Psalms 67
1May 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! ▼
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! ▼
6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us!
May God bless us! ▼
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.
For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.
7
Copyright information for
NETfull