Psalms 68
1 “For the leader of the music. A psalm of David.” Let God arise, and his enemies are scattered, And they who hate him flee before him!
God, arise and scatter your enemies, and cause those who hate you to run away from you.
2 As smoke is dispersed, so thou dispersest them; As wax melteth before the fire, So perish the wicked before the face 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 are glad and rejoice in his presence, Yea, they exult exceedingly.
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 unto God; sing praises to his name! Prepare a way for him who rideth through the desert! Jehovah is his name; be joyful in his presence!
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 The father of the fatherless, and the protector of the widow, 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 causeth the forsaken to dwell in houses; He leadeth forth to prosperity them that are bound; But the rebellious shall dwell in a barren 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 thou didst go before thy people, When thou didst march through the wilderness. (Pause)
God, you led your people out [of Egypt], and then you marched with them through the desert.
8 The earth quaked, and the heavens dropped at the presence of God; This Sinai trembled at the presence of 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 Thou, O God! didst send a plentiful rain; Thou didst strengthen thy wearied 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 Thy people established themselves in the land; Thou, O God! in thy goodness, didst prepare it for the needy!
Your people built homes there; and because you were good to them, you provided [food] for those who were poor.
11 The Lord gave the song of victory Of the maidens publishing glad tidings to the mighty host.
The Lord gave a message, and many women took that message to other places.
12 “The kings with their armies have fled, —have fled! And the matron at home divideth the spoil.
[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 Truly ye may repose yourselves in the stalls, Like the wings of a dove covered with silver, And her feathers with shining 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 Most High destroyed the kings in the land, It was white [[with their bones]] like Salmon.
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 Ye lofty hills, ye hills of Bashan, Ye many-topped hills, ye hills of Bashan,
There is a very high mountain in the Bashan [region], a mountain which has many peaks.
16 Why frown ye, ye many-topped hills, At the hill in which God is pleased to dwell, In which Jehovah will dwell for ever?
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 myriads, yea, thousands of thousands; The Lord is in the midst of them, as upon Sinai, in the sanctuary.
[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 Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captive the vanquished, Thou hast received gifts among men, Even the rebellious, that here thou mightst dwell, O LORD God!
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 Praised be the Lord daily! When we are heavy-laden, the Mighty One is our help.
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 salvation; From the Lord Jehovah cometh deliverance 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 But God smiteth the head of his enemies, Even the hairy crowns of those who go on in their iniquity.
But God will smash the heads of his enemies, the skulls of those who continue to behave sinfully.
22 “I will bring them back,” saith the Lord, “from Bashan; I will bring them back from the deep 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 thy foot may be dipped in their blood, That thy dogs may drink the blood of thine enemies.”
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 We have seen thy procession, O God! The procession of my God, my king, to his 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 go before, the minstrels follow, Amidst damsels playing on timbrels.
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 Praise ye God in your assemblies; Praise the Lord, all ye 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 Here is Benjamin, the youngest, and his leaders; The chiefs of Judah, and their band; The chiefs of Zebulon, and the chiefs 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 Thy God has ordained thy strength, [[O Israel!]] Show forth thy might, O God! thou who hast wrought for us!
God, show people that you are very powerful; show people the power with which you have helped us previously.
29 Because of thy temple in Jerusalem Shall kings bring presents to thee.
Show that power from your temple in Jerusalem, where kings bring gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, The multitude of bulls with the calves of the nations, So that they shall cast themselves down with masses of silver; Scatter thou the nations that 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 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall haste with outstretched 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 Ye kingdoms of the earth, sing unto God; Sing praises to Jehovah;
[You people who are citizens of] kingdoms/countries all over the world, sing to God! Sing praises to the Lord!
33 To him who rideth upon the ancient heaven of heavens! Behold, he uttereth his voice, his mighty voice!
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 Give glory to God, Whose majesty is in Israel, and whose might is in the clouds!
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 Terrible art thou, O God! from thy sanctuary! The God of Israel giveth strength and power to his people. Praised 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!
