Psalms 68
1 God, arise and scatter your enemies, and cause those who hate you to run away from you.
TO THE OVERSEER. A PSALM. A SONG OF DAVID. God rises [and] His enemies are scattered! And those hating Him flee from His face.
2 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).
You drive them away as the driving away of smoke, As the melting of wax before fire, The wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But righteous people should be joyful; they should rejoice when they are in God’s presence; they should be happy, and be very joyful.
And the righteous rejoice, they exult before God, And they rejoice with gladness.
4 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.
Sing to God—praise His Name, Raise up a highway for Him who is riding in deserts, In YAH [is] His Name, and exult before Him.
5 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.
Father of the fatherless, and judge of the widows, [Is] God in His holy habitation.
6 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.
God—causing the lonely to dwell at home, Bringing out bound ones into prosperity, Only—the stubborn have inhabited a dry place.
7 God, you led your people out [of Egypt], and then you marched with them through the desert.
O God, in Your going forth before Your people, In Your stepping through the wilderness, (Selah)
8 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.
The earth has shaken, Indeed, the heavens have dropped before God, This Sinai—before God, the God of Israel.
9 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].
You shake out a shower of free-will gifts, O God. Your inheritance, when it has been weary, You have established it.
10 Your people built homes there; and because you were good to them, you provided [food] for those who were poor.
Your creature has dwelt in it, You prepare for the poor in Your goodness, O God.
11 The Lord gave a message, and many women took that message to other places.
The Lord gives the saying, The female proclaimers [are] a numerous host.
12 [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].
Kings of hosts utterly flee away, And a female inhabitant of the house apportions spoil.
13 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.
Though you lie between two boundaries, Wings of a dove covered with silver, And her pinions with yellow gold.
14 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].
When the Mighty spreads kings in it, it snows in Salmon.
15 There is a very high mountain in the Bashan [region], a mountain which has many peaks.
A hill of God [is] the hill of Bashan, A hill of heights [is] the hill of Bashan.
16 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!
Why do you envy, O high hills, The hill God has desired for His seat? YHWH also dwells forever.
17 [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].
The chariots of God [are] myriads, thousands of changes, The Lord [is] among them, in Sinai, in the sanctuary.
18 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.
You have ascended on high, You have taken captivity captive, You have taken gifts for men, That even the stubborn may rest, O YAH God.
19 Praise the Lord, who [helps us] carry our heavy loads every day; he is the one who saves/rescues us.
Blessed [is] the Lord, day by day He lays on us. God Himself [is] our salvation. (Selah)
20 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].
God Himself [is] to us a God for deliverances, And YHWH Lord has the outgoings of death.
21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies, the skulls of those who continue to behave sinfully.
Only—God strikes The head of His enemies, The hairy crown of a habitual walker in his guilt.
22 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].
The Lord said: “From Bashan I bring back, I bring back from the depths of the sea.
23 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.”
So that you dash your foot In the blood of enemies—the tongue of Your dogs.”
24 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.
They have seen Your goings, O God, Goings of my God, my king, in the sanctuary.
25 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.
Singers have been before, Behind [are] players on instruments, Virgins playing with timbrels in the midst.
26 [They are all singing], “You Israeli people, praise God when you gather together; praise Yahweh, all you who are descendants of Jacob!”
In assemblies bless God, The Lord—from the fountain of Israel.
27 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.
There [is] little Benjamin, their ruler, Heads of Judah their defense, Heads of Zebulun—heads of Naphtali.
28 God, show people that you are very powerful; show people the power with which you have helped us previously.
Your God has commanded your strength, Be strong, O God, You have worked this for us.
29 Show that power from your temple in Jerusalem, where kings bring gifts to you.
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem, Kings bring a present to You.
30 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.
Rebuke a beast of the reeds, a herd of bulls, With calves of the peoples, Each humbling himself with pieces of silver, You scatter peoples delighting in conflicts.
31 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].
Fat ones come out of Egypt, Cush causes her hands to run to God.
32 [You people who are citizens of] kingdoms/countries all over the world, sing to God! Sing praises to the Lord!
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, Praise the Lord! (Selah)
33 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.
To Him who is riding on the heavens of the heavens of old, Behold, He gives with His voice a strong voice.
34 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.
Ascribe strength to God, His excellence [is] over Israel, and His strength in the clouds.
35 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!
Fearful, O God, out of Your sanctuaries, The God of Israel Himself, Giving strength and might to the people. Blessed [is] God!
