Psalm 16:2 NIV: I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

Psalm 16:2

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◄ Psalm 16:2 ►

New International Version (© 2011)
I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

King James Bible
O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

American Standard Version
O my soul , thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art my Lord: I have no good beyond thee.

Young's Literal Translation
Thou hast said to Jehovah, 'My Lord Thou art;' My good is not for thine own sake;

Psalm 16:2 Additional Translations
Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord - Thou hast said ליהוה layhovah to Jehovah, the supreme, self-existing, and eternal Being; Thou art my Lord, אדני אתה adonai attah, Thou art my prop, stay, or support. As the Messiah, or Son of God, Jesus derived his being and support from Jehovah; and the man Christ was supported by the eternal Divinity that dwelt within him, without which he could not have sustained the sufferings which he passed through, nor have made an atonement for the sin of the world; it is the suffering Messiah, or the Messiah in prospect of his sufferings, who here speaks.

My goodness extendeth not to thee - There are almost endless explanations of this clause; no man can read them without being confounded by them. The Septuagint read ὁτι των αγαθων μου ου χρειαν εχεις; Because thou dost not need my goods. The Vulgate follows the Septuagint. The Chaldee: My good is given only by thyself.

So the Syriac: My good is from thee. The Arabic: Thou dost not need my good works. And in this sense, with shades of difference, it has been understood by most commentators and critics.

Bishop Horsley translates, Thou art my good - not besides thee. Dr. Kennicott, My goodness is not without thee.

I think the words should be understood of what the Messiah was doing for men. My goodness, טובתי tobathi, "my bounty," is not to thee. What I am doing can add nothing to thy divinity; thou art not providing this astonishing sacrifice because thou canst derive any excellence from it: but this bounty extends to the saints - to all the spirits of just men made perfect, whose bodies are still in the earth; and to the excellent, אדירי addirey, "the noble or supereminent ones," those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. The saints and illustrious ones not only taste of my goodness, but enjoy my salvation. Perhaps angels themselves may be intended; they are not uninterested in the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord. They desire to look into these things; and the victories of the cross in the conversion of sinners cause joy among the angels of God.

The קדושים kedoshim, "saints," or consecrated persons, may refer to the first planters of Christianity, evangelists, apostles, etc., who were separated from all others, and consecrated to the great important work of preaching among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. With these was all the desire, חפץ chephets, the good will and delight of Christ. In all their ministrations he was both with them and in them.

The passage, taken as referring to David, intimates that he abhorred the company of the profane and worthless, and delighted to associate with them that excelled in virtue.

On these two verses the translation and paraphrase of my old Psalter must not be forgotten: -

Psalm 16:1 Conserva me, Domine, etc.

Trans. Kepe me Lord, for I hoped in the; I said til Lord, my God thou ert; for, of my gudes thu has na nede.

Par - The voice of Crist in his manhede; prayand til the fader, and sayand: Lord, fader, kepe me imang peplis, for I hoped in the, noght in me. I said til the, my God, thu ert in that, that I am man; for thu has no nede of my godes; bot I haf of the, al that I haf; here is the wil pride of men confounded; that evenes that thai haf ought of tham self bot syn.

Psalm 16:2 Sanctis qui sunt in terra, etc.

Trans. Til halowes the qwilk er his land, he selcouthed all my willes in tham.

Par - Noght til wiked, bot til halows clene in saule, and depertid fra erdly bysynes, the qwilk er in his land: that es, that haf fested thair hope in the land of heven; and rotyd in luf: the qwilk hope es als anker in stremys of this werld. He selcouthed al my willes, that of wonderful, he made my willes, of dying and rysing, sett and fulfilled in tham: that es, in thair profete, qware in that feled qwat it profeted tham my mekenes that wild dye, and my myght to rise.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

thou hast

Psalm 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth! who have set your glory above the heavens.

Psalm 27:8 When you said, Seek you my face; my heart said to you, Your face, LORD, will I seek.

Psalm 31:14 But I trusted in you, O LORD: I said, You are my God.

Psalm 89:26 He shall cry to me, You are my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

Psalm 91:2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Isaiah 26:13 O LORD our God, other lords beside you have had dominion over us: but by you only will we make mention of your name.

Isaiah 44:5 One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob...

Zechariah 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried...

John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said to him, My LORD and my God.

my goodness