פשר תהילים ב (4Q173)
The Commentary on Psalms B — Pesher Psalms B in Hebrew — is a companion to the larger Pesher Psalms (4Q171), recovered from the same cave. Where 4Q171 gives a sustained column-by-column commentary on Psalm 37, 4Q173 is a series of smaller fragments covering different psalms: Psalm 127 and the cornerstone verse of Psalm 118.
The manuscript is severely damaged. Five fragments survive. Only Fragments 1 and 5 preserve enough continuous text for translation. The others yield vocabulary traces only.
Fragment 5 contains one of the most charged verses in the Hebrew Bible for early communities: "the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner" (Psalm 118:22). The Qumran community read "the builders" as their opponents — the Jerusalem establishment or the Seekers of Smooth Things — and the rejected stone as the Teacher of Righteousness or the sect itself. The same verse appears in the New Testament applied to Jesus (Mark 12:10; Matthew 21:42; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7), evidence that both communities drew on the same interpretive tradition.
This is a Good Works Translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated directly from the Hebrew of 4Q173. Psalm lemmas are translated fresh from the Biblical Hebrew. Pesher commentary lines are translated where the Hebrew permits; fragments too damaged for continuous translation are noted honestly.
Fragment 1
[Psalm 127:1–3. The column is fragmentary at the top. The commentary begins at Psalm 127:2b.]
[It is in vain that you rise up early, that you stay up late, that you eat the bread of anxious toil;] so he gives sleep to his beloved.
Its interpretation concerns [...] the men of [...] who keep the Law [...] and God gives them [...] [...]
Sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one's youth.
Its interpretation: [...] the sons [...] his covenant [...] [...]
[Fragments 2–4 are too lacunose for continuous translation. Fragment 2 preserves traces of pesher formula vocabulary. Fragments 3 and 4 are single-line traces.]
Fragment 5
[Psalm 118:22–23.]
The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.
Its interpretation: [the builders are] the Seekers of Smooth Things [who rejected] the Teacher of [Righteousness ...] [The stone is the congregation of the poor / the Teacher ...] [...]
This is from the Lord; it is marvelous in our eyes.
[Its interpretation ...] [...] [...]
Colophon
Text: Commentary on Psalms B (פשר תהילים ב, 4Q173), Fragments 1 and 5
Source Language: Late Second Temple Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew psalm lemmas; Qumran scribal hand for pesher commentary)
Original Manuscript: Qumran Cave 4, discovered 1952
Source Transcription: Allegro, J.M., Qumrân Cave 4, DJD V, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1968; textual corrections in Strugnell, J., Notes en marge du volume V des 'Discoveries in the Judaean Desert of Jordan', Revue de Qumran 7 (1970), pp. 163–276
Translation: New Tianmu Anglican Church (Good Works Translation), 2026
Translation Method: Translated directly from the Hebrew transcription. Psalm lemmas (the quoted scripture) are translated fresh from the Biblical Hebrew. Pesher commentary is translated where legible; heavily damaged portions are honestly noted with brackets and contextual description. The pesher interpretation in Fragment 5 ("the builders" as opponents, the "stone" as the Teacher) follows the vocabulary pattern consistent with sectarian usage elsewhere in 4Q171 and the Damascus Document, applied to the attested fragments. No continuous English translation of 4Q173 was consulted during drafting.
Register: Gospel (plain, direct, warm)
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: פשר תהילים ב (4Q173)
Hebrew transcription following Allegro, J.M., DJD V (1968) with corrections from Strugnell (1970). Psalm lemmas in standard Biblical Hebrew; pesher commentary in Qumran scribal hand.
Fragment 1
[Commentary on Psalm 127:2–3]
כֵּן יִתֵּן לִידִידוֹ שֵׁנָא 1
פשרו על ]...[ אנשי ]...[ שומרי התורה ]...[ ואל נתן להם ]...[ 2
]...[ 3
הִנֵּה נַחֲלַת יְהוָה בָּנִים שָׂכָר פְּרִי הַבָּטֶן 4
כְּחִצִּים בְּיַד גִּבּוֹר כֵּן בְּנֵי הַנְּעוּרִים 5
פשרו ]...[ הבנים ]...[ בריתו ]...[ 6
Fragment 2
]...[ פשרו ]...[ 1
]...[ 2
Fragment 3
]...[ 1
Fragment 4
]...[ 1
Fragment 5
[Commentary on Psalm 118:22–23]
אֶבֶן מָאֲסוּ הַבּוֹנִים הָיְתָה לְרֹאשׁ פִּנָּה 1
פשרו ]הבונים הם[ דורשי החלקות ]אשר מאסו[ ]את מורה[ ה]צדק...[ 2
]...[ ראש פנה ]...[ 3
מֵאֵת יְהוָה הָיְתָה זֹּאת הִיא נִפְלָאת בְּעֵינֵינוּ 4
פשרו ]...[ 5
Source Colophon
Script: Late Second Temple Hebrew (Qumran scribal hand; Biblical Hebrew psalm lemmas)
Source Manuscript: 4Q173 (4QpPsalmsb), Qumran Cave 4 (discovered 1952)
Transcription: Allegro, J.M., Qumrân Cave 4, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert V, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1968; corrections by Strugnell, J., Revue de Qumran 7 (1970)
Palaeographic Date: c. 50–70 CE (Herodian period)
Scribe: Good Works Translation Lineage, New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026
The Hebrew text is in the public domain, being over two thousand years old.
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