Psa 66-67 | NETfull | STEP | Shout out praise to God, all the earth!

Psalms 66

1 Shout out praise to God, all the earth!
2 Sing praises about the majesty of his reputation! ^{▼▼ Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.}
Give him the honor he deserves! ^{▼▼ Heb “make honorable his praise.”}
3 Say to God:
“How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear ^{▼▼ See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).} before you.
4 All the earth worships ^{▼▼ Or “bows down to.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are taken (1) as imperfects expressing what is typical. Another option (2) is to interpret them as anticipatory (“all the earth will worship you”) or (3) take them as jussives, expressing a prayer or wish (“may all the earth worship you”).} you
and sings praises to you!
They sing praises to your name!” (Selah)
5 Come and witness ^{▼▼ Or “see.”} God’s exploits! ^{▼▼ Or “acts” (see Ps 46:8).}
His acts on behalf of people are awesome! ^{▼▼ Heb “awesome [is] an act toward the sons of man.” It is unclear how the prepositional phrase relates to what precedes. If collocated with “act,” it may mean “on behalf of” or “toward.” If taken with “awesome” (see 1 Chr 16:25; Pss 89:7; 96:4; Zeph 2:11), one might translate “his awesome acts are beyond human comprehension” or “his awesome acts are superior to anything men can do.”}
6 He turned the sea into dry land; ^{▼▼ He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).}
they passed through the river on foot. ^{▼▼ Because of the reference to “the river,” some understand this as an allusion to Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. However, the Hebrew term נָהָר (nahad) does not always refer to a “river” in the technical sense; it can be used of sea currents (see Jonah 2:4). So this line may also refer to the Red Sea crossing (cf. NEB).}
Let us rejoice in him there! ^{▼▼ The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).}
7 He rules ^{▼▼ Heb “[the] one who rules.”} by his power forever;
he watches ^{▼▼ Heb “his eyes watch.” “Eyes” are an anthropomorphism, attributed to God here to emphasize his awareness of all that happens on earth.} the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt ^{▼▼ The verb form is jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al). The Kethib (consonantal text) has a Hiphil form of the verb, apparently to be understood in an exhibitive sense (“demonstrate stubborn rebellion”; see BDB 927 s.v. רוּם Hiph), while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Qal form, to be understood in an intransitive sense. The preposition -לְ (lamed) with pronominal suffix should be understood in a reflexive sense (“for themselves”) and indicates that the action is performed with the interest of the subject in mind.} themselves. (Selah)
8 Praise ^{▼▼ Heb “bless,” in the sense of declaring “God to be the source of…special power” (see HALOT 160 s.v. II ברך pi).} our God, you nations!
Loudly proclaim his praise! ^{▼▼ Heb “cause the voice of his praise to be heard.”}
9 He preserves our lives ^{▼▼ Heb “the one who places our soul in life.”}
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For ^{▼▼ Or “indeed.”} you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
11 You led us into a trap; ^{▼▼ Heb “you brought us into a net.” This rare word for “net” also occurs in Ezek 12:13; 13:21; 17:20.}
you caused us to suffer. ^{▼▼ Heb “you placed suffering on our hips.” The noun מוּעָקָה (mu’aqah, “suffering”) occurs only here in the OT.}
12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place. ^{▼▼ The MT reads רְוָיָה (“saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (r^evakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).}
13 I will enter ^{▼▼ Here the psalmist switches to the singular; he speaks as the representative of the nation.} your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
14 which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God! ^{▼▼ Heb “all of the fearers of God.”}
I will declare what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him for help ^{▼▼ Heb “to him [with] my mouth I called.”}
and praised him with my tongue. ^{▼▼ Heb “and he was extolled under my tongue.” The form רוֹמַם (romam) appears to be a polal (passive) participle from רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), but many prefer to read רוֹמָם, “high praise [was under my tongue]” (cf. NEB). See BDB 928 s.v. רוֹמָם.}
18 If I had harbored sin in my heart, ^{▼▼ Heb “sin if I had seen in my heart.”}
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
God deserves praise, ^{▼▼ Heb “blessed [be] God.”}
for ^{▼▼ Or “who.” In a blessing formula after בָּרוּךְ (barukh, “blessed be”) the form אֲשֶׁר (’asher), whether taken as a relative pronoun or causal particle, introduces the basis for the blessing/praise.} he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me! ^{▼▼ Heb “did not turn aside my prayer and his loyal love with me.”}

Psalm 67

^{▼▼ Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.}

For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.

Psalms 67

1 May God show us his favor ^{▼▼ Or “have mercy on us.”} and bless us! ^{▼▼ The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (ya’er) in the next line.}
May he smile on us! ^{▼▼ Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”} (Selah)
2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;
all nations will know how you deliver your people. ^{▼▼ Heb “to know in the earth your way, among all nations your deliverance.” The infinitive with -לְ (lamed) expresses purpose/result. When God demonstrates his favor to his people, all nations will recognize his character as a God who delivers. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) refers here to God’s characteristic behavior, more specifically, to the way he typically saves his people.}
3 Let the nations thank you, O God!
Let all the nations thank you! ^{▼▼ Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in vv. 3–4a are understood as jussives in this call to praise.}
4 Let foreigners ^{▼▼ Or “peoples.”} rejoice and celebrate!
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth. ^{▼▼ Heb “for you judge nations fairly, and [as for the] peoples in the earth, you lead them.” The imperfects are translated with the present tense because the statement is understood as a generalization about God’s providential control of the world. Another option is to understand the statement as anticipating God’s future rule (“for you will rule…and govern”).} (Selah)
5 Let the nations thank you, O God!
Let all the nations thank you! ^{▼▼ Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 5 are understood as jussives in this call to praise.}
6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us!
May God bless us! ^{▼▼ The prefixed verb forms in vv. 6b–7a are understood as jussives.}
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves. ^{▼▼ Heb “will fear him.” After the jussive of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive is understood as indicating purpose/result. (Note how v. 3 anticipates the universal impact of God showing his people blessing.) Another option is to take the verb as a jussive and translate, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him.”}

Psalm 68

^{▼▼ Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.}

Psalms 66

Psalm 67

For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.

Psalms 67

Psalm 68

For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.