‏ Psalms 92

Psalm 92 ▼
▼sn Psalm 92. The psalmist praises God because he defeats the wicked and vindicates his loyal followers.

A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.

1 It is fitting ▼
▼tn Or “good.”
 to thank the Lord,
and to sing praises to your name, O Most High. ▼
▼sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
2It is fitting ▼
▼tn The words “it is fitting” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Verses 1-3 are actually one long sentence in the Hebrew text, but this has been divided up into two shorter sentences in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.
 to proclaim your loyal love in the morning
and your faithfulness during the night,
3to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre,
to the accompaniment of the meditative tone of the harp.
4For you, O Lord, have made me happy by your work.
I will sing for joy because of what you have done. ▼
▼tn Heb “the works of your hands.”
5How great are your works, O Lord!
Your plans are very intricate! ▼
▼tn Heb “very deep [are] your thoughts.” God’s “thoughts” refer here to his moral design of the world, as outlined in vv. 6-15.
6The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this;
the fool does not understand this. ▼
▼tn Heb “the brutish man does not know, and the fool does not understand this.” The adjective בַּעַר (baʿar, “brutish”) refers to spiritual insensitivity, not mere lack of intelligence or reasoning ability (see Pss 49:10; 73:22; Prov 12:1; 30:2, as well as the use of the related verb in Ps 94:8).
7When the wicked sprout up like grass,
and all the evildoers glisten, ▼
▼tn Or “flourish.”
it is so that they may be annihilated. ▼
▼tn Heb “in order that they might be destroyed permanently.”
 ▼
▼sn God allows the wicked to prosper temporarily so that he might reveal his justice. When the wicked are annihilated, God demonstrates that wickedness does not pay off.
8But you, O Lord, reign ▼
▼tn Heb “[are elevated] on high.”
 forever.
9Indeed, ▼
▼tn Or “for.”
 look at your enemies, O Lord.
Indeed, ▼
▼tn Or “for.”
 look at how your enemies perish.
All the evildoers are scattered.
10You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. ▼
▼sn The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “to exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 89:24; Lam 2:17).
I am covered ▼
▼tn The Hebrew verb בָּלַל (balal) usually has the nuance “to mix.” Here it seems to mean “to smear” or “to anoint.” Some emend the form to בַּלֹּתַנִי (ballotani; a second person form of the verb with a first person suffix) and read, “you anoint me.”
 with fresh oil.
11I gloat in triumph over those who tried to ambush me; ▼
▼tn Heb “my eye gazes upon my walls.” See also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2. The form שׁוּרָי shuray, “my walls”) should be emended to שׁוֹרְרָי (shoreray, “my foes” or perhaps “those who rebel against me” or “those who malign me”). See HALOT 1454 s.v. שׁוֹרֵר and also Pss 5:8; 27:11; 56:2.
I hear the defeated cries of the evil foes who attacked me. ▼
▼tn Heb “those who rise up against me, evil [foes], my ears hear.”
12The godly ▼
▼tn The singular is used in a representative sense, with the typical godly person being in view.
 grow like a palm tree;
they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon. ▼
▼sn The cedars of the Lebanon forest were well-known in ancient Israel for their immense size.
13Planted in the Lord’s house,
they grow in the courts of our God.
14They bear fruit even when they are old;
they are filled with vitality and have many leaves. ▼
▼tn Heb “they are juicy and fresh.”
15So they proclaim that the Lord, my Protector,
is just and never unfair. ▼
▼tn Heb “so that [they] proclaim that upright [is] the Lord, my rocky summit, and there is no injustice in him.”
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