Psa 68 | ESV | STEP | To the choirmaster . A Psalm of David . A Song . God shall arise , his enemies shall be scattered ; and those who hate him shall flee before him!

Psalms 68

God Shall Scatter His Enemies

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

1 ^aGod shall arise, his enemies shall be ^bscattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As ^csmoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
^das wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But ^ethe righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
4 Sing to God, ^fsing praises to his name;
^glift up a song to him who ^hrides through ⁱthe deserts;
his name is ^jthe Lord;
exult before him!
5 ^kFather of the fatherless and ^lprotector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God ^msettles the solitary in a home;
he ⁿleads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but ^othe rebellious dwell in ^pa parched land.
7 O God, when you ^qwent out before your people,
^rwhen you marched through ^sthe wilderness, Selah
8 ^tthe earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 ^uRain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock ^{▼▼Or your congregation} found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you ^wprovided for the needy.
11 The Lord gives ^xthe word;
^ythe women who announce the news are a great host:
12 ^z“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home ^aadivide the spoil—
13 though you men lie among ^abthe sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on ^acZalmon.
15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked ^{▼▼Or hunch-backed; also verse 16} mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God ^aedesired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17 ^afThe chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 ^agYou ascended on high,
^ahleading a host of captives in your train
and ^aireceiving gifts among men,
even among ^ajthe rebellious, ^akthat the Lord God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily ^albears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
^amand to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 ^anBut God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back ^aofrom Bashan,
^apI will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may ^aqstrike your feet in their blood,
that ^arthe tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
24 Your procession is ^{▼▼Or has been} seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 ^atthe singers in front, ^authe musicians last,
between them ^avvirgins playing tambourines:
26 ^aw“Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you ^{▼▼The Hebrew for you is plural here} who are of ^ayIsrael’s fountain!”
27 There is ^azBenjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of ^baZebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 ^bbSummon your power, O God, ^{▼▼By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power}
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall ^bdbear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke ^bethe beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of ^bfbulls with the calves of the peoples.
^bgTrample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain}
31 Nobles shall come from ^biEgypt;
^bjCush shall hasten to ^bkstretch out her hands to God.
32 ^blO kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 to him ^bmwho rides in ^bnthe heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he ^bosends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 ^bpAscribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose ^bqpower is in ^brthe skies.
35 ^bsAwesome is God from his ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew your} ^busanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives ^bvpower and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!