Psalms 68

1 To the Chief Musician. David’s. A Melody, a Song. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered, Yea let them that 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 driven about, Let them be driven about, —As wax is melted before a fire, Let the lawless perish before 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 let, the righteous, be glad, let them exult before God, Yea let them rejoice with gladness.

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 ye to God, Make music of his Name, —Lift up (a song), to him that rideth through the waste plains, —Since Yah is his name, exult ye 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 The father of the fatherless, And the advocate of 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, is he that causeth the solitary to dwell in a home, That bringeth out prisoners into prosperity, But, the rebellious, have made their habitation in a sunburnt 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 camest forth before thy people, When thou didst stride through the wilderness, (Selah)

God, you led your people out [of Egypt], and then you marched with them through the desert.

8 Earth, trembled, Yea, the heavens, dripped at the presence of God, —This Sinai—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 A bounteous rain, dost thou shed abroad, O God, upon thine inheritance, When exhausted, thou thyself, hast supported it:

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 living host, have remained therein, Thou dost provide, in thy bounty, for the humbled ones—O God!

Your people built homes there; and because you were good to them, you provided [food] for those who were poor.

11 Let, My Lord, but give the word, The herald bands, will be a mighty host:

The Lord gave a message, and many women took that message to other places.

12 Kings of armies, they flee! they flee! And, she that stayeth at home, shall share 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 Though ye rest between the folds, The wings of the dove, shall be covered with silver, And, her pinions, with green-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 scattereth kings therein, It will gleam like snow in the gloom:

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 mighty mountain, is the mountain of Bashan, A mountain of peaks, is the mountain of Bashan!—

There is a very high mountain in the Bashan [region], a mountain which has many peaks.

16 Wherefore start ye up, ye mountains, ye peaks? The mountain God hath coveted for his habitation, Surely, Yahweh will inhabit it 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 two myriads—thousands repeated, My Lord, is among them Sinai, is 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 in procession a body of captives, Thou hast received gifts consisting of men, Yea even the rebellious, That, Yah, Elohim, might settle down to rest.

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 My Lord! Day by day, he beareth our burden for us, GOD himself, is our salvation. (Selah)

Praise the Lord, who [helps us] carry our heavy loads every day; he is the one who saves/rescues us.

20 The GOD we have, is a GOD of saving deeds, And, due to Yahweh, My Lord, are escapes 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 Yea, God himself, will smite through the head of his foes, —The hairy crown of him that is marching on in his guilty deeds.

But God will smash the heads of his enemies, the skulls of those who continue to behave sinfully.

22 Said My Lord, From Bashan, will I bring back, —I will bring back 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 thou mayest bathe thy foot in blood, —The tongue of thy dogs, from the foes, hath its portion.

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 thy progress O God, The progress of my GOD, my 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 In front are the singers, Behind are the harpers, In the midst of 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 In the congregations, bless ye God, My Lord, from among the called 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 Diminutive—ruling them, The princes of Judah—their throng, The princes of Zebulun, The princes 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 hath commanded thy strength, —The strength, O God, which thou 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 above Jerusalem, Unto thee, shall kings bear along a gift—

Show that power from your temple in Jerusalem, where kings bring gifts to you.

30 Rebuke thou, The wild beast of the reeds, The herd of mighty oxen among the calves of the peoples—Each one bowing down with bars of silver, —Scatter thou the peoples, who in wars take delight.

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 Ambassadors come out of Egypt, The Ethiopian, eagerly stretcheth out his hands, unto 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, Praise in song Adonay. (Selah)

[You people who are citizens of] kingdoms/countries all over the world, sing to God! Sing praises to the Lord!

33 Unto him that rideth upon the most ancient heavens, Lo! he uttereth his voice, a voice of strength.

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 ye strength unto God, —Over Israel, is his majesty, And his strength, in the skies. To be revered is God, for his sanctuary, —

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 As for the GOD of Israel, he, is giving strength and abundant might to the 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!