Mazmur 66:1--68:35
KonteksFor the music director; a song, a psalm.
66:1 Shout out praise to God, all the earth!
66:2 Sing praises about the majesty of his reputation! 2
Give him the honor he deserves! 3
66:3 Say to God:
“How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear 4 before you.
66:4 All the earth worships 5 you
and sings praises to you!
They sing praises to your name!” (Selah)
66:5 Come and witness 6 God’s exploits! 7
His acts on behalf of people are awesome! 8
66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; 9
they passed through the river on foot. 10
Let us rejoice in him there! 11
66:7 He rules 12 by his power forever;
he watches 13 the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt 14 themselves. (Selah)
66:8 Praise 15 our God, you nations!
Loudly proclaim his praise! 16
66:9 He preserves our lives 17
and does not allow our feet to slip.
66:10 For 18 you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
66:11 You led us into a trap; 19
you caused us to suffer. 20
66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place. 21
66:13 I will enter 22 your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
66:14 which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
66:15 I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
66:16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God! 23
I will declare what he has done for me.
66:17 I cried out to him for help 24
and praised him with my tongue. 25
66:18 If I had harbored sin in my heart, 26
the Lord would not have listened.
66:19 However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
for 28 he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me! 29
For the music director; to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.
67:1 May God show us his favor 31 and bless us! 32
May he smile on us! 33 (Selah)
67:2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;
all nations will know how you deliver your people. 34
67:3 Let the nations thank you, O God!
Let all the nations thank you! 35
67:4 Let foreigners 36 rejoice and celebrate!
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth. 37 (Selah)
67:5 Let the nations thank you, O God!
Let all the nations thank you! 38
67:6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us!
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves. 40
For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song.
68:1 God springs into action! 42
His enemies scatter;
his adversaries 43 run from him. 44
68:2 As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away. 45
As wax melts before fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
68:3 But the godly 46 are happy;
they rejoice before God
and are overcome with joy. 47
68:4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
Exalt the one who rides on the clouds! 48
For the Lord is his name! 49
Rejoice before him!
68:5 He is a father to the fatherless
and an advocate for widows. 50
God rules from his holy palace. 51
68:6 God settles those who have been deserted in their own homes; 52
he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity. 53
But sinful rebels live in the desert. 54
68:7 O God, when you lead your people into battle, 55
when you march through the desert, 56 (Selah)
68:8 the earth shakes,
yes, the heavens pour down rain
before God, the God of Sinai, 57
before God, the God of Israel. 58
68:9 O God, you cause abundant showers to fall 59 on your chosen people. 60
When they 61 are tired, you sustain them, 62
68:10 for you live among them. 63
You sustain the oppressed with your good blessings, O God.
many, many women spread the good news. 65
68:12 Kings leading armies run away – they run away! 66
The lovely lady 67 of the house divides up the loot.
68:13 When 68 you lie down among the sheepfolds, 69
the wings of the dove are covered with silver
and with glittering gold. 70
68:14 When the sovereign judge 71 scatters kings, 72
let it snow 73 on Zalmon!
68:15 The mountain of Bashan 74 is a towering mountain; 75
the mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks. 76
68:16 Why do you look with envy, 77 O mountains 78 with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has decided to live? 79
Indeed 80 the Lord will live there 81 permanently!
68:17 God has countless chariots;
they number in the thousands. 82
The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor. 83
you have taken many captives. 85
You receive tribute 86 from 87 men,
including even sinful rebels.
Indeed the Lord God lives there! 88
68:19 The Lord deserves praise! 89
Day after day 90 he carries our burden,
the God who delivers us. (Selah)
68:20 Our God is a God who delivers;
the Lord, the sovereign Lord, can rescue from death. 91
68:21 Indeed God strikes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion. 92
68:22 The Lord says,
“I will retrieve them 93 from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
68:23 so that your feet may stomp 94 in their blood,
and your dogs may eat their portion of the enemies’ corpses.” 95
68:24 They 96 see your processions, O God –
the processions of my God, my king, who marches along in holy splendor. 97
68:25 Singers walk in front;
musicians follow playing their stringed instruments, 98
in the midst of young women playing tambourines. 99
68:26 In your large assemblies praise God,
the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel! 100
68:27 There is little Benjamin, their ruler, 101
and the princes of Judah in their robes, 102
along with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
68:28 God has decreed that you will be powerful. 103
O God, you who have acted on our behalf, demonstrate your power,
68:29 as you come out of your temple in Jerusalem! 104
Kings bring tribute to you.
68:30 Sound your battle cry 105 against the wild beast of the reeds, 106
and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! 107
They humble themselves 108 and offer gold and silver as tribute. 109
God 110 scatters 111 the nations that like to do battle.
68:31 They come with red cloth 112 from Egypt,
Ethiopia 113 voluntarily offers tribute 114 to God.
68:32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God!
Sing praises to the Lord, (Selah)
68:33 to the one who rides through the sky from ancient times! 115
Look! He thunders loudly. 116
68:34 Acknowledge God’s power, 117
his sovereignty over Israel,
and the power he reveals in the skies! 118
68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! 119
It is the God of Israel 120 who gives the people power and strength.
God deserves praise! 121
[66:1] 1 sn Psalm 66. The psalmist praises God because he has delivered his people from a crisis.
[66:2] 2 tn Heb “his name,” which here stands metonymically for God’s reputation.
[66:2] 3 tn Heb “make honorable his praise.”
[66:3] 4 tn See Deut 33:29; Ps 81:15 for other uses of the verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the sense “cower in fear.” In Ps 18:44 the verb seems to carry the nuance “be weak, powerless” (see also Ps 109:24).
[66:4] 5 tn Or “bows down to.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 4 are taken (1) as imperfects expressing what is typical. Another option (2) is to interpret them as anticipatory (“all the earth will worship you”) or (3) take them as jussives, expressing a prayer or wish (“may all the earth worship you”).
[66:5] 7 tn Or “acts” (see Ps 46:8).
[66:5] 8 tn Heb “awesome [is] an act toward the sons of man.” It is unclear how the prepositional phrase relates to what precedes. If collocated with “act,” it may mean “on behalf of” or “toward.” If taken with “awesome” (see 1 Chr 16:25; Pss 89:7; 96:4; Zeph 2:11), one might translate “his awesome acts are beyond human comprehension” or “his awesome acts are superior to anything men can do.”
[66:6] 9 sn He turned the sea into dry land. The psalmist alludes to Israel’s crossing the Red Sea (Exod 14:21).
[66:6] 10 tn Because of the reference to “the river,” some understand this as an allusion to Israel’s crossing the Jordan River. However, the Hebrew term נָהָר (nahad) does not always refer to a “river” in the technical sense; it can be used of sea currents (see Jonah 2:4). So this line may also refer to the Red Sea crossing (cf. NEB).
[66:6] 11 tn The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).
[66:7] 12 tn Heb “[the] one who rules.”
[66:7] 13 tn Heb “his eyes watch.” “Eyes” are an anthropomorphism, attributed to God here to emphasize his awareness of all that happens on earth.
[66:7] 14 tn The verb form is jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al). The Kethib (consonantal text) has a Hiphil form of the verb, apparently to be understood in an exhibitive sense (“demonstrate stubborn rebellion”; see BDB 927 s.v. רוּם Hiph), while the Qere (marginal reading) has a Qal form, to be understood in an intransitive sense. The preposition -לְ (lamed) with pronominal suffix should be understood in a reflexive sense (“for themselves”) and indicates that the action is performed with the interest of the subject in mind.
[66:8] 15 tn Heb “bless,” in the sense of declaring “God to be the source of…special power” (see HALOT 160 s.v. II ברך pi).
[66:8] 16 tn Heb “cause the voice of his praise to be heard.”
[66:9] 17 tn Heb “the one who places our soul in life.”
[66:11] 19 tn Heb “you brought us into a net.” This rare word for “net” also occurs in Ezek 12:13; 13:21; 17:20.
[66:11] 20 tn Heb “you placed suffering on our hips.” The noun מוּעָקָה (mu’aqah, “suffering”) occurs only here in the OT.
[66:12] 21 tc The MT reads רְוָיָה (“saturation”) but this should be emended to רְוָחָה (rÿvakhah, “wide open place”; i.e., “relief”), a reading supported by several ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Jerome, Targum).
[66:13] 22 sn Here the psalmist switches to the singular; he speaks as the representative of the nation.
[66:16] 23 tn Heb “all of the fearers of God.”
[66:17] 24 tn Heb “to him [with] my mouth I called.”
[66:17] 25 tn Heb “and he was extolled under my tongue.” The form רוֹמַם (romam) appears to be a polal (passive) participle from רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), but many prefer to read רוֹמָם, “high praise [was under my tongue]” (cf. NEB). See BDB 928 s.v. רוֹמָם.
[66:18] 26 tn Heb “sin if I had seen in my heart.”
[66:20] 27 tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”
[66:20] 28 tn Or “who.” In a blessing formula after בָּרוּךְ (barukh, “blessed be”) the form אֲשֶׁר (’asher), whether taken as a relative pronoun or causal particle, introduces the basis for the blessing/praise.
[66:20] 29 tn Heb “did not turn aside my prayer and his loyal love with me.”
[67:1] 30 sn Psalm 67. The psalmist prays for God’s blessing upon his people and urges the nations to praise him for he is the just ruler of the world.
[67:1] 31 tn Or “have mercy on us.”
[67:1] 32 tn The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. Note the jussive form יָאֵר (ya’er) in the next line.
[67:1] 33 tn Heb “may he cause his face to shine with us.”
[67:2] 34 tn Heb “to know in the earth your way, among all nations your deliverance.” The infinitive with -לְ (lamed) expresses purpose/result. When God demonstrates his favor to his people, all nations will recognize his character as a God who delivers. The Hebrew term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) refers here to God’s characteristic behavior, more specifically, to the way he typically saves his people.
[67:3] 35 tn Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in vv. 3-4a are understood as jussives in this call to praise.
[67:4] 37 tn Heb “for you judge nations fairly, and [as for the] peoples in the earth, you lead them.” The imperfects are translated with the present tense because the statement is understood as a generalization about God’s providential control of the world. Another option is to understand the statement as anticipating God’s future rule (“for you will rule…and govern”).
[67:5] 38 tn Heb “let the nations, all of them, thank you.” The prefixed verbal forms in v. 5 are understood as jussives in this call to praise.
[67:7] 39 tn The prefixed verb forms in vv. 6b-7a are understood as jussives.
[67:7] 40 tn Heb “will fear him.” After the jussive of the preceding line, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive is understood as indicating purpose/result. (Note how v. 3 anticipates the universal impact of God showing his people blessing.) Another option is to take the verb as a jussive and translate, “Let all the ends of the earth fear him.”
[68:1] 41 sn Psalm 68. The psalmist depicts God as a mighty warrior and celebrates the fact that God exerts his power on behalf of his people.
[68:1] 42 tn Or “rises up.” The verb form is an imperfect, not a jussive. The psalmist is describing God’s appearance in battle in a dramatic fashion.
[68:1] 43 tn Heb “those who hate him.”
[68:1] 44 sn The wording of v. 1 echoes the prayer in Num 10:35: “Spring into action,
[68:2] 45 tn Heb “as smoke is scattered, you scatter [them].”
[68:3] 46 tn By placing the subject first the psalmist highlights the contrast between God’s ecstatic people and his defeated enemies (vv. 1-2).
[68:3] 47 tn Heb “and they are happy with joy” (cf. NEB). Some translate the prefixed verbal forms of v. 3 as jussives, “Let the godly be happy, let them rejoice before God, and let them be happy with joy!” (Cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV; note the call to praise in v. 4.)
[68:4] 48 tn Traditionally the Hebrew term עֲרָבוֹת (’aravot) is taken as “steppe-lands” (often rendered “deserts”), but here the form is probably a homonym meaning “clouds.” Verse 33, which depicts God as the one who “rides on the sky” strongly favors this (see as well Deut 33:26), as does the reference in v. 9 to God as the source of rain. The term עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “cloud”) is cognate with Akkadian urpatu/erpetu and with Ugaritic ’rpt. The phrase rkb ’rpt (“one who rides on the clouds”) appears in Ugaritic mythological texts as an epithet of the storm god Baal. The nonphonemic interchange of the bilabial consonants b and p is attested elsewhere in roots common to Hebrew and Ugaritic, though the phenomenon is relatively rare.
[68:4] 49 tc Heb “in the
[68:5] 50 sn God is depicted here as a just ruler. In the ancient Near Eastern world a king was responsible for promoting justice, including caring for the weak and vulnerable, epitomized by the fatherless and widows.
[68:5] 51 tn Heb “God [is] in his holy dwelling place.” He occupies his throne and carries out his royal responsibilities.
[68:6] 52 tn Heb “God causes the solitary ones to dwell in a house.” The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
[68:6] 53 tn Heb “he brings out prisoners into prosperity.” Another option is to translate, “he brings out prisoners with singing” (cf. NIV). The participle suggests this is what God typically does.
[68:6] 54 tn Or “in a parched [land].”
[68:6] sn God delivers the downtrodden and oppressed, but sinful rebels who oppose his reign are treated appropriately.
[68:7] 55 tn Heb “when you go out before your people.” The Hebrew idiom “go out before” is used here in a militaristic sense of leading troops into battle (see Judg 4:14; 9:39; 2 Sam 5:24).
[68:7] 56 sn When you march through the desert. Some interpreters think that v. 7 alludes to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its subsequent travels in the desert. Another option is that v. 7, like v. 8, echoes Judg 5:4, which describes how the God of Sinai marched across the desert regions to do battle with Sisera and his Canaanite army.
[68:8] 57 tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the
[68:8] 58 sn The language of vv. 7-8 is reminiscent of Judg 5:4-5, which tells how the God of Sinai came in the storm and annihilated the Canaanite forces led by Sisera. The presence of allusion does not mean, however, that this is a purely historical reference. The psalmist is describing God’s typical appearance as a warrior in terms of his prior self-revelation as ancient events are reactualized in the psalmist’s experience. (For a similar literary technique, see Hab 3.)
[68:9] 59 tn The verb נוּף (nuf, “cause rain to fall”) is a homonym of the more common נוּף (“brandish”).
[68:9] 60 tn Heb “[on] your inheritance.” This refers to Israel as God’s specially chosen people (see Pss 28:9; 33:12; 74:2; 78:62, 71; 79:1; 94:5, 14; 106:40). Some take “your inheritance” with what follows, but the vav (ו) prefixed to the following word (note וְנִלְאָה, vÿnil’ah) makes this syntactically unlikely.
[68:9] 61 tn Heb “it [is],” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
[68:9] 62 tn Heb “it,” referring to God’s “inheritance.”
[68:10] 63 tn The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear; it appears to read, “your animals, they live in it,” but this makes little, if any, sense in this context. Some suggest that חָיָּה (khayah) is a rare homonym here, meaning “community” (BDB 312 s.v.) or “dwelling place” (HALOT 310 s.v. III *הַיָּה). In this case one may take “your community/dwelling place” as appositional to the third feminine singular pronominal suffix at the end of v. 9, the antecedent of which is “your inheritance.” The phrase יָשְׁבוּ־בָהּ (yashvu-vah, “they live in it”) may then be understood as an asyndetic relative clause modifying “your community/dwelling place.” A literal translation of vv. 9b-10a would be, “when it [your inheritance] is tired, you sustain it, your community/dwelling place in [which] they live.”
[68:11] 64 tn Heb “gives a word.” Perhaps this refers to a divine royal decree or battle cry.
[68:11] 65 tn Heb “the ones spreading the good news [are] a large army.” The participle translated “the ones spreading the good news” is a feminine plural form. Apparently the good news here is the announcement that enemy kings have been defeated (see v. 12).
[68:12] 66 tn The verbal repetition draws attention to the statement.
[68:12] 67 tn The Hebrew form appears to be the construct of נוּה (nuh, “pasture”) but the phrase “pasture of the house” makes no sense here. The translation assumes that the form is an alternative or corruption of נצוה (“beautiful woman”). A reference to a woman would be appropriate in light of v. 11b.
[68:13] 69 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “sheepfolds” is uncertain. There may be an echo of Judg 5:16 here.
[68:13] 70 tn Heb “and her pinions with the yellow of gold.”
[68:13] sn The point of the imagery of v. 13 is not certain, though the reference to silver and gold appears to be positive. Both would be part of the loot carried away from battle (see v. 12b).
[68:14] 71 tn The divine name used here is שַׁדַּי (“Shaddai”). Shaddai/El Shaddai is the sovereign king/judge of the world who grants life, blesses and kills, and judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses (protects) and takes away life and/or happiness.
[68:14] 72 tn The Hebrew text adds “in it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix may refer back to God’s community/dwelling place (v. 10).
[68:14] 73 tn The verb form appears to be a Hiphil jussive from שָׁלַג (shalag), which is usually understood as a denominative verb from שֶׁלֶג (sheleg, “snow”) with an indefinite subject. The form could be taken as a preterite, in which case one might translate, “when the sovereign judge scattered kings, it snowed on Zalmon” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The point of the image is unclear. Perhaps “snow” suggests fertility and blessing (see v. 9 and Isa 55:10), or the image of a snow-capped mountain suggests grandeur.
[68:14] sn Zalmon was apparently a mountain in the region, perhaps the one mentioned in Judg 9:46 as being in the vicinity of Shechem.
[68:15] 74 sn The mountain of Bashan probably refers to Mount Hermon.
[68:15] 75 tn Heb “a mountain of God.” The divine name is probably used here in a superlative sense to depict a very high mountain (“a mountain fit for God,” as it were). Cf. NIV “are majestic mountains”; NRSV “O mighty mountain.”
[68:15] 76 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term, which appears only here in the OT, is uncertain. HALOT 174 s.v. גַּבְנוֹן suggests “many-peaked,” while BDB 148 s.v. גַּבְנִן suggests “rounded summit.”
[68:16] 77 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb רָצַד (ratsad), translated here “look with envy,” is uncertain; it occurs only here in the OT. See BDB 952-53. A cognate verb occurs in later Aramaic with the meaning “to lie in wait; to watch” (Jastrow 1492 s.v. רְצַד).
[68:16] 78 tn Perhaps the apparent plural form should be read as a singular with enclitic mem (ם; later misinterpreted as a plural ending). The preceding verse has the singular form.
[68:16] 79 tn Heb “[at] the mountain God desires for his dwelling place.” The reference is to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.
[68:16] 80 tn The Hebrew particle אַף (’af) has an emphasizing function here.
[68:16] 81 tn The word “there” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[68:17] 82 tn Heb “thousands of [?].” The meaning of the word שִׁנְאָן (shin’an), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Perhaps the form should be emended to שַׁאֲנָן (sha’anan, “at ease”) and be translated here “held in reserve.”
[68:17] 83 tc The MT reads, “the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in holiness,” which is syntactically difficult. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֲדֹנָי בָּא מִסִּינַי (’adonay ba’ missinay; see BHS note b-b and Deut 33:2).
[68:18] 84 tn Heb “to the elevated place”; or “on high.” This probably refers to the Lord’s throne on Mount Zion.
[68:18] 85 tn Heb “you have taken captives captive.”
[68:18] 88 tn Heb “so that the
[68:19] 89 tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”
[68:19] 90 tn It is possible to take this phrase with what precedes (“The Lord deserves praise day after day”) rather than with what follows.
[68:20] 91 tn Heb “and to the
[68:21] 92 tn Heb “the hairy forehead of the one who walks about in his guilt.” The singular is representative.
[68:22] 93 tn That is, the enemies mentioned in v. 21. Even if they retreat to distant regions, God will retrieve them and make them taste his judgment.
[68:23] 94 tc Some (e.g. NRSV) prefer to emend מָחַץ (makhats, “smash; stomp”; see v. 21) to רָחַץ (rakhats, “bathe”; see Ps 58:10).
[68:23] 95 tn Heb “[and] the tongue of your dogs from [the] enemies [may eat] its portion.”
[68:24] 96 tn The subject is probably indefinite, referring to bystanders in general who witness the procession.
[68:24] 97 tn The Hebrew text has simply “in holiness.” The words “who marches along” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[68:25] 98 tn Heb “after [are] the stringed instrument players.”
[68:25] 99 sn To celebrate a military victory, women would play tambourines (see Exod 15:20; Judg 11:34; 1 Sam 18:6).
[68:26] 100 tn Heb “from the fountain of Israel,” which makes little, if any, sense here. The translation assumes an emendation to בְּמִקְרָאֵי (bÿmiqra’ey, “in the assemblies of [Israel]”).
[68:27] 101 sn Little Benjamin, their ruler. This may allude to the fact that Israel’s first king, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin.
[68:27] 102 tc The MT reads רִגְמָתָם (rigmatam), which many derive from רָגַם (ragam, “to kill by stoning”) and translates, “[in] their heaps,” that is, in large numbers.
[68:28] 103 tn Heb “God has commanded your strength.” The statement is apparently addressed to Israel (see v. 26).
[68:29] 104 tn Heb “Be strong, O God, [you] who have acted for us, from your temple in Jerusalem.”
[68:29] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[68:30] 105 tn The Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts such as Ps 68 this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Ps 106:9 and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.
[68:30] 106 sn The wild beast of the reeds probably refers to a hippopotamus, which in turn symbolizes the nation of Egypt.
[68:30] 107 tn Heb “an assembly of bulls, with calves of the nations.”
[68:30] 108 tn Heb “humbling himself.” The verb form is a Hitpael participle from the root רָפַס (rafas, “to trample”). The Hitpael of this verb appears only here and in Prov 6:3, where it seems to mean, “humble oneself,” a nuance that fits nicely in this context. The apparent subject is “wild beast” or “assembly,” though both of these nouns are grammatically feminine, while the participle is a masculine form. Perhaps one should emend the participial form to a masculine plural (מִתְרַפִּם, mitrapim) and understand “bulls” or “calves” as the subject.
[68:30] 109 tc Heb “with pieces [?] of silver.” The meaning of the Hebrew term רַצֵּי (ratsey) is unclear. It is probably best to emend the text to בֶּצֶר וְכָסֶף (betser vÿkhasef, “[with] gold and silver”).
[68:30] 110 tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[68:30] 111 tn The verb בָּזַר (bazar) is an alternative form of פָּזַר (pazar, “scatter”).
[68:31] 112 tn This noun, which occurs only here in the OT, apparently means “red cloth” or “bronze articles” (see HALOT 362 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NEB “tribute”). Traditionally the word has been taken to refer to “nobles” (see BDB 365 s.v. חַשְׁמַן; cf. NIV “envoys”). Another option would be to emend the text to הַשְׁמַנִּים (hashmannim, “the robust ones,” i.e., leaders).
[68:31] 114 tn Heb “causes its hands to run,” which must mean “quickly stretches out its hands” (to present tribute).
[68:33] 115 tc Heb “to the one who rides through the skies of skies of ancient times.” If the MT is retained, one might translate, “to the one who rides through the ancient skies.” (שְׁמֵי [shÿmey, “skies of”] may be accidentally repeated.) The present translation assumes an emendation to בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִקֶּדֶם (bashamayim miqqedem, “[to the one who rides] through the sky from ancient times”), that is, God has been revealing his power through the storm since ancient times.
[68:33] 116 tn Heb “he gives his voice a strong voice.” In this context God’s “voice” is the thunder that accompanies the rain (see vv. 8-9, as well as Deut 33:26).
[68:34] 117 tn Heb “give strength to God.”
[68:34] 118 sn The language of v. 34 echoes that of Deut 33:26.
[68:35] 119 tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).
