Psalms

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Psalm 23

1 A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd,⁠ I lack nothing.⁠ 2 He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water.⁠ 3 He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. 4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me. 5 You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil;⁠ my cup is completely full. 6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 2:7 and Psalm 23:1

Hebrew Bible

Summary

In Deuteronomy, God tells Israel that they lacked nothing during the forty years in the wilderness. Psalm 23 uses the same Hebrew verb, but reshapes the metaphor to now describe a shepherd caring for a single sheep, not just the entire nation.

Passages

Deuteronomy 2:7

Hebrew Bible

5 Do not be hostile toward them, because I am not giving you any of their land, not even a footprint, for I have given Mount Seir as an inheritance for Esau. 6 You may purchase food to eat and water to drink from them. 7 All along the way I, the Lord your God, have blessed your every effort. I have been attentive to your travels through this great wilderness. These 40 years I have been with you; you have lacked nothing.’” 8 So we turned away from our relatives the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the route of the rift valley which comes up from Elat and Ezion Geber, and traveling the way of the wilderness of Moab.

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Psalm 23:1

Hebrew Bible

1 A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water. 3 He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation.

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

“... As a consequence of the fact that the Lord is his shepherd, the psalmist can say: “I shall not want.” Koehler’s translation (art. cit., 228–29) expresses clearly the consequence implicit in the construction: Solange weil Jahwä mein Hirte ist, leide ich keinen Mangel—viz., “so long as the Lord is my shepherd, I suffer no lack.” In general terms, the words reflect simply the shepherd’s provision. But more than that, they recall God’s provision for his people during the travels after the Exodus; see Deut 2:7, “you have not lacked a thing” (the same verb, [...], is used as in Ps 23). ...”

Peter C. Craigie, Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 1-50 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 206.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Deuteronomy 2:7 and Psalm 23:1

Summary

Passages

Deuteronomy 2:7

Psalm 23:1

References

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