1 Psalm 68 Let God’s Enemies Be Scattered For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song. 68:1Or God shall Let God arise, 68:1Or His enemies shall let His enemies be scattered,And 68:1Or those who hate Him shall let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As smoke is driven away,sodrivethemaway;As wax melts before the fire,Solet the wicked perish before God.
3 But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God;And let them rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; 68:4Or Cast up a highway Lift upa songfor Him who rides through the deserts,Whose name is 68:4The shortened form of Yahweh, found in poetry and praise (e.g. Hallelujah), and in names (e.g. Zechariah) Yah, and exult before Him.
5 ¶A father of the fatherless and a judge 68:5Lit of for the widows,Is God in His holy habitation.
6 God causes the lonely to inhabit a home;He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 ¶O God, when You went forth before Your people,When You marched through the wasteland, 68:7Selah may mean Pause, Crescendo, Musical Interlude Selah.
8 The earth quaked;The heavens also drippedrainat the presence of God; 68:8Lit This is Sinai which Sinai itselfquakedat the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You caused abundant rain to sprinkle down, O God;You established Your inheritance when it was 68:9Lit weary parched.
10 Your creatures inhabited it;You established it in Your goodness for the poor, O God.
11 ¶The Lord gives the word;The women who proclaim thegoodnews are a great host:
12 “Kings of armies retreat, they retreat,And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!”
13 If youmenlie down among the 68:13Or cooking stones, saddle bags sheepfolds,You all would be likethe wings of a dove covered with silver,And its pinions with glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty dispersed the kings 68:14Lit in it there,It was snowing in Zalmon.
15 ¶A 68:15 Or mighty mountain is mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;A mountainof manypeaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you look with envy, O mountains withmanypeaks,At the mountain which God has prized for His habitation?Surely Yahweh will dwellthereforever.
17 The chariots of God are 68:17Lit twice ten thousand myriads, thousands upon thousands; 68:17Or The Lord came from Sinai into the sanctuary The Lord is among themas atSinai, in holiness.
18 You have ascended on high, You have led captiveYourcaptives;You have received gifts among men,Evenamongthe rebellious also, that Yah—God—may dwellthere.
19 ¶Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,The Godwhois our salvation.Selah.
20 God is to us a God of 68:20Lit salvations salvation;And to Yahweh the Lord belong escapes 68:20In view of; lit for from death.
21 Surely God will crush the head of His enemies,The hairy 68:21Or crown skull of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.
22 The Lord 68:22Or says said, “I will bringthemback from Bashan.I will bringthemback from the depths of the sea;
23 That 68:23Some versions render, you may bathe your foot in blood your foot may crushthemin blood,The tongue of your dogsmay haveits portion fromyourenemies.”
24 ¶They have seen Your 68:24Lit goings procession, O God,The 68:24Lit goings procession of my God, my King, 68:24Lit in the sanctuary; or in holiness into the sanctuary.
25 The singers went on, the musicians afterthem, 68:25 Or The maidens in the midst In the midst of the maidens beating tambourines.
26 Bless God in the congregations,Yahweh, the fountain of Israel.
27 There is Benjamin, the 68:27Or smallest youngest, 68:27Or their ruler having dominion over them,The princes of Judahintheir throng,The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 ¶ 68:28Some mss Command, God Your God has commanded your strength;Show Yourself strong, O God, who has worked 68:28Lit for us on our behalf.
29 68:29Or From Your temple Because of Your temple at JerusalemKings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the beast 68:30Lit of in the reeds,The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;He has cast out the peoples who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come out of Egypt; 68:31Or Cush, cf. Gen 10:6 Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 ¶Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,Sing praises to the Lord,Selah.
33 To Him who rides upon the 68:33Lit heaven of heavens of old highest heavens, which are from ancient times;Behold, He gives forth His voice, a voicethat isstrong.
34 Ascribe strength to God;His majesty is over IsraelAnd His strength is in the 68:34Lit clouds skies.
35 68:35Or Awesome is God from your sanctuary O God,You areawesome from Your 68:35Lit holy places sanctuary.The God of Israel Himself gives strength and might to the people.Blessed be God!