Psalms 60
1 To the Chief Musician. Upon "The Lily of Testimony." A precious Psalm of David, to instruct. When he waged war with Aram-neharaim, and with Aram-zobah, —and then Joab returned and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt, twelve thousand. O God, thou hast rejected us—hast scattered us, Thou hast been angry, Wilt thou restore us?
[I prayed], “God, you have rejected us [Israelis]! Because you have been angry [with us], you have [enabled our enemies] to break through our ranks. [Please] enable us to be strong again!
2 Thou hast shaken the land—hast rent it, Heal thou the fractures thereof—for it hath tottered:
[When we were defeated, it was as though] [MET] there was a big earthquake in our land that caused the ground to split open. So now, [just as only you can] cause the cracks in the land to disappear, [help our army to be strong again], because [it is as though] our country is (falling apart/being destroyed).
3 Thou hast suffered thy people to see hardship, Thou hast let them drink the wine of confusion.
You have caused [us], your people, to suffer very much; [it is as though] you forced us to drink [strong] wine that caused us to stagger around [after we became drunk].
4 Thou hadst given—to them that revere thee—a banner, to float aloft, Because of [thy] faithfulness. (Selah)
But you have raised a battle flag for those who revere you in order that they can gather around it and not [be killed by the enemies’] arrows.
5 That thy beloved ones may be delivered, Save thou with thine own right hand—and answer us.
Answer our [prayers] and enable us by your power [MTY] to defeat [our enemies] in order that we, the people whom you love, will be saved.”
6 God, hath spoken in his holiness—I will exult! I will apportion Shechem, And, the Vale of Succoth, will I measure out;
[Then] God [answered my prayer and] spoke from his temple, saying, “Because I have conquered [your enemies], I will divide up [everything in] Shechem [city], and I will distribute it among my people [the land in] Succoth Valley.
7 Mine, is Gilead—and mine, Manasseh, But, Ephraim, is the defence, of my head, Judah, is my commander’s staff;
The Gilead [region] is mine; the [people of the tribe of] Manasseh are mine; [the tribe of] Ephraim is [like] my helmet [MET]; and [the tribe of] Judah is [like] the (scepter/stick [that I hold which shows that I am the ruler]) [MET];
8 Moab, is my wash-bowl, Upon Edom, will I throw my shoe, Over Philistia! raise shout of triumph.
but the Moab [region] is [like] my washbasin [MET]; I throw my sandal in the Edom [area to show that it belongs to me]; I shout triumphantly because I have defeated [the people of] the Philistia [area].”
9 Who will conduct me to a fortified city? Who will lead me as far as Edom!
[Because I want to defeat the people of] Edom, (who will lead my [army triumphantly] to their [capital] city that has strong walls around it?/I want someone to lead my [army triumphantly] to their [capital] city that has strong walls around it.)” [RHQ]
10 Is it not, thou, O God?—thou hast rejected us! And wilt thou not go forth, O God, with our hosts?
So, God, we [desire/hope that] [RHQ] you have not truly abandoned us, and that you will go with us when our armies march out [to fight our enemies].
11 Grant us help out of distress, For, vain, is the deliverance of man:
[We need you to] help us when we fight against our enemies, because the help that humans can give us is worthless.
12 In God, we shall do valiantly, He himself, therefore, will tread down our adversaries.
But with you [helping us], we shall win; you will enable us to defeat our enemies.
