How to Translate the Verbs in Psalm 44

In an accompanying post I propose a model to explain how the verb conjugations function in Biblical Hebrew. Here I seek to put my money where my mouth is by applying the model to the translation of a psalm. I should stress that the model was developed and tested on prose, as only with prose are clause boundaries (usually) obvious, and furthermore poetry may override standard word orders for stylistic effect. Thus some of the analysis and translation below is tentative as it depends on assumptions as to clause boundaries and structure.

I chose Psalm 44 as it exhibits a good mix of clause-initial and non-clause-initial qatal and yiqtol verb forms, as well as frequent wayyiqtol. The accompanying gloss is stilted as I wanted to highlight the verbal semantics for each verse. The comments explain the resultant pragmatics and semantics, but you will need to read the post describing the verb model, and preferable the full paper to really get to grips with it.

The NIV translation uses a wide range of English tenses, largely in order to produce a flowing translation. Qatal forms are primarily translated with past or perfect tenses, but present tense is used a number of times, and not always to express a present state resulting from a completed action. More problematic is yiqtol which, as expected, largely has a simple present translation, but which is translated with past or perfect tenses for the five clause-initial verbs in verses 10-14. One could use a present tense for these, but this would considerably strain the connectedness of the psalm and the natural reading of the verses. Note that in my model, clause-initial forms do not map to tense-aspect, but modality, and the translator is therefore free to add the explicit tense required by English according to context.

The occurrences and co-occurrences of clause-initial and clause-non-initial qatal and yiqtol, and of wayyiqtol provide considerable information as to the structure of the psalm.

This is a psalm of national soul-searching; the nation is suffering: Where is God? Has he withdrawn from them because of sin? If so, how have they fallen short?

	Hebrew	Gloss	Comments
1	אֱלֹהִים בְּאָזְנֵינוּ שָׁמַעְנוּ אֲבוֺתֵינוּ סִפְּרוּ־לָנוּ פֹּעַל פָּעַלְתָּ בִימֵיהֶם בִּימֵי קֶדֶם	O God, with our own ears we heard, our own fathers told us [of the] work you worked in their day, in days long ago	A preamble of past events, all expressed with non-clause-initial qatal forms. The fronting of 'with our ears' makes it marked which I have expressed by adding 'own'.
2	אַתָּה יָדְךָ גּוֺיִם הוֺרַשְׁתָּ וַתִּטָּעֵם תָּרַע לְאֻמִּים וַתְּשַׁלְּחֵם	You, your hand, displaced the nations, and did you not plant them [i.e. our fathers]? [You] brought destruction on peoples and did you not make [our fathers] flourish?	Again a series of past events, but the alternation of non-clause-initial qatal with wayyiqtol asks for rhetorical confirmation, 'you did do this, didn't you?' [I take the second qatal to be non-clause-initial, with a duplicate of the initial 'you' ellipted from the clause].
3	כִּי לֹא בְחַרְבָּם יָרְשׁוּ אָרֶץ וּזְרוֺעָם לֹא־הוֺשִׁיעָה לָּמוֺ כִּי־יְמִינְךָ וּזְרוֺעֲךָ וְאוֺר פָּנֶיךָ כִּי רְצִיתָם	Indeed, it was not with swords that they inherited the land, and it was not their arms that saved them. Indeed it was your right hand and your arm and the light of your face. Indeed, you truly showed them favour.	The verse begins with two more non-clause initial qatal forms and the preamble as a whole is then summed up with a clause-initial qatal form asserting epistemic modality, 'you truly loved them'.
4	אַתָּה־הוּא מַלְכִּי אֱלֹהִים צַוֵּה יְשׁוּעוֺת יַעֲקֹב	You are my king, O God, command victories for Jacob.	The preamble in v.1-3 has established a foundation of indisputable truth, God has loved them in the past; this verse encapsulates their current need, using an imperative.
5	בְּךָ צָרֵינוּ נְנַגֵּחַ בְּשִׁמְךָ נָבוּס קָמֵינוּ	It is through you we scatter our enemies; it is in your name we trample our foes.	Verses 5-8 detail why they are looking to God to aid them; the two non-clause initial yiqtol forms describe habitual or ongoing situations.
6	כִּי לֹא בְקַשְׁתִּי אֶבְטָח וְחַרְבִּי לֹא תוֺשִׁיעֵנִי	Indeed it is not in my bow that I trust, and my sword does not save me.	Again, two more non-clause initial yiqtol forms to amplify what was said in the previous verse.
7	כִּי הוֺשַׁעְתָּנוּ מִצָּרֵינוּ וּמְשַׂנְאֵינוּ הֱבִישׁוֺתָ	Indeed, you truly save us from our enemies; you truly shame those who hate us.	This is the climax of this section, as indicated by the clause-initial qatal form to assert that it is God who saves, and possibly by the verse forming a chiasm, in which case the second qatal form should also be considered functionally clause-initial.
8	בֵּאלֹהִים הִלַּלְנוּ כָל־הַיּוֺם וְשִׁמְךָ לְעוֺלָם נוֺדֶה סֶלָה	It is in God that we boasted every day, and it is your name that we will praise for ever.	The section is rounded off by two clause non-initial verbs, one qatal and one yiqtol, to cover past, present and future. The 'Selah', whatever that was, indicates a physical break in the flow of the psalm as the mood changes completely.
9	אַף־זָנַחְתָּ וַתַּכְלִימֵנוּ וְלֹא־תֵצֵא בְּצִבְאוֺתֵינוּ	Moreover, you have rejected us and have you not humiliated us, and you don't go out with our armies.	The current experience of Israel/Judah is described by a non-clause initial qatal, a wayyiqtol to complement it, and then a non-clause initial yiqtol.
10	תְּשִׁיבֵנוּ אָחוֺר מִנִּי־צָר וּמְשַׂנְאֵינוּ שָׁסוּ לָמוֺ	Have you not made us turn back from our enemies? Those who hate us have plundered us.	Verses 10-15 present a series of specific complaints against God; they all make use of a clause-initial yiqtol to soften the accusation by making it challengeable. In the first three verses a non-clause-initial qatal follows.
11	תִּתְּנֵנוּ כְּצֹאן מַאֲכָל וּבַגּוֺיִם זֵרִיתָנוּ	Have you not given us over like sheep as food? And we have been scattered among the nations.
12	תִּמְכֹּר־עַמְּךָ בְלֹא־הוֺן וְלֹא־רִבִּיתָ בִּמְחִירֵיהֶם	Have you not sold your people without benefit? And you have not profited from their sale.
13	תְּשִׂימֵנוּ חֶרְפָּה לִשְׁכֵנֵינוּ לַעַג וָקֶלֶס לִסְבִיבוֺתֵינוּ	Have you not set us as a reproach to our neighbours, as scorn and derision to those around us?
14	תְּשִׂימֵנוּ מָשָׁל בַּגּוֺיִם מְנוֺד־רֹאשׁ בַּל־אֻמִּים	Have you not set us as a byword among the nations, a shaking of heads among the nations?
15	כָּל־הַיּוֺם כְּלִמָּתִי נֶגְדִּי וּבֹשֶׁת פָּנַי כִּסָּתְנִי	All day my humiliation is before me, and shame has covered my face,	We now move on the effects of this on the speaker, using a non-clause-initial qatal to describe the author's condition.
16	מִקּוֺל מְחָרֵף וּמְגַדֵּף מִפְּנֵי אוֺיֵב וּמִתְנַקֵּם	at the voice of the one reproaching and reviling in front of the enemy and the avenger.
17	כָּל־זֹאת בָּאַתְנוּ וְלֹא שְׁכַחֲנוּךָ וְלֹא־שִׁקַּרְנוּ בִּבְרִיתֶךָ	All this has come upon us, and we have not forgotten you or been false to your covenant	Three non-clause-initial qatal forms to widen the focus to the whole nation.
18	לֹא־נָסוֺג אָחוֺר לִבֵּנוּ וַתֵּט אֲשֻׁרֵינוּ מִנִּי אָרְחֶךָ	Our hearts did not turn back, and our steps did not turn from your paths, did they?	A wayyiqtol follows a non-clause-initial qatal for variety and to prepare for the climax of the description of Israel/Judah's condition.
19	כִּי דִכִּיתָנוּ בִּמְקוֺם תַּנִּים וַתְּכַס עָלֵינוּ בְצַלְמָוֶת	Indeed, you have truly crushed us in a haunt of jackals, and have you not covered us with the shadow of death?	A mini-climax signalled by a clause-initial qatal to assert the terrible reality of their condition, complemented by a wayyiqtol.
20	אִם־שָׁכַחְנוּ שֵׁם אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַנִּפְרֹשׂ כַּפֵּינוּ לְאֵל זָר	If we had truly forgotten the name of our God, would we not have spread out our hands to a foreign god?	A similar sequence, but with a conditional; the logic seems to be 'if in our hearts we had sinned, would it not be obvious in our actions?'
21	הֲלֹא אֱלֹהִים יַחֲקָר־זֹאת כִּי־הוּא יֹדֵעַ תַּעֲלֻמוֺת לֵב	Would not God search this out? Indeed, he is the one knowing the secrets of the heart.	A non-clause-initial yiqtol in a question expecting a positive answer.
22	כִּי־עָלֶיךָ הֹרַגְנוּ כָל־הַיּוֺם נֶחְשַׁבְנוּ כְּצֹאן טִבְחָה	Indeed, for you we are being killed every day, we are truly considered as sheep for slaughter.	A final assertion with a clause-initial qatal of the seriousness of their plight to finish the litany of complaints.
23	עוּרָה לָמָּה תִישַׁן אֲדֹנָי הָקִיצָה אַל־תִּזְנַח לָנֶצַח	Awake, why are you sleeping, Lord? Awake, may you not reject us for ever.	Two imperatives interspersed with a non-clause initial yiqtol and a negative jussive to introduce a series of pleas for God to respond and no longer be silent.
24	לָמָּה־פָנֶיךָ תַסְתִּיר תִּשְׁכַּח עָנְיֵנוּ וְלַחֲצֵנוּ	Why do you hide your face? You have forgotten our misery and oppression, haven't you?	A non-clause-initial yiqtol to describe their current experience, followed by a clause-initial yiqtol expressing real doubt as to God's continuing care.
25	כִּי שָׁחָה לֶעָפָר נַפְשֵׁנוּ דָּבְקָה לָאָרֶץ בִּטְנֵנוּ	Indeed, our souls are truly brought down to the dust. Our bellies truly cleave to the earth.	The psalm ends with double epistemic modal qatal forms emphasising their current desperate plight...
26	קוּמָה עֶזְרָתָה לָּנוּ וּפְדֵנוּ לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ	Rise, as a help for us, and redeem us for the sake of your loving-kindness.	... and two imperatives to implore God to help.