funerals until the
1928 revision of the prayer book.
One of the best known metrical versions of Psalm 23 is the Christian
hymn, "
The Lord's My Shepherd", a translation first published in the 1650
Scottish Psalter.[22] Although widely attributed to the English
ParliamentarianFrancis Rous, the text was the result of significant editing by a translating committee in the 1640s before publication.[23] The hymn is one of the most popular hymns amongst English-speaking congregations today, and it is traditionally sung to the
hymn tuneCrimond, generally attributed to
Jessie Seymour Irvine.[24][25] Other melodies, such as Brother James' Air or Amazing Grace, Belmont, Evan, Martyrdom, Orlington, and Wiltshire may also be used.[26]
^Together with
Psalm 43 and
Psalm 150 in an a capella setting for mixed chorus written in 1954. Dixon, Joan (1992). George Rochberg: A Bio-Bibliographic Guide to His Life and Works. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press, p. 175.