Psalms 68
1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song. God arises. His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee His presence.
God, arise and scatter your enemies, and cause those who hate you to run away from you.
2 As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.
Like [wind] blows smoke away, chase your enemies away. Like wax melts when it is near a fire, cause wicked people to (disappear/be destroyed).
3 But the righteous will be glad and rejoice before God; they will celebrate with joy.
But righteous people should be joyful; they should rejoice when they are in God’s presence; they should be happy, and be very joyful.
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to His name. Exalt Him who rides on the clouds — His name is the LORD— and rejoice before Him.
Sing to God; sing to praise him; sing a song (OR, make a road) for him who rides on the clouds; his name is Yahweh; be glad when you are in his presence.
5 A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in His holy habitation.
God, who lives in his sacred temple, is [like] [MET] a father to [those who are] orphans, and he is the one who protects widows.
6 God settles the lonely in families; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
For those who have no one to live with, he provides families [to live with]. He frees prisoners and enables them to be successful, but those who rebel [against him] will be forced to live in a very hot and dry land.
7 O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wasteland,
God, you led your people out [of Egypt], and then you marched with them through the desert.
8 the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain before God, the One on Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
After you did that, because when you, the God [worshiped by us] Israeli people, appeared to us at Sinai [Mountain], the earth shook, and rain poured down from the sky.
9 You sent abundant rain, O God; You refreshed Your weary inheritance.
You caused plenty of rain to fall [on your land], [and so] you enabled good crops to grow again on the land that you gave [to us Israelis].
10 Your flock settled therein; O God, from Your bounty You provided for the poor.
Your people built homes there; and because you were good to them, you provided [food] for those who were poor.
11 The Lord gives the command; a great company of women proclaim it:
The Lord gave a message, and many women took that message to other places.
12 “Kings and their armies flee in haste; she who waits at home divides the plunder.
[They proclaimed], “Many kings and their armies are running away [from our army]!” [When our army brought back to their homes] the things that they captured, the women who were at home divided up those things [among themselves and among their families].
13 Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove are covered with silver, and her feathers with shimmering gold.”
Even those women who were in the pens [taking care of] the sheep [received some of those things]; they got statues of doves whose wings were covered with silver and whose feathers were covered with pure yellow gold.
14 When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land, it was like the snow falling on Zalmon.
When Almighty [God] scattered the [enemy] kings [and their armies], [the number of weapons that they abandoned there] seemed like there had been a snowstorm on Zalmon (OR, a black) [Mountain].
15 A mountain of God is Mount Bashan; a mountain of many peaks is Mount Bashan.
There is a very high mountain in the Bashan [region], a mountain which has many peaks.
16 Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling, where the LORD will surely dwell forever.
But the [people who live near] that mountain should not [RHQ] envy those who live near [Zion], the mountain on which God chose to live! Yahweh will live there forever!
17 The chariots of God are tens of thousands— thousands of thousands are they; the Lord is in His sanctuary as He was at Sinai.
[After we defeated all our enemies], [it was as though] the Lord, surrounded by many thousands of strong chariots, descended from Sinai [Mountain] and came into the sacred temple [in Jerusalem].
18 You have ascended on high; You have led captives away. You have received gifts from men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.
He ascended the sacred mountain [where his temple is], and took with him many people who had been captured [in battles]; and received gifts from the enemies [whom he had defeated]. He received gifts even from those who had rebelled against him, and Yahweh our God will live there [in his sacred temple] forever.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation.
Praise the Lord, who [helps us] carry our heavy loads every day; he is the one who saves/rescues us.
20 Our God is a God of deliverance; the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.
Our God is the God who saves us; He is Yahweh, our Lord, the one who (allows us to escape/prevents us) from being killed [in battles].
21 Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies, the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways.
But God will smash the heads of his enemies, the skulls of those who continue to behave sinfully.
22 The Lord said, “I will retrieve them from Bashan, I will bring them up from the depths of the sea,
The Lord said, “I will bring back the [corpses of those who were killed in] Bashan, and I will bring back those who sank deep in the ocean [and drowned].
23 that your foot may be dipped in the blood of your foes— the tongues of your dogs in the same.”
I will do that in order that you may wash your feet in their blood, and your dogs can [also] lap up some of your enemies’ blood.”
24 They have seen Your procession, O God— the march of my God and King into the sanctuary.
God, many people see you march triumphantly into your sacred temple, [celebrating that you have defeated your enemies]. You [march like] a king does, and a large crowd walks with you.
25 The singers lead the way, the musicians follow after, among the maidens playing tambourines.
The singers are in front, and the people who play stringed instruments are at the rear, and young women who are beating their tambourines are between them.
26 Bless God in the great congregation; bless the LORD from the fountain of Israel.
[They are all singing], “You Israeli people, praise God when you gather together; praise Yahweh, all you who are descendants of Jacob!”
27 There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them, the princes of Judah in their company, the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
First come [the people of the tribe of] Benjamin, the smallest [tribe], and following them come the leaders of [the tribe of] Judah and their group, and following them come the leaders of [the tribes of] Zebulun and Naphtali.
28 Summon Your power, O God; show Your strength, O God, which You have exerted on our behalf.
God, show people that you are very powerful; show people the power with which you have helped us previously.
29 Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring You gifts.
Show that power from your temple in Jerusalem, where kings bring gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the beast in the reeds, the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations, until it submits, bringing bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war.
Rebuke [your enemies, such as those in Egypt who are like] wild hippopotamuses/animals that live in the reeds; and [powerful nations that are like] bulls that are among their calves [MET]; rebuke/trample them until they bow down and give you gifts of silver. Scatter the people who enjoy making wars.
31 Envoys will arrive from Egypt; Cush will stretch out her hands to God.
Then people will bring gifts of bronze (OR, of cloth) to you from Egypt; the people in Ethiopia will lift up their hands [to praise you].
32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord—
[You people who are citizens of] kingdoms/countries all over the world, sing to God! Sing praises to the Lord!
33 to Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old; behold, His mighty voice resounds.
Sing to the God, the one who rides across the sky, the sky that [he created] long ago. Listen as he shouts with a very powerful voice.
34 Ascribe the power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose strength is in the skies.
Proclaim that God is very powerful; he is the king that rules over Israel, and in the skies [he also shows that] he is powerful.
35 O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary; the God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!
God is awesome as he comes out of his sacred temple; he is the God whom [we] Israeli people [worship]. He makes [DOU] his people very powerful. Praise God!
