Most of us do not want to be sheep. But the psalm calls us one anyway. And the valley is where the language has to change.

In this letter

- Why our culture does not bless dependence — and why Psalm 23 cuts against that

- The structural hinge of the psalm in verse 4

- The Hebrew tsalmaveth — the valley of deep darkness, the place where you cannot see

- Why the third person becomes the second person in the valley

- The honest question — where are you still talking about God when you should be talking to Him?

- A pastoral word for the diagnosis, the phone call, the grief, the marriage that is breaking

Scripture

- Psalm 23:1-4

Hebrew word studies

- tsalmaveth (צַלְמָוֶת, Strong's H6757) — shadow of death,  ...