Help translating Psalm 37:4

[Paulsen]

First, a big thank you to everyone on here for your very honest and open discussions on scripture.

I am having some difficulty trying to make sense of my own translation of Psalm 37:4. Which is commonly translated "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

The two main questions I would like help with (especially from those of you who have Hebrew training or self-study) are below.

1.) The word translated "Delight" appears to be

וְהִתְעַנַּ֥ג
(ve·hit·'an·nag)

Which gives me an uncontextualized definition of "verb, to be soft, to be delicate, to be dainty" (dainty?)

I can not, for the life of me, figure out why this verb has been almost always translated as "Delight".

2.) English is often an ambiguous language. So I am trying to nail down the exact meaning of "He will give you the desires of your heart." In a study with my wife I couldn't tell her (yet) whether it meant

"He will give you in reality what you desire in your heart" meaning a promise to fulfill what you already wish for.

Or

"He will put desires in your heart" meaning that he will give you desires that you dont already have. Kind of a "create in me a clean heart, after yours" kind of situation.


Anyway this verse has big ramifications for me and I would love to work through it on here!

Any help is appreciated.

God bless and prosper all your families!

 

[Pacman]

"He will give you in reality what you desire in your heart" meaning a promise to fulfill what you already wish for.

Or

"He will put desires in your heart" meaning that he will give you desires that you dont already have. Kind of a "create in me a clean heart, after yours" kind of situation.

I do not have any Hebrew training but my opinion would be more in line with the second interpretation. Based on the context and the balance of scripture; including and imo most importantly:
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

 

[aineo]

1.) The word translated "Delight" appears to be

וְהִתְעַנַּ֥ג
(ve·hit·'an·nag)

Which gives me an uncontextualized definition of "verb, to be soft, to be delicate, to be dainty" (dainty?)

I can not, for the life of me, figure out why this verb has been almost always translated as "Delight".

I’m not a Hebrew scholar either, but I thought I’d share what my tools say.

CWSB defines this word as:
H6026. עָנַג ‘ānag̱: A verb meaning to be delicate, to take delight. It is used of being fastidious, pampering, feminine as a woman (Deut. 28:56; Jer. 6:2); of keeping oneself clean, neat. It is, however, used of taking delight and pleasure in God (Job 22:26; Isa. 55:2). It has the sense of making merry, jesting at someone (Isa. 58:14). It is used figuratively of taking delight in a restored Jerusalem (Isa. 66:11).

HALOT defines it as:
ענג‎: MHeb. pi. and JArm. pa. Sam. (Ben-H. Lit. Or. 2:556a) to enjoy oneself; CTA (Kuhn Konkordanz 167) hitp.; Arb. ġanija to make a fuss, II to pamper; Tigr. ʻanig beautiful (Littmann-H. Wb. 475a, only f(em).); ? Eth.G ʼaʻnūg sbst. pl., rings in the nose or ear (Dillmann 993).
pu: pt. מְעֻנָּגָה‎: weak, בַּת צִיּוֹן‎ Jr 62 : Rudolph Jer.3 42 cj. sbst. *מַעֲנָג‎ pleasure: הֲלִנְוֵה מַעֲנָג דָּֽמְתָה‎ so is it like a joyful meadow?). †
hitp: pf. הִתְעַנַּגְתֶּם‎, הִתְעַנְּגוּ‎; impf. נָֽג‎/תִּתְעַנַּג‎, תִּתְעַנָּֽגוּ‎; impv. הִתְעַנַּג‎ (Bergsträsser 2:99e); inf. הִתְעַנֵּג‎ (SamP. versions Dt 2856 מתענג‎ mittānnåg, also תענג‎ sbst.): 1. to pamper oneself (parallel with רֹךְ‎) Dt 2856; 2. to take one’s pleasure in: with בְּ‎ Is 552; with עַל‎ Ps 3711 עַל־רֹב שָׁלוֹם‎, in God Is 5814 Ps 374 Jb 2226 2710; 3. to refresh oneself (parallel with מצץ‎) Is 6611; 4. to make fun about, with עַל‎ Is 574. †
Der.עֹנֶג‎, עָנֹג‎, תַּעֲנוּג‎, cj. ? *מַעֲנָג‎.

And then the notes in the NET Bible say the following:
Then you will take delight in the Lord(a), and he will answer your prayers(b).

37:4 a tn Following the imperatives of v. 3 the prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) in v. 4 indicate result. Faith and obedience (v. 3) will bring divine blessing (v. 4).
37:4 b tn Or "and he will give you what you desire most." Heb "and he will grant to you the requests of your heart."

 

[Nikud]

Also it should be read in context. Palm 37 is about protection from evil and a place in His land.

4 Delight yourself in Adonai, and He will give you the requests of your heart.

5Commit your way to Adonai. Trust in Him, and He will do it.

6He will bring out your vindication as light, and your cause will shine as noonday.

7Be still before Adonai and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret over one prospering in his way, over one carrying out wicked schemes.

8Put away anger and turn from wrath. Do not fret—it only leads to doing evil.

9For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for Adonai— they will inherit the land.

10Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, you will look at his place, but he will not be there.

11But the humble will inherit the land, and delight in abundant shalom.

If you take delight in the Lord then your hearts request should be to be with Him. If you seperate yourself from the ways of the world and wait for Adonai (Yeshua Hamasiach to deliver salvation) you'll have a place in the kingdom

To often Paslms 37:4 is used to justify the prosperity Gospel or to tell people that G-d will give you anything you want.

 

[Paulsen]

All this has been very helpful so far. As I am sorting through it seems very clear that the meaning of the second part of the verse has to do with God creating in you correct desires and fulfilling them.

I am still confused about my first question. It seems the same verb can actually be translated either "to be dainty" or "to delight/rejoice". That seems crazy to me.

I have heard that professors of ancient Hebrew are flattered when someone from the general populace writes with a question. I may have to find a local professor and email my question about this verb weirdness. If I get a more specific answer i will post it here.