Psa 68 | NASB2020 | STEP | For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song. May God arise , may His enemies be scattered , And may those who hate Him flee from His presence .

Psalms 68

The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.

For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.

1 ^{▼▼Or God shall}May ^bGod arise, ^{▼▼Or His enemies shall}may His enemies be scattered,
And ^{▼▼Or those who hate Him shall}may those who hate Him flee from His presence.
2 As ^esmoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As ^fwax melts before a fire,
So the ^gwicked will perish before God.
3 But the ^hrighteous will be joyful; they will rejoice before God;
Yes, they will rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, ⁱsing praises to His name;
^{▼▼Or Prepare the way for Him
,} ^kExalt Him who ^lrides through the deserts,
Whose ^mname is ^{▼▼Heb Yah}the Lord, and be jubilant before Him.

5 A ^ofather of the fatherless and a ^pjudge ^{▼▼Lit of}for the widows,
Is God in His ^rholy dwelling.
6 God ^{▼▼Lit makes the solitary to dwell in a house
,} ^tmakes a home for the lonely;
He ^uleads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only ^vthe rebellious live in parched lands.

7 God, when You ^wwent forth before Your people,
When You ^xmarched through the desert, Selah
8 The ^yearth quaked;
The ^zheavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
^{▼▼Lit This is Sinai which
,} ^abSinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You ^acmade plentiful rain fall, God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was ^{▼▼Lit weary}parched.
10 Your creatures settled in it;
In Your kindness You ^aeprovided for the poor, God.

11 The Lord gives the ^{▼▼Lit word}command;
The ^agwomen who proclaim good news are a great army:
12 “ ^ahKings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will ^aidivide the spoils!”
13 ^{▼▼Lit If}When you lie down ^akamong the sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with ^{▼▼I.e., gold alloyed with silver}glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty ^amscattered the kings ^{▼▼Lit in it}there,
It was snowing in ^aoZalmon.

15 ^apThe mountain of Bashan is a ^{▼▼Or mighty mountain}mountain of God;
The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of many peaks.
16 Why do you look with envy, you mountains of many peaks,
At the mountain God has ^ardesired as His dwelling?
Indeed, ^asthe Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The ^atchariots of God are ^{▼▼Lit twice 10,000}myriads, ^avthousands upon thousands;
^{▼▼Another reading is The Lord came from Sinai into the sanctuary}The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18 You have ^axascended on high, You have ^ayled captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among people,
Even among the rebellious as well, that ^{▼▼Heb Yah}the Lord God may dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily ^babears our burden,
^bbThe God who is our salvation. Selah
20 God is to us a ^bcGod of salvation;
And ^bdto ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God the Lord belong ways of escape ^{▼▼I.e., in view of; lit for}from death.
21 God certainly will ^bgshatter the heads of His enemies,
The hairy ^{▼▼Lit skull}head of one who goes about in his guilt.
22 The Lord ^{▼▼Or says}said, “ ^bjI will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 So that ^{▼▼Some ancient versions render, you may bathe your foot in blood
,} ^blyour foot may shatter them in blood,
And the tongue of your ^bmdogs may have its portion from your enemies.”

24 They have seen ^bnYour procession, God,
The procession of my God, my King, ^{▼▼Or in holiness
,} ^bpinto the sanctuary.
25 The ^bqsingers went on, the musicians after them,
^{▼▼Or The maidens in the midst}In the midst of the ^bsyoung women beating tambourines.
26 ^btBless God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, you who are of the ^bufountain of Israel.
27 ^bvBenjamin, the ^{▼▼Or smallest}youngest, is there, ^{▼▼Or their ruler}ruling them,
The leaders of Judah in their company,
The leaders of ^byZebulun, the leaders of Naphtali.

28 ^{▼▼Some mss Command, God}Your God has ^cacommanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, God, You ^cbwho acted ^{▼▼Lit for us}in our behalf.
29 ^{▼▼Or From Your temple}Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
^ceKings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the ^cfanimals ^{▼▼Lit of}in the reeds,
The herd of ^chbulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling the pieces of silver;
He has ^ciscattered the peoples who delight in war.
31 ^{▼▼As in LXX; MT uncertain, possibly, Articles of bronze; or Articles of red cloth}Messengers will come from ^ckEgypt;
^{▼▼Or Ethiopia
,} ^cmCush will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

32 Sing to God, you ^cnkingdoms of the earth,
^coSing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 To Him who ^cprides upon the ^{▼▼Lit heaven of heavens of old
,} ^crhighest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, ^csHe ^{▼▼Lit gives forth}speaks with His voice, a ^cumighty voice.
34 ^cvAscribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel,
And ^cwHis strength is in the ^{▼▼Lit clouds}skies.
35 ^{▼▼Or Awesome is God from your sanctuary}God, You are ^czawesome from Your ^{▼▼Lit holy places}sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself ^dbgives strength and power to the people.
^dcBlessed be God!