Psa 2:1 | NETfull | STEP | Why do the nations rebel? Why are the countries devising plots that will fail?

Psalms 2:1

1 Why ^{▼▼ The question is rhetorical. Rather than seeking information, the psalmist expresses his outrage that the nations would have the audacity to rebel against God and his chosen king.} do the nations rebel? ^{▼▼ The Hebrew verb רָגַשׁ (ragash) occurs only here. In Dan 6:6, 11, 15 the Aramaic cognate verb describes several officials acting as a group. A Hebrew nominal derivative is used in Ps 55:14 of a crowd of people in the temple.}
Why ^{▼▼ The interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) is understood by ellipsis in the second line.} are the countries ^{▼▼ Or “peoples” (so many English versions).} devising ^{▼▼ The Hebrew imperfect form describes the rebellion as underway. The verb הָגָה (hagah), which means “to recite quietly, meditate,” here has the metonymic nuance “devise, plan, plot” (see Ps 38:12; Prov 24:2).} plots that will fail? ^{▼▼ Heb “devising emptiness.” The noun רִיק (riq, “emptiness”) may characterize their behavior as “worthless, morally bankrupt” but more likely refers to the outcome of their plots (i.e., failure). As the rest of the psalm emphasizes, their rebellion will fail.}