[Steven Avery]

Hi Folks,

Remember how John H. Eaton discussed the "main Hebrew tradition" .

"But we may rather follow the main Hebrew tradition: "Thou O Lord shalt keep them (i.e. watch over the words to fulfill them, Jer. 1:12)" (Torch Bible Commentaries, 1967).

Having discussed the Rashi commentary, I would like to look at a couple of more recent Jewish translations of Psalm 12. More from the religious Jewish publications as the less religious tends to simply follow modern scholarship ideas.

These two recent publications of Psalms will give an idea of the translations. First:

Psalm 12:6-7 (KJB)
The words of the LORD are pure words:
as silver tried in a furnace of earth,
purified seven times.
Thou shalt keep them, O LORD,
thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

Next the Hebrew traditional understanding expressed in recent translation.

http://books.google.com/books?id=TXKbHVSAy60C
Tehillim: Eis ratzon : a time of favor - translated Yaakov Yosef Iskowitz, 2004

The words of the Eternal are pure words;
like purified silver, revealed to the world,
refined seven times.
You, O Eternal, will guard them;
You will protect them from a generation such as this, forever.

http://www.chabad.org/library/articl...Chapter-12.htm
Tehilllim Ohel Yoseph Yitzchok -Y.B. Marcus, Nissen Mangel and Eliyahu Touger (1994)

The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in the finest earthen crucible,
purified seven times.
May You, O Lord, watch over them;
may You forever guard them from this generation,
[in which] the wicked walk on every side;
when they are exalted it is a disgrace to mankind.

In both cases it is easy to see that the flow of the verses, the simple and clear meaning, is the watching, guarding, protecting of the words of the LORD.

Here is another, on the web.

http://www.freewebs.com/jewish-spiri...l/Tehillim.pdf
In The Morning: Selected Psalms translated by Yaacov Dovid Shulman

The words of God
Are pure words.
They are silver refined
From a caldron onto the ground
And filtered seven times.
You, God, guard them.
Keep them from this generation
Constantly,
From the evil-doers who prowl in a circle,
When depravity is exalted amidst all men.

Shalom,
Steven