Old Testament

Psalm 68
Psalm 68
The Procession of God
For the choir director. By David. A psalm. A song.
Judgment on God's Enemies
1May God arise. May his enemies scatter.
May those who hate him flee from his presence.
2As smoke is blown away, may you blow them away.
As wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God.
Blessing on God's People
3But the righteous rejoice and celebrate in the presence of God.
They will be happy and joyful.
4Sing to God, make music to his name.
Lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts.[]
His name is the Lord.[] Celebrate before him.
5In his holy dwelling, God is a father for the fatherless
and a judge who defends widows.
6God causes the lonely to dwell together as a household.
He leads out the prisoners with music,
but the rebellious dwell in a scorched land.
God Brings His People into His Land
7God, when you went out in front of your people,
when you marched through the wasteland, Interlude
8the earth shook.
Yes, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, this one from Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9You dispersed plentiful showers, O God.
You strengthened your inheritance when it was weary.[]
10Your people settled in it.
In your goodness you provided for the oppressed, O God.
The Lord Defeats the Kings of the Land
11The Lord provided the message.
The women who proclaimed it were a great army:[]
12The “Kings with armies flee—they flee!”
The woman who stays home shares in the plunder.
13Even while you lie among the campfires,
the wings of a dove are sheathed with silver,
and its feathers with yellow gold.[]
14When the Almighty scattered the kings there,
it snowed on Zalmon.
The Lord Makes His Dwelling in Zion
15The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of God.
The mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks.[]
16O mountains with many peaks, why do you look jealously
at the mountain God desires for his home?
Indeed, the Lord will dwell there forever.
17The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands.
Among them the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.[]
18You ascended on high. You led captivity captive.
You received gifts among men,
so that even among the rebellious the Lord[] God might dwell.
God's Daily Care
19Blessed be the Lord.
Day by day he bears our burdens.
He is the God who saves us. Interlude
God's Future Victories
20Our God is a God who saves.
From God the Lord comes escape from death.
21Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the scalps of those who walk around in their guilt.
22The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan.
I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23so that you may stomp your foot in blood.
The tongues of your dogs get their share of the enemies' blood.”
God's Procession Into the Temple
24They see your processions, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25The singers lead the way.
After them come the musicians.
In the middle are virgins playing hand drums.
26In the assemblies bless God, the Lord,
who is the Fountain of Israel.[]
27There is little Benjamin, leading them.
The officers of Judah are their noisy crowd.
There are the officers of Zebulun and the officers of Naphtali.
Prayer for Future Victory
28Your God commands your strength.
Show strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
God Rules the Nations
29Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring tribute to you.
30Threaten the beast among the reeds,
the herd of strong bulls among the calves (that is, the peoples),
until they submit with bars of silver.[]
He scatters the peoples who delight in battles.
31Envoys[] will come from Egypt.
Cush[] will run to stretch out its hands to God.
32Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
Make music to the Lord, Interlude
33to him who rides in the highest heavens,
in the ancient heavens.
Yes, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34Proclaim God's strength.
His majesty is over Israel,
and his power is in the skies.
Closing Praise
35You are awesome, O God, from your sanctuary.
The God of Israel, he is the one
who gives power and strength to the people.
Blessed be God!

Footnotes

  • 68:4 A variant in the Targum is rides on the clouds.
  • 68:4 The Hebrew uses the short form Yah rather than the full form of the divine name, Yahweh, which is translate Lord.
  • 68:9 Or when they were weary. The land may be described as weary because of lack of rain, or it may be the people of the land who are weary.
  • 68:11 This seems to refer to the custom of women singing to greet victors returning from battle, as they did at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20) or when David returned from victory over Goliath (1 Samuel 18:6).
  • 68:13 The meaning is cryptic. The verses seem to refer to the division of plunder. The translation is relatively literal.
  • 68:15 The meaning of several words in these verses is uncertain.
  • 68:17 The Hebrew reads the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in holiness. The translation follows the parallel in Deuteronomy 33:2 and the sense of the psalm
  • 68:18 The Hebrew uses the short form Yah rather than Yahweh, the full form of the divine name.
  • 68:26 The grammar and syntax of the sentence are difficult.
  • 68:30 Verse 30 is cryptic. It seems to describe a threatening nation as a beast, a frequent picture in Scripture. The translation attempts to be literal.
  • 68:31 The meaning of this word is uncertain. It may refer to colored cloth or to metal vessels.
  • 68:31 The territory south of Egypt